chef(s) at home

Spaghetti Bo-Lo-Naise. 

Now you don’t have to feel embarrassed when you point to the menu so you don’t have to pronounce “Bolognese” incorrectly :) 

I used to LOVE my mom’s spaghetti when I was a kid. Poor father, who had to deal with my whiny requests to have spaghetti once again. Oh well! 

I grew up, learned how to cook, got a little obsessed with cooking, and made it up to him by serving it on his plate for dinner this week. I searched for the BEST bolognese sauce and trust me, you will want to wear a bib for this recipe. 

Spaghetti Bolognese adapted from Zoe (who got it from The Pioneer Woman Cooks who I would trust my life upon … in terms of eating.)

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 yellow onions, diced

2 lbs lean, ground beef 

1/2 cup Turkey Kolbassa Sausage 

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil (if you have fresh herbs, always use that instead!) 

1 6oz can tomato paste 

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red wine 

2 tbsp Worcestershire 

salt and pepper

4-5 vine ripened tomatoes 

1 cup skim milk 

Hi.

If you’re done school and vegetating this summer, I have a challenge for you. If you are still in school, well then, that just sucks. 

My two childhood heroes even agree with me: 

Remember this one year ago? 

Well, I’ve come up with a new Summer 2012 Booklist and it’s about three times as long. If you’re bored this summer or would like to do something other than Pinterest or Facebook, come join me.

1. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

2. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

3. Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt

4. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

6. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

7. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

8. Any Jodi Picoult books: The Pact, Salem Falls, Second Glance, Vanishing Acts, House Rules, Tenth Circle. 

1) Keeps Cake Fresh – Store cakes with a half of an apple – it will keep the cake nice and moist. Simple.
2) Roasting The Perfect Chicken – Stuff a Whole Chicken with an apple to keep it moist while cooking ( discard apple afterwards) – this is one of Budget Savvy Diva’s cooking secrets.
3) Loosen Up That Brown Sugar – Simple place a apple wedge in a bag of hardened brown sugar and tightly seal the bag and wait a day or two and it will be soft again ( SCORE!)
4) Ripen Tomatoes – Place unripened tomatoes with a apple in a paper bag for a couple of days.
5) Too much salt? – If your soup or stew is too salty simply add some apple wedges for 10 minutes. The apple will soak up excess salt.

I’m really on this granola mission considering I’ve posted about granola at least five times … ? 

Well, I’ve up’d the quality and made these Energy Bars for my sister’s birthday present.

What’s so great about them?

- high in fibre

- only 2 tbsp of oil

- high in protein and good fats (there’s whey protein, flax, nuts) 

- perfect for a snack to-go 

- I didn’t have to buy a birthday present! 

Homemade Energy Bars adapted from All Recipes 

1 cup oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup protein powder 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp flax

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp (or more …) of natural peanut butter 

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup almonds 

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup trail mix 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, stir oats, flour, protein powder, cinnamon and flax. Add the egg, applesauce, honey, brown sugar, oil, and PB. Mix well. 

3. Stir in seeds, nuts, trail mix. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.

4. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned around the edges. Let cool. Cut into bars or squares. 

The verdict: This was the first time I’ve ever used protein powder in baking so there’s definitely room for adjustment. I thought the texture was a bit dry (you can sort of see it in the picture) so I would increase applesauce to 3/4 cup (as recommended by one of the reviews). There’s also plenty of “stuff” to bite into which is how I like my granola/energy bars. Give it a try and save this recipe for the next birthday coming up :)