January Food Hacks Roundup

2-Ingredient Pizza Dough

2-Ingredient Pizza Dough: Two-ingredient pizza dough is a thing, and it's actually really good! Check out my hack for making fantastic pizza dough with only two basic ingredients! I topped my pizza with a sweet and savoury combo of pears, prosciutto, BBQ sauce, and fresh arugula.

30-Second Meatballs

30-Second Meatballs: Hate the repetition of mixing and forming meatballs by hand? Then I've got just the hack for you with my 30-Seconds meatballs! These babies take literally seconds to form and mere minutes to cook, perfect for busy weeknights! 

Asian Sesame Salad in Wonton Cups

Asian Sesame Salad In Wonton Cups: You CAN make friends with salad, and this is just the hack to do it! Wonton wrappers make the perfect serving dish for Asian Sesame Salad when formed into muffin tins and baked until crispy!

Grilled Cheese Dippers

Grilled Cheese Dippers: Do you love taking your grilled cheese for a dip in tomato soup? This awesome fusion food combines two cheesy comfort food favourites (grilled cheese and cheese sticks!) for the ultimate lunchtime treat! 

Stay up to date with all of my food hacking tips and tricks by following me on the @FoodHacks Twitter page! 

Listening To:

Caribou - Back Home 

Ina Knows Best: The Ultimate Aglio E Olio

It's 6:00 pm on a Wednesday and there's nothing to make for dinner! This may sound alarming for some, or perhaps may just be a warning to the lacklustre meal that is surely ahead, but to me it means that I'm in store for a delicious and satisfying dinner that will take minimal effort, and leave me with a full belly, leftovers for lunch, a smile on my face, and olive oil running down my chin. I'm talking about the beauty in the simplicity of Aglio E Olio, which translates to "garlic and oil" referring to the Italian quickie-meal, pasta (generally spaghetti) with garlic and olive oil. 

For something so incredibly simple, it's amazing how much of an impression this dish can make. My boyfriend, Chris, and his friends for one, adore this dish with such passion that I don't think there has been a gathering where the suggestion of making it hasn't come up. I've lost count of the number of times they have disputed who makes the best aglio e olio, or what little detail makes their aglio e olio stand out, because with a dish this straightforward it really is all in the details! 

Despite everyone thinking that their aglio e olio is the best, I have to give the top award to my dear lovely Ina Garten, because well, Ina knows best! When Chris first came across this recipe we were skeptical whether the method made any sense. It seemed incredibly strange to firstly, begin the whole process by cooking the pasta, secondly, to cook the garlic in so much pasta water (1 1/2 cups!). We were imagining noodles drowning in bland garlic water. How dare I distrust my dear future-best-friend, Ina! I should have known that Ina always knows best! Of course Ina's take on aglio e olio was absolutely fantastic, and quickly became my boyfriend and I's go-to dinner! The addition of the pasta water, reduced to enhance the flavour of the garlic, prevented us from feeling like we had to douse our pasta in cups of olive oil to impart flavour, as well as helping the olive oil and garlic sauce to stick to the noodles, thanks to the starch in the cooking water. 

Although Ina's recipe is great on it's own, I would suggest rendering down some pancetta or better yet, sopressata, at the beginning of cooking. Set meat aside after cooking and toss it in again at the end of cooking to reheat. That spicy, salty bite does wonders for this dish! Another great tip is to make some homemade garlic breadcrumbs to garnish the pasta to give a little bit of crunch to each bite. 

Check out Ina's recipe for Aglio E Olio here!

Listening To:
Caribou - Dive

Empty-The-Freezer Banana Nut Muffins

Happy new year, dear readers! I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday season and have already kicked off 2015 to a great start! I have spent the majority of 2015 laying on my couch being a nasty mucous monster (apologies for giving you such a gross visual on a food blog, of all places) and coughing up a storm to my not-so-new roommates delight (that's right friends, I have updates!). I, like it seems most people in Toronto as of late, have been struck with a vicious two-week long cold, leaving me largely immobile, lazy, and indulging in lots of self pity for my very gross and stuffed-up state. 

Over the last few days, as my energy has begun to come back and I've started to feel like a real human again, I've had a lot of time to reflect on this past year, looking at what I've accomplished, what I had hoped to accomplish, and what I want out of this new year. Just like many new years of past, I once again have vowed to myself to focus more on my blog, putting as much of my creative energy into it as possible. I know, for the past while I have totally fallen off the grid in terms of Ginger Rose, focusing my time and energy on an exciting new project (hello Kraft Food Hacks!) as well as a wonderful new living situation, that has allowed me to fall asleep and wake up with a smile on my face just about every single day. 

In October I moved into a beautiful condo with the man I love, which has given me a much needed fresh start as I begin a new phase of my life. This is the first time in my life that I have not lived under my mothers (and best friends!) roof, which, let me tell you, feels so incredibly liberating! Don't get me wrong, living with my mom was so lovely in so many ways, but being able to have this new sense of freedom and responsibility, while living side-by-side with my incredible boyfriend, Chris, has been amazing! 

I could go on and on listing all of the things that I adore about living on my own, but they would come as no surprise. The real surprise for me was discovering just how much I enjoy taking care of my own space, my own home. I love being able to take pride in having a clean, tidy, and stylish home that I am always so thrilled to welcome guests into. I look forward to coming home and fluffing the pillows and wiping the kitchen counter, just to stand back and view my space with the same satisfaction as receiving an 'A' on a University paper. Thank goodness Chris shares this same value or I would surely come across as some sort of psycho killer. Just like myself, Chris views maintaining our space as a fun activity that we can take part in together, almost like a real life game of Tetris. 

Last week, as 2014 was coming to a close, both Chris and I were feeling the need to rearrange parts of our space, giving it the same fresh start we knew we both needed this year. The first step in our mission was to tackle the freezer, going through each and every nook and cranny to eliminate all of the nonsense and organize the remnants of what was left. What was left was a drawer full of over 10 frozen bananas (are we monkeys?!), 4 containers of pecans, 3 bags of coconut, 2 bags of chocolate chips, and oh so very much more. There was no doubt about it, banana muffins were in order! 

I quickly found a simple and delicious-sounding banana muffin recipe that would allow me to use up as much of the bananas, coconut, and nuts from the freezer as physically possible. The muffins turned out incredible, with a sweet crumble topping giving the muffins a wonderful crunch, and nuts and chocolate chips in every bite! 

What are you hoping to accomplish this year? 

* This will allow your muffins to be extra moist!

Recipe adapted from hiddenponies.com

Ingredients:
Muffins:
6 bananas, very ripe 
2 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted 
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Crumble Topping:
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the bananas and blend at medium-speed until mashed. 
3. Add the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and blend well to combine. 
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 
5. With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture in 4 increments, until just blended.  Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips by hand. 
6. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 of the way up with the muffin batter. Fill any empty muffin cups half way with water.*
7. In a small bowl mix together the crumble topping ingredients. Top each muffin evenly with the crumble topping and bake for 17-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!

Listening To:
Caribou - Our Love

Hack the Holidays

Festive Ice Cubes

The tree is up, the gifts are purchased, and there is a blanket of snow collecting on my balcony (not to mention a canopy of white continuing to sail down from above. There's no doubt about it, the holidays are fast approaching! 

Peanut Butter Holiday Pancakes

With Christmas only two weeks away (where did the time go?!) it's right about now that everyone begins to freak out over everything that must be checked off their 'to do' list in the coming weeks, in the midst of what is absolutely the busiest and most stressful time of year. With so much to accomplish, and so little time, I am surprisingly far calmer than I've been in previous years. No, I haven't just discovered online shopping (but yes, that is probably the #1 stress reducer to take advantage of during the holidays), but I have discovered a not-so-secret secret to calmly and happily getting through the holidays. The secret, my friends is none other than the oh so wonderful world of food and life hacks! 

Fruity Holiday Ice-n-Pipe

Working on the Kraft Food Hacks campaign has given me the opportunity to search high and low through the dense interweb to find all of the very best hacks to get myself through the holidays. Through my research and testing in the kitchen, I've been able to locate the most successful and helpful of hacks, as well as debunk those that unfortunately result in disappointing failures. I've come up with some really fun and clever ones that have stretched my imagination and am really excited to share with you. My first holiday food hack entry is up on the Kraft Food Hacks blog and is one that I absolutely adore! Head on over to the Food Hacks blog to check out my latest entry on creating Festive Ice Cubes, and be sure to come back over the coming weeks to see what other holiday hacks I have in store for you! Also be sure to follow me along on the Food Hacks Twitter page (@FoodHacks) for even more holiday hacks to make your life a little easier!

Do you have a great holiday hack you want to share? Tweet me: @FoodHacks and let's get hacking! 

Listening To:

Paul McCartney - Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time

Chilly Days = Chili Nights

Homemade Jamie Oliver Winter Nights Chili

Yesterday was the first real snowfall in Toronto, and this morning my window is decorated with frosty snowflakes. It's official, Winter is coming! 

Although I don't want that exclamation point mistaken for enthusiasm (as someone with a circulation problem, Winter is not my season!), I can't help but feel an odd sense of relief as I willingly give in to all of the indulgent comforts that this season begs for. Cozy sweaters, fuzzy slippers, fur-lined coats, spiked hot chocolate, and, most importantly, comfort food, make Winter in Toronto bearable, and sometimes even enjoyable. 

Pardon my obvious correlation, but chilly days have me thinking of nothing other than a big ol' bowl of comfort, AKA chili! I learned to make chili from my mom, who has a knack for making an incredibly tasty bowl of chili that tastes like it was cooking on the stove all day, when really, she can get the whole bowl on the table in under an hour! Although Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory informed me that chili containing beans, actually isn't the traditional way of making the rich and meaty stew, I love the addition of beans that my mom has in her chili, along with ground beef, mirepoix, canned tomatoes, and her special blend of herbs and spices. It warms me up and gives me fuzzy, nostalgic feelings about growing up in her love-filled home. 

My lovely Oma, the Chili Cook-Off First Place Winner!

My mom learned to make her chili from my Oma, who makes a very similar version, though sometimes adds the oh-so-controversial ingredient pasta noodles to hers to give it extra substance. I can only imagine the secrets my Oma keeps in her chili, always finding a way of sneaking mystery ingredients like bacon fat, and leftover roasts into her dishes to give them incredible depth. Her chili is so fantastic that this week she even won first place at her church's Chili competition, inspiring me to write this very post. Although my Oma was the grand winner of the day, my Opa got an honorable mention for being in the doghouse for being a judge who did not vote for his own wife's chili! It's funny, no matter how partial you are to the way a certain dish is made, having enjoyed it like that for most of your life, you can't help but be stricken with delight at the surprising taste of a dish made in a different way.

Having grown up eating my mom and my Oma's ground beef and beans chili, I couldn't help but be intrigued when reading Jamie Oliver's recipe for Winter Nights Chili in his new cookbook Comfort Food (see top photo). Jamie's chili was unlike anything I had ever heard of before, containing both beef brisket and pork belly, along with an array of vegetables including butternut squash and red and yellow bell peppers, as well as a crunchy apple and red onion salsa to top it all off. With so many great flavours and textures featured in one bowl, I had to give his recipe a try! 

Slow cooked throughout the day, the chili had a wonderful depth of flavour, reminiscent of dishes found in the best smokehouses. After giving the chili a taste while still on the stove, I realized that although I love big flavours, one of the beauties of chili is in its simplicity. With this in mind, I decided to omit the apple and red onion salsa, allowing the spicy chili to speak for itself. The final dish was fantastic, and one I was proud to serve to my boyfriends family, but although I couldn't get enough of the chili that first night, I found myself craving my mom and my Oma's chili the following day. There's something about a family favourite that will always have a hold on my taste buds and my soul.  Nostalgia has a hold on me, and it wont let go. 

What is your favourite way of preparing chili? How did your family make chili growing up? What is it about chili that evokes feeling of comfort and safety? Let's chat! 

Listening To:

SBTRKT - The Light