FACTS: The MARTINI GLASS...

Favourite Food Quote (#8): "Cooking is not a science but an art, mistakes are okay..."

Favourite food quote this week...

"Cooking is not a science but an art, mistakes are okay, messes are fine—the pleasure is in the creating and the sharing of the result." - Lori Pollan

Amen to that! 


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MUSSELS FOR CHRISTMAS - Belgian Style

Check out this old recipe I found on an old blog I had years ago, back in 2012. Some of the photos aren't the greatest but hey! we all had to start somewhere. It's a long post so make sure to click 'View more' just above the Share buttons!...

So today I thought I'd share with you a recipe that has been made for me many times by a wonderful Belgian friend who always lamented every time he made it, how this was a favourite with them around Christmas time.

MUSSELS With HOME FRIES!

Instead of the usual turkey and ham and stuffing and gravy...(mmmm), and all that good stuff, I wanted to make something different this year for Christmas. Actually, I've made this mussels recipe a few times before around Christmas time but this time around (now that I'm armed with a camera), I wanted to show you how it was made. Ready? Let's go!

Day 1 - Preparing the Mussels

First, I bought roughly around 2-3lbs (900 - 1300 grams), of live mussels PER person, which was ideal. 

Next - here comes the laborious part, (I think), rinsing and soaking them overnight in cold, salted water in order to clean and purify the mussels.  I filled a bucket with cold water and then added some table salt.  Actually, lots of table salt, lol.

On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 599 mm) This means that every kilogram (roughly one litre by volume) of seawater has approximately 35 grams (1.2 oz) of dissolved salts

Considering this, I tried replicating the same salinity in the pail of water.

After topping up with more water, I swished them around one more time just to make sure they were all nicely covered in that salted water. (Brrrr, that water was FREEZING!)

Eventually, they will sink to the bottom as they open up to clean themselves.

The mussels think they are again in high tide and therefore open to clean and feed.

Day 2 - Preparing the Vegetables, Fries and Mussels

Have the following ingredients ready to mix with your mussels:

• salt
• pepper
• onions
• celery
• water

Quarter, or slice in rings, the onions - whatever you like, I don't really care, lol. Then chop up the celery.   

STRAWBERRY JAM (Cooked)

Is it me or have there been a lot of strawberries on sale lately? It's not even strawberry season yet - nowhere near it! As a matter of fact, it was pretty scarce here for awhile in stores then all of a sudden - bang! They're everywhere! And I just keep buying them up! Now I have all these strawberries piled up in containers in my fridge. What is one to do with them all? I can only eat so many and I already have frozen ones for smoothies. Oh, I know! I'll make some strawberry jam!

I've made homemade jam before, but only the freezer kind - and that was centuries ago.
I searched quickly online for a strawberry jam recipe and found this one by BBC Good Food.

The recipe had some good tips and it called for a bit of butter - something I've never heard of being used in jam before, so I decided to give it a try. The butter helps to get rid of any 'scum' left after the boiling and skimming process.

Layered CHOCOLATE Mousse Cake with Chocolate Ganache.

Good Lord! What can I say about this chocolate-layered mousse cake? It's simply a chocolate lover's dream. It's layers of rich and moist, chocolatey goodness topped off with a chocolate ganache.

This one requires a bit of time and patience but if I can make it - anyone can because I neither have the time nor patience for these kinds of recipes but somehow I always manage to pull them off! In fact, I've pulled it off about 11 times already, no word of a lie folks! ELEVEN TIMES! Once for work, once for a birthday party, once for a neighbour... and the rest of the times for me, for the family.

I even made some chocolate molds using some more chocolate chips that were tempered earlier.

I've made 2 at a time...

... and even once drizzled one with a bit of white chocolate on top which didn't look like much but it sure tasted great! Every last bit!

What a mess of chocolaty goodness! 

For this chocolate mousse cake, I used recipes from 3 different sites (with some slight alterations of course) because I not only looked for the 'best' of each recipe but they also had to contain ingredients I had on hand (or could substitute easily):

It's All About the OLIVE OIL...

Olive oil is praised for its health benefits but did you know Olive trees have been grown around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC? Or that Spain is the largest producer of olive oil, followed by Italy and Greece? However, per capita consumption is highest in Greece, followed by Spain, Italy, and Morocco. Consumption in North America and northern Europe is far less, but rising steadily.

Check out a few more interesting facts (and tips) about olive oil:

'Kinda-healthy' Rum 'n Raisin BREAD PUDDIN'

About a few weeks ago I bought some whole wheat/grains bread - the 'Seed Lover's' version with no sugar added, no artificial colours, no flavours... NO NOTHING, which meant it was blah as hell. Sure it was healthy but it had no taste. Even after toasting it and plastering some butter on it, it was still blah. Usually toasting and plastering was enough to turn any blah bread into something worth eating - but not this one.

You could see the flax seeds, sesame seeds, barley flakes etc., so I know it was good for me and healthy as can be but...

after eating two or 3 slices I thought to myself, "I can't eat this? I ain't no bird." So I left it alone and went on to something else.

Another week went by when I noticed no one else was touching the bread. I had to do something with it. I didn't want it to go to waste. Then the usual lightbulb went off in my head.

"I know, I'll make some 'healthy' bread pudding out of it!" 

So I searched around for a simple bread pudding recipe that I was going to turn into a healthy one because let's face it, no matter what recipe I found, it'll be healthy after using this bread!

What Your Favourite FRUIT Says About You - according to the Experts

Well, my favourite fruits (because I have more than one), happens to be mangoes and pineapples followed by berries! I also love grapes and bananas - but these are not included in the informative image below.

It's National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day!

When was the last time you had some pigs in a blanket?...

Pigs in a blanket refers to a variety of different sausage-based foods in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Canada, and Japan. Many are large, but other recipes call for a dish that is small in size and can be eaten in one or two bites. For this reason, they are usually served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre or are accompanied by other dishes in the 'main course' section of a meal.
In the West, especially in the United States and Canada, the bite-sized variety of pig in a blanket is a common hors d'oeuvre served at cocktail parties and is often accompanied by a mustard or aioli dipping sauce.

Pigs in a blanket are usually different from sausage rolls, which are a larger, more filling item served for breakfast and lunch in parts of Europe, Australia, and, more rarely, the United States and Canada.

Tips 'n Tricks(#8): 6 Great TURKEY-cooking TIPS worth knowing!

So you'd think by now one would know how to cook the perfect turkey with all the info out there, well guess what? I don't. I still dry it out and I can never seem to get the skin crispy enough. Once, I even baked a turkey upside down (purely by accident) and it actually turned out pretty moist but it looked atrocious! But that's a whole other story.

Now, I've decided to take the time to put together a few tips to make things easier because it's not just about how to cook a turkey, but how to cook a turkey safely!

Now let's hope I can get it right once and for all! If you have any tips let me know!

Additional turkey tips I found later: fsis.usda.gov

TOAST TOPPER #3 - Nutella with Sliced (or Mashed) Bananas... and Toasted Walnuts

Because it's not just about peanut butter and jam anymore...

Topped my toast today with:

• Nutella
• Sliced bananas (or mashed)
• Toasted walnuts

For this toast topper, I wanted to try the famous Nutella-with-banana combination but unfortunately my bananas were a wee bit too ripe. Then all of a sudden a light bulb went off in my head; 'Hey, why not mush it all together then pipe (or spread) over my Nutella?!' So that's what  I did.

Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies

It's Autumn! And you know what that means, it's time for some Fall goodies - sugar and spice and everything nice for the Fall baking season and I'm starting it off with these oh-so-addictive Pumpkin Spice cookies!

Tips 'n Tricks(#7): DON'T Toss Out that Flat Wine or Champagne just yet!

And all this time I kept dumping out my favourite wine when it went flat. No more wasted wine for me!

Favourite Food Quote (#7): "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit..."

Favourite food quote for this week...

Amen to that! 


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Melt-in-your-mouth NUTELLA-filled Choco Chip Cookies

(*melt-in-your-mouth on the day of baking, after that, it's like a regular (albeit delicious) chocolate chip cookie with a hint of Nutella!)

Two of my favourite yummies coming together as one in this recipe - Nutella and chocolate chip cookies. There are a million recipes for this cookie out there so we thought it was time to give it a try.

This was an easy-to-make (yet delicious), chocolate chip cookie recipe with a dollop of Nutella inside... or all over as it was the case for me because it's one thing to put some Nutella on top but it's a whole other drama trying to contain that Nutella inside the cookie as you pinch it together and roll it. What a mess! But it was worth it.

No type of mixing tool (hand-held or otherwise), was needed for this recipe - I just used a spatula! It was really simple to make. 

Favourite Food Quote (#6): "There is no sight on earth more appealing than..."

Favourite food quote for this week...

Amen to that! 


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Famous LAST MEALS(#1): Andrew Chan (and group)

If you were given the choice of a last meal, what would it be?

Various countries have varying traditions in regards to a condemned prisoner's last meal. In many countries, the prisoner is allowed, within reason, to select what their last meal will be...

GOAT CHEESE Salad with BEETS and Maple-candied Walnuts

Apparently, tons of people have made this salad before since there are sooo many recipes (and reviews) for it out there. Now it was my turn to make it and after doing so, I can understand why. I've had it so many times in the past week.

The combined flavours of the earthy beets and the intense goat cheese with the crunch of the candied walnuts complimented each other so well, it was enough to drive your taste buds wild. I even burnt the walnuts by accident and it still turned out great!

Tips 'n Tricks(#6): Keep your celery looking fresh!

We've all had them - some really sad-looking celery we forgot about in the fridge. But don't throw them out just yet! Check out the tip below on how to store them or get them looking good as new...

Refreshing STAWBERRY SHORTCAKE Sandwiches

Look what I made - some strawberry shortcakes using a cupcake recipe (or any cake recipe you want for that matter), and one of those whoopie pie pans. You know it's summer when everyone's trying to make strawberry... something. 

I had this whoopie pie pan sitting around for over a year gathering dust and my hubby would often bitch that I would buy things that I would never use so it was time to put this pan to work.

The (Wilton Nonstick 12-Cavity) Whoopie Pie Pan:

I used a recipe I found online, Vanilla Cupcake Recipe, some old strawberries I had on hand and some basic, home-made whipped cream frosting to slap it all together.

Originally, I started off making some simple but yummy vanilla cupcakes, (hence the recipe name)...

and thought to myself, I could also make some strawberry shortcake sandwiches while I was at it!