Completely Canadian and A Shameless Plug

Hello Sweets,

So the weekend has come to an end :(  I hope everyone got out to enjoy some sunshine (if you had some), and created something delicious in the kitchen.  My post tonight is going to be somewhat shorter as I have had a long day and am feeling sort of tired, but I reconnected with an old friend so I think it was worth it!

Let me first start with the "shameless plug" lol because I am SUPER excited, like if there were any other way to emphasize the word super more I am pretty sure I would have done that too.  So as you may or may not be aware I had the opportunity a year ago to not only reconnect with an old friend, but I also got see her in her element (with me as the focus) in her element photography.  Echo is very talented and has a knack for catching the perfect moment and seeing the beauty in everything, I have my favorites but there is one that she caught with my natural smile in a laugh and it is just beautiful.  Well she is currently running a contest for a free natural light session and obviously I entered, not just so I could have another opportunity to work with her but so I could also have professional photos of me and my best friend/soul mate Nathan.  I normally wouldn't include something like this in my blog as it isn't any way associated with food, but so want to have our silliness captured by a true artist.  All you would have to do is click this LINK, like my photo (it's the only couple photo on there) and like the Facebook page it's posted on (CLICK HERE).  The contest is only running for one week so time is of the essence, and I will post some of the photos (if I win) here on my blog for everyone to see what they helped me achieve :)   Also if you would like to use her services or see her amazing portfolio just check out her website; Echo's Visuals.  I would appreciate any help and support y'all can give as it would make me a very happy girl.

Okay enough of my selfish plug let's get to what you really come here for, deliciousness!  So last week I was craving fruit much more than normal, so I went out and bought a few things, well too many for one girl to consume before they go bad (must have been hungry when I went lol).  So I started to realize I was going to throw money away if I didn't come up with something quick.  Then it dawned on me, I've been eating popsicles like they're going out of style and drinking ginger ale (haven't been feeling well).  What better way to ensure I use the fruit, get some vitamins and minerals in me, and spice up my beverage?  If you get fruit cubes then you my friend are a smarty and deserve recognition for that!  Now I know it seems like I would have opted to make popsicles and who said I haven't, yes you'll need to come back again for that little treasure (ya I know I'm demanding).  There is really no easy way to explain them without pictures so let's get to the good stuff :)

Canuckette's Fruity Cubes

Ingredients:

blueberries

blackberries

orange juice

Directions:

1)  Combine all ingredients in a blender, blending until the fruit is completely liquefied (I have a bullet and it was perfect).

2)   Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer to set.

3)  Once completely frozen place in a glass, pour the ginger ale over top of them (soda water would work too I suppose) and enjoy!

It gives the soda just a little zing, and most importantly, it tastes amazing!

So there you have it, short and sweet ;) pun intended.  I also appreciate y'alls support and understanding over the sporadic posts, I have the best readers.  And if you decided to check out the contest I'm in and end up voting I appreciate that immensely as well.

Stay sweet,


Jennifer xoxoxo

Come Together Right Now, Over Food!

Hello Sweets,

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  Are you staying in, or do you have all sorts of plans?  What have I been doing?  Well today was a write off (so glad I finished my creation last night), so I've been sleeping or resting, so that means I've done nothing lol but hey if that's what my body needs, I'm not going to argue.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get out to visit my grandparents and then I am hoping to make a chili from scratch (or close to it) for the first time, so wish me luck.  With the way the weather is here in the winter, warm comfort food is absolutely amazing!

Well tonight is the night that I finally reveal my original one of a kind creation :)  Did you guess what it could be?  So far the only clues I've given you is that there is candied bacon and a maple butter icing, so I think you've probably already got a pretty good idea what it could be.  If you guessed a "Canadian" inspired cupcake you would be dead on!  Now I will give fair warning that this cake recipe came out a little drier than I would have liked and it is dense (which could be part of it), but I think if I had pulled it out a couple minutes before it was completely set or used the cream that was called for (I used a kitchen trick with regular and butter), things may have worked out differently.  But that is all part of the process, now I know when I make this recipe again to try changing the measurements or ingredients to achieve what I am looking for :)  Let's get to the final part of the mini series!

Vanilla Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients

1C plus 2Tbs butter, softened

1 2/3C sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1Tsp vanilla

3C all-purpose flour

2 1/2Tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2Tsp cinnamon

1 Tsp allspice

1C half and half cream

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375F.  Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake papers (or you can make it into a cake as well).

2)  In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl to combine everything.

3)  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

4)  In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. 

5)  Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture with the cream until blended.  Beat for 2 minutes.

6)  Fill the cupcake papers about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (although I would pull out slightly sooner).  Cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

So there is the third and final recipe :)  I then decorated the cupcakes with the icing and candied bacon, and low and behold we have a Canuckette Canadian cupcake!

The flavors are a fantastic blend of salty and sweet up top, then the cupcake base is a play on french toast with the vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice.  

I can say that I am very proud of myself for taking my passion and not just tweaking someones recipe but taking an idea from my big ol' brain and creating it in the kitchen :)  I am definitely going to try and do this more often, because it gives me a great feeling of creativity and I take pride in everything I make, but knowing it's my very own is even better.

I encourage all of my readers, whether your passion is in the kitchen or somewhere else to push yourselves to do something original.  Of course there will be times where we don't succeed the exact way we intend, but as I always say it's a learning curve and you can only learn from the mistakes that are made.  Let me know what you think of my original recipe, and if you try let me know if you like it too!  Until next time.............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Spice Spice Baby

Hello Sweets,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I have been laying pretty low since I have been feeling "off", but decided that I needed to try and take my mind off of that by getting back into the kitchen tonight!  We met up with our friend Dave tonight to exchange our Christmas gifts, and boy do people really know what I like!  Take a gander at my lovely gifts, can you tell I have a real passion now lol?

Thanks Dave!! Apparently this wine book will make me a bit of a wine snob lol

One other little gift Dave gave to me was my finalized logo cartoon!!  Check it out, then head over to his website.  He is in the middle of overhauling his blog so be prepared for the format to change in the coming months :)  It will soon be an art based blog, and trust me when I say he has the skills as you can see below.

Isn't she lovely :)

So as I had told you all in my last recipe post, while making the spicy green sauce for the enchilada's my kitchen creation wheels started turning with ideas for a new extra spicy salsa.  Being in Texas with Nathan and his family has shown me that if you say you're going to make something spicy you better be sure it delivers, so I didn't skimp on the heat but I am only posting this recipe as a guideline because not everyone likes it hot like we do lol!

Canuckette's Extra Spicy Salsa

Ingredients

(remember this is just a guideline, use your discretion)

20-30 tomatillos 

15-20 serrano peppers

5 habenaro peppers

1/2 white onion

1 lemon, zested and juiced

garlic, chopped

black pepper

garlic powder

sea salt

seasoning salt

 

 Directions:

1)  Remove the husks from the tomatillos and the stems from the peppers, and wash them.

 

2)  Place them all in a pot and boil until the tomatillos are lighter in color and soft.

3)  While that is boiling zest and juice your lemon, then mix with the chopped onion.  Plus check out a couple more of my fun kitchen gadget gifts :)

 

  

super easy with all the fun tools :) (not shown is my kitchen aid chopper)

4)  Drain the water from the pot and then transfer everything into a blender, adding seasoning to your preferences.  Blend until desired consistency is reached and enjoy!

 

There you have it a super easy and affordable homemade salsa, plus you'll have a good amount perfect for a party or get together!

Well folks I only have a couple more days left with Nathan before I go home so you can bet I'll be baking something new and delicious :)  Plus he made some amazing and yummy shrimp for dinner so I'll be blogging about that tomorrow.  Until next time.............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo