I can’t really tell you why that is. Perhaps it’s the pastry? The fact that it’s mixed with a bunch of other stuff and baked? Because I’m strange? Whatever the reason, quiche rocks and I don’t make it nearly often enough. Not only is it damn tasty, you can put pretty much whatever you have on hand in it, and it makes for a really well balanced meal.

I had a hankering to make quiche one night while planning that special event lunch during my last food service placement. So I picked up some asparagus, mushrooms, and goat cheese on the way home, dug out my well-used copy of the Five Roses Flour Cookbook for a pie crust recipe, and got cooking.

I would like to point out that I have a pastry making phobia. Okay, maybe it’s not quite that extreme, but I always cringe when I have to make pastry. For all my mad baking skillz, I just don’t make as good a pastry as my mom, and it bothers me. I know if I made it more often I would get better at it, but I just can’t be bothered. That being said, check out the fluting on that pie crust – that is professional work right there! At least I learned something from watching mom make pies growing up!

Aside from a little chopping, mixing, sautéing, and that whole making pastry thing, quiche is a relatively easy thing to throw together for a week night meal, or perhaps a Mother’s Day brunch (I hear it’s a popular brunch item). You can speed it up even more by buying pre-made pie shells.

It was rich, creamy, protein packed, and full of delicious spring asparagus. I loved how the goat cheese added little bursts of tang throughout the quiche. Paired with a simple green salad, it was a lovely meal that left me with lunches for the next few days. My whole wheat crust could use some work (I didn’t roll it out quite thin enough), but it was still good. And the boyfriend enjoyed it as well – who says real men don’t eat quiche?!

Asparagus & Mushroom Quiche

Makes one 9” deep dish quiche (8 servings)

Celebrate spring with this tasty quiche featuring asparagus, mushrooms, and goat cheese. Not only is it delicious, it’s also economical and has all 4 food groups represented. You can always speed up prep time by using a pre-made pie crust, making this an easy week night dinner.

• 9” deep dish pie crust (use your favourite pastry recipe, or use pre-made)
• 1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1” pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 c mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 c milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• salt & pepper to taste
• 50 g goat cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Steam asparagus 3 – 5 minutes, until tender-crisp.

3. While asparagus is steaming, heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Melt butter in pan, and sauté onions and mushrooms until tender, but not browned. Stir in steamed asparagus. Transfer to crust.

4. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, dry mustard, and salt and pepper. Pour over top. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese evenly over quiche.

5. Bake 30 – 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Depending on how deep your deep dish pie plate is, you may not use all of the egg mixture. I found 3 eggs wasn’t enough for mine, but 4 was a little too much. Adjust as you see fit.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and all the other mothers out there

This was my second baking experiment in my beautiful new oven (hello gas range, I love you). My first experiment was a late night batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that were devoured entirely too quickly to even blog about. But they did teach me that my oven actually holds the temperature I set it at. I can’t even begin to tell you how this excites me. Enough to need to bake muffins, that’s for sure!

When I moved, I discovered a forgotten can of pureed pumpkin in my pantry, and decide it was time to put it to good use. It helps that I know the boyfriend loves all things pumpkin.  Looking at what else I had on hand, I decided to break into the brand new bag of coconut, and mix in some pecans for crunch.

Knowing they might look a little plain jane as is, I also added a coconut pecan crumble to the top. It proved to be the right amount of sweetness to make these muffins seem like a treat when in reality they don’t have much added sugar. Plus they just look pretty!

We both enjoyed these throughout the week – they made a great fast breakfast with some yogurt and fruit, and were the perfect mid afternoon snack to keep me going through that 2 pm lull while I plugged away on the computer. A rough nutritional analysis of these muffins shows they provide about 5 g of fibre and only 1.7 g of sugar per muffin, plus a whole whack of Vitamin A (you can thank the pumpkin for that), manganese, and a fair amount of Vitamin C, all for around 200 kcal. Nice!

Pumpkin Pecan Coconut Muffins

makes 12 big muffins

Dig out that can of pureed pumpkin hiding in the back of your cupboard and bake up a batch of these pretty orange-hued muffins. They are a great way to start your day, served up with some yogurt and fruit, and make an awesome afternoon snack. Low in sugar, high in fibre, and oh yeah, they taste good too!

• 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c + 2 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar, divided
• 1/3 c + 2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut, divided
• 1/3 c + 2 tbsp pecans, chopped, divided
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 can (398 mL) pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c milk (dairy or non)
• 1/4 c coconut oil, melted
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray/grease a muffin tin, or use paper liners.

2. Combine flour, 1/2 c sugar, 1/3 c coconut, 1/3 c pecans, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Combine remaining sugar, coconut, and pecans in a small bowl and set aside for topping.

4. Combine pumpkin, egg, milk, coconut oil, molasses, and vanilla in a medium bowl, mixing thoroughly.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, as well as the cranberries. Mix until just combined (some lumps are okay).

6. Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Sprinkled coconut pecan topping on each muffin.

6. Bake for 20 – 25 min, until golden brown.

Note: You can easily substitute the coconut oil for melted butter or another oil. I added the molasses on a whim, to add a depth of flavour and colour. If you don’t have any, leave it out.

I considered not posting this recipe today given the horrific events at the Boston Marathon yesterday, but felt that even though what happened was horrible and tragic, life does still go on. Of course my thoughts go out to everyone affected. Such a senseless act at such a positive, inspiring, non-political event.

Fast forward to dinner one night this week. I was going to be making BBQ chicken breasts and needed a side to go with them. I first thought potato salad. Then thought I should use the sweet potatoes I had in the cupboard instead. Then I thought – hey, those would go really well with apple and cranberries…like that coleslaw my mom made! And just like that, this salad was born.

Aside from chopping up ingredients and cooking the potatoes, this is one simple side dish that you can prep ahead of time, and it will keep in the fridge for a few days. It has a great mix of flavours and textures – soft sweet potatoes, crunchy apples, celery, and walnuts, and the chew of the dried cranberries. A nice change from your typical potato salad, or Waldorf salad for that matter.

Sweet Potato Waldorf Salad

makes 4 – 6 servings

If potato salad and Waldorf salad had a baby, it would be this dish. Crunchy apples and celery combine with sweet potatoes to make a colourful, fibre-rich dish perfect to serve alongside BBQ chicken or pork, and would also make a great lunch on its own.

• 3 cups sweet potato, peeled & cubed (approximately 2 medium potatoes)
• 1 large apple, cored and chopped (I used an ambrosia)
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 c walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 c dried cranberries
• 1/3 c mayonnaise
• 1/3 c sour cream or yogurt (I used sour cream)
• 1/8 – 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt

1. Cook your potatoes – I recommend using your steamer basket to do so. This was you avoid them getting water logged and mushy. They only need about 6 – 7 min to cook this way. Once cooked, put them in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. You want them to keep their shape in the salad.

2. In a large bowl, combine the apple, celery, walnuts, cranberries, mayonnaise, sour cream, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until everything is evenly coated.

3. Add in sweet potatoes, and mix gently until just coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavours to develop.

Note: This recipe is fairly forgiving with amounts of ingredients – tailor the amounts to your tastes or what you have on hand. If your two sweet potatoes give you 4 cups, then go with that. No point in wasting them! Also, adjust the nutmeg to your tastes – it can easily overpower a dish.

Waldorf salad – love it or hate it? I have a fond place in my heart for my mom’s version of it. 

I wanted to make something other than regular ol’ hummus, but I didn’t have time to cook up any beets to make my favourite Dill Beet Hummus. So I looked through my pantry, fridge, and freezer, and saw a random can of white beans. Why not make hummus with that? Then I saw a jar with a few lonely artichoke hearts in the fridge, and a wee bit of spinach in the freezer. Spinach and artichoke are a classic dip pairing, so they would have to be good in a hummus, right?

This was one of those times I was content with having to clean the food processor afterwards. What a tasty spin on your classic hummus. And I think the white beans make it extra creamy. This really had the taste of a ooey gooey spinach and artichoke dip, without the massive amount of mayo and cheese one would normally add. I think adding a bit of the artichoke marinade helped pump up the flavour.

I ate it with veggies, spread of flatbread, as a sandwich filling with some avocado and cucumber, and to jazz up a regular ol’ veggie burger. I would even consider making this for a party, topping it with a little parmesan, and heating it up like classic spinach and artichoke dip. I bet it might even fool a person or two (okay, maybe that’s pushing it…unless they were also drinking wine?)

Spinach & Artichoke White Bean Hummus

makes approximately 3 cups

This spin on classic hummus has all the flavours of that ooey gooey appetizer we all love and know, without all of the mayo and cheese. Eat it with veggies, spread it on a sandwich, or even just dig right in with a spoon. It’s packed with fibre & flavour – what’s not to love?

• 1 540 mL (19 oz) can of white/navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed
• 1/3 cup marinated artichoke hearts
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 3 tbsp artichoke heart marinade (or use olive oil)
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• pinch or 2 of cayenne
• salt & pepper to taste
• water (if needed)

1. Add all ingredients to the food processor, and blend until a smooth, creamy texture. Add water if needed to achieve this texture.

Note: You could use artichoke hearts canned in water, but they won’t have as much flavour, so you may need to add extra herbs and spices.

The thought process went something like this:

• I need breakfast. I should make a smoothie (love my Blendtec!)
• I still have that buttermilk in the fridge. I’m sure I could use that – you can put anything in a smoothie.
• Lots of bananas on the counter – I’ll use those too.
• I’ve made banana bread with buttermilk before, I need something to make it “bready”. How about cereal?
• I’ll just add a few other ingredients to make it interesting. Should be good.

The cereal inspiration was from something I tried ages ago – using a flaky cold cereal in a smoothie a la Chocolate Covered Katie. It gives your smoothie some heft.

I jazzed up the smoothie with some cacao nibs, cinnamon, and cashew butter. It really did taste like a creamy, cool, drinkable version of banana bread. And now I think buttermilk will be on my regular grocery list.

Buttermilk Banana Bread Smoothie

serves 1

A quick breakfast smoothie that tastes like banana bread and makes use of that half empty carton of buttermilk leftover from your last baking project.

• 1 ripe banana
• 3/4 cup flaky cereal (I used Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
• 1 tbsp cashew butter
• 2 tsp cacao nibs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

1. Put all your ingredients in your favourite blending machine. Whiz away until you have a smooth, creamy treat. Enjoy!

Note: Feel free to use your favourite cereal and nut butter when making this smoothie. I like Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise, and it’s gluten-free to boot!

What’s your favourite way to use buttermilk in the kitchen?

The Book Of Kale: The Easy To Grow Superfood is the work of local Vacouverite Sharon Hanna, who just happens to be presenting/cooking at The Wellness Show on Friday, February 15th. Not only does the book contain over 80 recipes featuring kale, but there is also a section on how to grow and harvest kale, the different varieties of kale, and why it is considered a superfood. In case you didn’t know – kale is an excellent Vitamins A, C, and K, and is a good source of calcium, iron, copper, potassium, and manganese, not to mention an array of phytonutrients. Basically, kale is a rockstar.

I quickly set out deciding on some recipes to try – Kale Chips weren’t gonna cut it, and thanks to a fellow intern I had already tried the Kale & Cranberry Crisps. I even had my mom and sister browse through to help me narrow down what I should make for this review. There were so many recipes that caught our attention such as:

• Savoury Kale Scones with Pumpkin & Cheese
• Lemony Kale & Goat Cheese Dip
• Ligurian Kale, Chard & Potato Torta
• Kale Gomae
• Autumn Kale Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings
• Relaxed Risotto with Kale, Garlic & Wild Mushrooms
• Kale, Salmon & Potato Cakes
• Corny Kale Enchiladas con Pollo

In fact, there was a recipe listed for Doukhobor Kale & Beet Borscht (and we all know how much I love my Grandpa’s Doukhobor Borscht) which had me a little excited, but upon reading the ingredient list and seeing things like ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and honey on the ingredient list, I questioned whether it should even be put in the same class of borscht as my families. Plus I had just made a giant batch of borscht the week before – one can only eat so much cabbage soup goodness!

Being indecisive, I settled on making both the scones and risotto. I then had a little poll on my Facebook page asking which recipe I should report back on and share with you all. Which, of course, ended in a tie!

So while the Savoury Kale Scones with Pumpkin & Cheese were rather delicious, and have made great lunch additions this week at internship, the risotto ended up winning out because it was, in a word, awesomesauce.

I dare to say this was the best risotto I have made. I don’t know that it is due entirely to the recipe – I think I have finally mastered the art of making a creamy, rich risotto. Perhaps it’s my mad cooking skills, perhaps it’s my cast iron Dutch oven, perhaps the stars were just aligned. Whatever it was, I enjoyed a gourmet dinner with leftovers chocked full of kale goodness.

I even used this “whole grain” (it’s at least brown) risotto rice I found awhile back in some little Italian grocer. I had to use Google Translator to figure out the cooking instructions – turns out you should soak the rice for 12 hrs before cooking so it doesn’t take as long. Perhaps had I read that more than 5 minutes before I was going to make dinner I could have eaten before 8 pm. Oops!

The flavours in this risotto were excellent – meaty mushrooms, salty parmesan cheese, aromatic onions and garlic, the bite from the wine, and of course the kale, which loses all bitterness but makes the dish ever so pretty. This is company worthy food.

Relaxed Risotto with Kale, Garlic & Wild Mushrooms

from The Book Of Kale by Sharon Hanna (reproduced with permission)

serves 3 – 4 as a main

• 15 g (1/2 oz) dried mushrooms or 200 g (7 oz) fresh mushrooms (I used shiitake and cremini)
• 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I went with chicken because it’s what I had)
• 5 – 6 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup onion, diced (I used 1 large onion)
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 cups kale leaves tightly packed, chiffonade (I went with black kale)
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-reggiano, grated, plus extra for serving
• salt & pepper to taste

1. If using dried mushrooms, reconstitute as directed. Drain, saving the liquid for the risotto, and chop the mushrooms finely. If using fresh, clean the mushrooms carefully, slice, and set aside.

2. Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Add peeled garlic cloves to stock and cook about 5 min. Remove garlic, chop or mash and set aside.

3. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, sauté the onions in oil and butter until softened but not browned, stirring frequently for about 5 min.

4. Increase heat to medium; add the rice and sauté until well coated. Begin to ladle hot stock into the rice a little at a time, stirring well with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan regularly. The rice will take up liquid and begin to soften. Add reserved mushroom liquid if this applies, then keep stirring and adding stock. If you like, you can put the lid on, turn the heat down quite low, and walk away from the stove occasionally.

5. When you’ve added about half the stock, add the mushrooms, the wine, the reserved garlic and the kale. Continue stirring, adding stock until the risotto is to your liking – al dente or creamy. Add the cheese and black pepper and salt (if needed) to taste. Stir well, and serve the risotto immediately with extra cheese.

Marianne’s Note: Do not skimp out on your cheese – buy the real stuff. You only need a small piece, and it tastes so much better!

Now go get some kale and make risotto. Then head to The Wellness Show, February 15 – 17, 2013 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Disclaimer – I received this cookbook to review at no cost to myself as part of promotions for The Wellness Show. All opinions are my own.

This post involves meat. Lots of delicious, slow cooked, melt in your mouth steak.

Now, I don’t cook steak very often – mostly because I don’t know how to consistently get it to a nice medium rare at home. I leave that up to the pros, and only order steak on the rare occasion I find myself craving one. But the other day I was thinking, I really want to make this crockpot steak dish my mom would make every so often. Side note – do not spell “crockpot” without the “r” in it in a Facebook status update, otherwise you will end up with an array of rude, but hilarious, comments from your friends. Just sayin’.  

I called my mom up, and asked her to send me the recipe. I’m not sure where she got it from, but it was good enough to be transferred to a recipe card, and make its way into semi-regular rotation. Which means it’s pretty damn good.

The great thing about cooking meat in the slow cooker? You can buy the cheap, tough cuts, and they will always turn out fabulous. Not to mention you come home to find your house smelling of delicious dinner.

The key to this recipe is chili sauce. Not my beloved sriracha or sweet chili sauce. But this random condiment I would never have known existed were it not for my mom’s slow cooker chili steak.

I love to serve the tender, spicy steak with something to sop up all the awesome sauce – we always go with rice, but any other grain, mashed potatoes, or some freshly baked bread would work just as well. Round it out with your favourite green vegetable, and you have yourself a tasty balanced meal. Oh, and the leftovers freeze well too!

Mom’s Slow Cooker Chili Steak

serves 8 – 10

Okay, so maybe my mom didn’t come up with the recipe, but she’s the one who brought this dish into my life, so I’m giving her the credit. Aside from a little prep, the slow cooker does all the work, allowing you to come home to a delicious meal the whole family will enjoy. A nicely balanced sauce with a little heat fancies up even the cheapest cut of meat, and the slow cooker ensures it’s tender every time.

• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 lbs beef, cut into pieces about the size of your palm or smaller (mom recommends using round steak)
• 2 – 3 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chili sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1. In plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Add beef chunks in batches, and shake to coat.

2. Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the beef in butter in batches. Transfer to slow cooker.

3. In the same skillet, add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Be sure to scrape up those brown bits on the bottom of the pan (flavour!). Pour over beef in slow cooker.

4. Cover and cook on low for 9 – 10 hours, until meat is tender.

Note: You can even turn this into a shredded beef recipe once it is done cooking – it would make great (messy) sandwiches with some coleslaw.

Have you mastered the art of the perfect medium rare steak? Any pointers?

I know I have a muffin baking addiction. But they are just so easy, versatile, and make the perfect portable after work/internship snack. They keep me from stopping off at a coffee shop on the way home and buying a sweet treat because I’m peckish. So not only am I being healthy, but also economical. It’s all about justifying the addiction

These muffins came to be when I found myself with a handful of carrots looking a little worse for wear hiding in the back of my fridge. I’m not entirely sure how they migrated back there, but they were crying out for some love. So I thought a simple carrot muffin would be the perfect way to avoid throwing them out.

I decided to keep these muffins fairly simple, without an array of competing flavours. Partly because I’ve just been craving simple eats, and partly because I know the boyfriend likes plain carrot muffins. Aren’t I nice? That being said, they are the perfect carroty canvas to jazz up with say, raisins, walnuts, citrus zest, or whatever else floats your boat.

The oats add a little extra staying power to these whole grain muffins. I used coconut sugar (my new baking ingredient to play with), but you could definitely sub in brown sugar, or even white sugar.

So get your graters out, heat up the oven, and get your bake on!

Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

makes 12 muffins

A simple whole grain muffin featuring the natural sweetness of carrots. Subtly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, they make a great for a snack or part of a well balanced breakfast. The perfect canvas for add ins such as raisins, walnuts, pineapple, or even orange zest.

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar (could also use brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil (melted coconut oil would be good too)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup shredded carrots (2-3 carrots)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Lightly grease a muffin pan, or use paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to combine.

3. In a medium bowl, combined milk, yogurt, egg, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir to combine well.

4. Stir shredded carrot into wet mixture until just combined.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. It’s okay if there are a few lumps.

6. Evenly portion out the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18 – 20 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Note: Depending on the size of your carrots, you may get more than 2 cups of shredded carrot. Feel free to add it all in – you’ll still get a great product.

I saw a recipe for Deep Chocolate, Dried Blueberry, and Pistachio Bark in the December issue of Alive Magazine (one of my favourite *free* magazines for food and health information). I thought it looked amazing, but I wasn’t 100% sold on the flavour combination – not only did it include the blueberries and pistachios, but also lime zest. So I did some tweaking, and ended up with two decadent and delicious chocolate bark recipes to share with you.

Chocolate bark is deceptively simple to make – melt chocolate, spread on some parchment paper, add things, and let it set. Because of this, I like to use a really good quality chocolate. My personal favourite is Callebaut – you can get blocks at many local grocery stores in the bakery department, usually all year. It melts beautifully, never seizes up on me (and I melt chocolate over direct heat), and has great flavour. I always keep some dark chocolate and white chocolate on hand, because you never know when something will need a quick chocolate drizzle to take it from ordinary to extraordinary.

My first chocolate bark was the most festive looking – White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark. I love how it combines all of the colours of Christmas – definitely looks beautiful on a cookie plate. I used the lime zest in this one, and it gives it that little extra something.

For those who aren’t big on the white chocolate, I made a very BC inspired Dark Chocolate Blueberry Hazelnut Bark, sprinkled ever so lightly with some sea salt. I’ve had chocolate bars with blueberry and hazelnuts in them before, so I already knew this would be a winner flavour combination. And you can never go wrong adding a little sea salt to dark chocolate. I like to think of this as the “antioxidant” bark, as we all know both blueberries and dark chocolate have an abundance of them. So basically, it’s health food

Which ever one you make (or heck, make both!), you’re guest will love it. It looks impressive, tastes amazing, and no one needs to know you spent maybe 10 minutes max making it.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark

makes 12 – 16 pieces

This chocolate bark just says “Christmas treat” with its ruby red cranberries and green pistachios. Lime zest adds an unexpected flavour dimension, and keeps the white chocolate from seeming overly sweet.

• 8 oz (240 g) good quality white chocolate, chopped (I like Callebaut)
• zest of 1 lime, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or if you are daring like me, over direct heat (just make sure you have it on low and watch it). Once it has melted, stir in lime zest.

3. Spread chocolate into a rectangle on the parchment paper. You can make it thicker or thinner, whatever you like. It’s rich, so I make it on the thin side.

4. Sprinkle the cranberries and pistachios over the top. Place back in the freezer until set, then break into pieces.

Dark Chocolate Blueberry Hazelnut Bark

makes 12 – 16 pieces

Give your chocolate bark some BC flair with dried blueberries and hazelnuts. Sea salt takes the chocolate to another level. This decadent treat not only looks impressive, but is packed with antioxidants, so you can feel even better about indulging a little over the holidays.

• 8 oz (240 g) good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I like Callebaut)
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries, chopped
• 1/4 hazelnuts, chopped
• sea salt

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or if you are daring like me, over direct heat (just make sure you have it on low and watch it).

3. Spread chocolate into a rectangle on the parchment paper. You can make it thicker or thinner, whatever you like. It’s rich, so I make it on the thin side.

4. Sprinkle the blueberries and hazelnut over the top. Sprinkle a very tiny amount of sea salt over the bark (too much, and it won’t be balanced). Place back in the freezer until set, then break into pieces.

Merry Christmas to all my readers – I hope you have a wonderful, delicious, and family filled holidays!

These are not exactly some novel creation – I’m sure you have seen variations all over food blogs (my inspiration came from here and here). They involve dates, raisins, cocoa powder, nuts, and a food processor. Really, they are kinda like a Larabar, but shaped in a bite sized ball.

I love them because they are easy to make, use natural, healthy ingredients, and oh yeah, they taste great. They are almost like having a rum ball (or kahlua ball as I like to make them)…in fact, I bet you could add a little rum or kahlua to the recipe and make a healthy version of those!

Raw Fudgy Snowballs

makes 24

All you need is a food processor and your hands to make these fudgy little treats. It’s amazing how easy it is to transform healthy, nutrient dense ingredients such as dates, raisins, cocoa powder, and almonds into something that tastes rich and decadent. I bet no one will guess how you made them.

• 3/4 cup pitted dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cup almonds
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 – 3 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Combine date, raisins, almonds, cocoa powder, vanilla, sea salt in your food processor, and blend on high until it starts to form a sticky mass. If the mixture seems to dry and isn’t coming together, add some maple syrup (this really depends on how dry your dry fruit is – mine was quite dry, so I added maple syrup).

2. Roll small pieces of the mixture into 1 inch balls, and roll in coconut to coat. Store in the fridge.

Note: You could easily play around with the kind of nuts used, or try a different extract such as coconut or almond…or even mint if you like that sort of thing.