Ricotta Balls (snicker)

Ohh, these were yum. What I like about them is they are not too fatty (what- frying things in oil is not fatty?) O.k, yeah frying in oil makes things fatty but I figure if you use a decent canola oil and make sure the oil is nice in hot it only really cooks the outside and oil doesn't seep into the food so much. So I wouldn't make them everyday but I sure want too. And I'd like to try out all kinds of variations say, orange peel and white chocolate or almond and cherry... ricotta seems like the perfect conduit of flavour, and then you get deep fried golden ricotta, forget-about-it!

O.k. folks, I lost the original but with the power of memory I'm going to try and remember how it goes as I did make them a few times. and you will too once you taste them!

enough oil to fill a deep heavy bottomed pan about 2 inches (I like canola oil)
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 cup soft ricotta
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon lemon zest (about half a lemon)
icing sugar to dust

mix flour and baking soda, pinch of salt, lemon zest. In separate bowl mix ricotta with eggs. Fold into dry mixture. Form 'blobs' and carefully drop into v hot oil, in batches, working quickly to turn over when brown. When done place on paper towel to catch extra oil then dust generously with icing sugar. These are best eaten right away. I did them for a tea party and placed in warm oven on cookie sheet until we were ready to devour.

cheesy chicken breasts

The kids really love this and it's quick to prepare. I originally got the recipe from "Apples for Jam" and I'm not going to copy it out word for word as it's so simple. I like to slice the chicken breasts in half (can be tricky so use a sharp knife) and use thin pieces so it will cook quickly. After pieces are washed and cut dust lightly with some flour and salt if you like, then place in a hot pan with a little hot oil. Place lid on and let brown a couple minutes and flip. Pour a little milk in pan (about 4 tablespoons) turn heat down a little and place lid over. Leave for a few minutes. Slice some cheddar (we love white aged) and place on top of chicken, put lid back on until done. Should only take a few more minutes. I usually serve this with rice and peas. Picky eaters everywhere like this one as it covers the 'all white' prerequisites!

*note to self; a non stick frying pan would sure be easier to wash up*

SERIOUS lemon ice cream cake

Happy Birthday Joy!


Yes folks, this cake deserves capitals, it is totally serious. I can't wait for the chance to make it again! I made this cake for Joy's birthday (our nanny) and it was devoured by us all! Instead of writing out the recipe, I'm going the lazy route and providing a link to it at epicurious. You will love it, I promise! The only change I made was a graham crust.

Just going to take the chance to say how lucky and thankful we are to have Joy helping us out. Thank-you Joy!

'shroom soup

My picky toddler likes mushrooms believe it or not. (must be the butter I usually cook them in!) This goes well with some bread for them to dip into the soup for those who aren't as handy with a spoon. Bibs highly recommended, including one for yourself. I've made mushroom soup with elaborate recipes before and this is the simplified version.

slug of olive oil
1 large red onion (I just like red the best but you can use whatever is handy)
bag of mushrooms (I usually use cremini but will mix it up depending on what I have)
dried mushrooms (rarely do I use them, I once bought some from Whole Foods and didn't realize until I got home that I paid $80 for a package! "who do you think you are, Ivanka Trump?" thankfully the Mr. returned them for me but will never let me live it down!)
3 tablespoons butter
4-5 cups organic chicken/veggie stock
thyme (dried but will use fresh in the summer!)

this is the stock I use- I go thru ALOT of it and it also comes in vegetable as well.

Using a high sided pot, saute you sliced onions in a little olive oil until transparent around edges on low heat about 8 minutes. Melt your butter than add 'shrooms stirring with wooden spoon so mushrooms all get a little time on bottom of pan browning. Sprinkle in your thyme. Stir every couple of minutes for about 8 minutes- I also like to gently break up my shrooms a little as I stir to speed it up. Next add your stock, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. At this point I blend it, you could add cream if you like or leave it as is and of course season. Ever since I picked up a Magic Bullet I've been loving it. Mostly I use it grind my coffee beans but for soups it's great. I once burned my arms blending hot soup and I don't want to mention the mess I had to get off the ceiling! Some people use a little handheld job to blend but I must say the seal tight bullet is awesome. I can't blend it all at the same time so I do it in 2-3 batches. I like this soup a bit chunky anyways.. To serve I like a little goat cheese sprinkled on top. This is easy and yum, can usually get it on the table in 30 min sometimes less.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Yesterday was one of those rainy, damp, cold days that leaves you hankering for some stew and in my case, some kind of delicious, gooey dessert. Jamie's Dinners is turning out to be a well used cookbook for me so I turned to it again for some ideas and had to try out his Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember as a kid having a Sunday dinner at some family friends house and they served this chocolate cake type thing with a warm gooey sauce over it and I always remembered it. Hear goes..



8 oz fresh dates pitted (I used dried figs)
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon self rising flour
1/4 teaspoon ground mixed apple pie spices (yr guess is as good as mine! I used a little ginger and nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon ovaltine (didn't have this so I used ground chocolate for hot choc)
2 tablespoon natural plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)

for the toffee sauce
8 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

preheat oven to 350
Put dates/figs in bowl with baking soda and cover with 1 cup boiling water, let stand a couple minutes, let soften and drain. Whizz the dates in food processor untill you have a pure (I used my Magic Bullet) Cream butter and sugar until pale using wood spoon, add eggs, flour, pie spices, cinnamon and Ovaltine. Mix together well, then fold int eh yogurt and your pureed dates. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 35 minutes.

While pudding is baking, make the sauce by putting the butter, sugar, and cream in a pan over low heat until the sugar disolves and the sauce has thickened and darkened in colour.


yum :)

Easter Cake

I gotta give a shout out to Niegella.. her repetoire of cakes is truley amazing and when I'm stuck for a recipe I know I can count on my "How to be Domestic Goddess" or "Feast" cookbook for something yummy. This cake was no exception. The recipe called for dark chocolate which I didn't have any of and being easter and all I 'borrowed' the kids lindt milk chocolate bunnies. Since I used a good quality chocolate it turned out great and I was happy with the lightness. The marshmellows go against everything I look for in a food but that hot pink and those little ears were irresistible. (plus I threw most of them away)



for the cake
250 g (or one cup) best quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs: 2 whole; 4 seperated
3/4 cup caster sugar (this is not icing sugar, it's sugar that has been wizzed in a blender but to be honest I just use reg. sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the topping
1/2 cup best quality dark chocolate, chopped
250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
decoration (Nigella used little chocolate easter eggs)

preheat 350. Line 23cm springform pan with baking parchment, do not grease sides.
Melt the 250 g chocolate with the butter in a double boiler or microwave (I use microwave but set heat to 4 and let it go for a minute at a time always stirring after each minute) set aside to let cool. Whisk 4 egg whites until firm, then gradually add 7 tablespoons of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding shape but not stiff. Set aside, and in another bowl whisk 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 5 tablespoons sugar, the vanilla extract, and then gently fold into chocolate mixture. Lighten the mixture with some of the egg whites (just a dollop) and stir briskly, then fold in the rest of the egg whites in 3 portions.

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 35- 40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and center is no longer wobbly. Cool cake in tin on wire rack- the middle will sink in, this is what gives the cake it's nest like appearance.

To finish the cake, carefully remove it from tin and place on cake pan or plate, if bits fall off just patch it back on. For topping, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool while you whip the cream. Whip it until it;s still soft, add the vanilla and then fold in the melted chocolate. Fill the crater of cake with the chocolatey cream using a spatula then arrange whatever decoration you choose!

Queen of Beef Stew (I declare)

Beef stew is definitely one of the favorites around hear and I never make it the same way twice, it all depends on what's near death in the fridge. I mean what's fresh, seasonal and available. This one was with butternut squash, carrots, celery, a few potatoes and a tomato base. Other times I'll do potatoes and mushroom base. Sneaking in cauliflower and other veggies is always a good move. Even some pureed spinach wouldn't turn this dish into a green nightmare ((wink)). What I love about beef stew is preparing it in the morning and then throwing it in the stove at low heat. By lunch time the whole house smells glorious and the boys are climbing into their highchairs demanding lunch. There is always enough left over for dinner and I keep my creuset warm and serve brown rice with it later. No one ever complains of eating this twice in one day, in fact, I think my husband probably stands in fridge and eats it for breakfast the next day.



I included this photo to show how to easily peel a squash. I don't even want to get into how difficult it used to be for me to peel a squash before I discovered this technique!



olive oil
knob butter (he he)
1 onion peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 pounds of stewing beef cubed
sea salt
flour to dust
2 handfuls of baby carrots
2 stalks celery
a butternut squash peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 pound potatoes
1/2 small tin of tomato puree
2 cups beef or veg stock
1/2 bottle red wine (if you have some! if not I just increase the stock by about 3 cups)

Preheat oven to 300. Saute your onion in oil and butter until it is translucent around edges- low heat so you don't burn! Add garlic and saute a couple minutes. Next add your roughly chopped veggies and mix. Lightly dust your beef with flour and salt and add to pot with stock, wine, tomato puree. Bring to a boil and then place lid on top, cook in oven until tender. This usually takes a couple hours. You can test it by taking out a piece of meat and mash with fork, if it falls apart it's ready then you can turn oven down to 225 until your ready to gobble it up. Sooooo good with bread.

some other suggestions are yams (any root veg), Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, mushrooms, zuchinni...
..and, when I use mushrooms I don't use tomato paste.

Jamie Oliver suggests mixing lemon zest, finely chopped garlic, chopped rosemary and sprinkle over stew before eating. umm, never tried this but sounds good! The other suggestion I discovered is that it's not necessary to brown the beef. This cuts the prep time down ALOT.

revised bread pudding

For the last month or so I have been baking all our whole wheat bread (a future post to come!) Sound ambitious? It's actually been all right, I've just had to be organized about it and having a mixer with dough hook makes it simple. Anyhoo, I decided to try a bread pudding recipe of my own out with some left over bread and it was a success! I used the recipe I posted before with a few changes and an addition of an oatmeal crust and cut up apple so it was a cross between apple crisp and bread pudding. Yum.

1/2 loaf whole wheat bread (the loafs I make are huge)
2 large apples cored and cut into chunks (could use raisins, cranberries or whatever fruit you've got hanging around)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean and it was amazing, when I tried this without, the vanilla extract was a little much)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease with butter 3-quart casserole dish.
Butter both sides of bread slices, place on tin foil, and put into oven. Toast slices on both sides. (must admit I didn;t butter vut I did skice bead and toast a little.)
If using, place raisins in bowl of hot water to plump. Cover, soak for 20 minutes, and drain.
Combine sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Mix well. Let this mixture get to room temp or gently heat.
Break up toasted bread, and put in casserole dish. Add apple. Pour egg mixture over bread, and stir. It's a good idea to let this soak in while you go about the topping. Give it a good stir before you add topping mixture.

for topping
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cook oats
pinch salt

cream butter with sugar then add flour oats and salt mixing until its a course, pebbly mixture. Don't over mix. Sprinkle the topping over bread pudding and bake in oven at 350 for 40 minutes.

3 minute dinner

This is my cheat dinner. Cook the pasta in some boiling organic chicken stock and add frozen peas and corn at the last minute. A little parma and your done. Easy Peasy.

Butternut Squash Soup

There are many days when I feel like I'm not the best mom around.
-the kids have watched more than one Disney flick.
-lunch is only one colour and it came from a box.
-we are all wearing our pj's for said lunch.
-kinda yelled when boys dumped their food all over table then start rubbing plates on their heads.
-my child is the only one flayling around on the floor and whailing at nursery school pick-up.

And then there are days that are so long and so hard but I'm doing it and doing it well. Like today. Makes the other days slip away and gives me the confidence to keep putting my best forward. Reasons why today rocked;
-alone with all 3 kids for whole day
-kept my patience while dealing with all three kids fighting over momma for most of day. (by fighting I mean clinging to me crying and pushing other children that are crying and trying to cling.
-we all had a healthy breakfast
-we were washed and out of pj's by 9am
-healthy, homemade lunch with homemade bread
-while boys napped, Deja and I sat quietly on couch talking about alphabet and she concentrated for half an hour.
-made a succesful, delicious soup without aid of recipe books (hence title of post)
-fun trip to Lowes where I purchased enough light bulbs (18) to replace all the hologen lights that have burnt out months ago. Nagging husband didn't work.
-tucked all children into bed, happy, tummies full by 7pm, dishes done by 8.

Butternut Squash Soup (origional recipe by moi)


1 red onion
2 tblspn butter
glug olive oil
4 apples
1 lrg butternut squash
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 cups veggi or chicken stock

Caralmize the chopped onions in the butter and olive oil. (saute onions stirring often over medium heat. When they start to turn brown (after about 15 minutes) stir every minute or so. When they are dark brown they are done. the whole thing takes about 20 minutes.) Add chopped up cored apple, don't worry about peeling. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add peeled and chunks of butternut and cumin. Pour in about 4-5 cups of organic chicken or veg stock. Bring to a simmer then clap on the lid- at this point it was in the afternoon and we had to go out so I put my "le cruset" in the oven that was on at 225. I let it roast for about 4 hours. If your not going to do that you could let it simmer with lid half on for at least 45 minutes. Closer to dinner I let the soup cool a little and blended it in blender (you could use a hand blender too.) Heat it back up if you have to and season it too your liking!

I also toasted the seeds from the quash and used as a garnish and convinced Deja they were just like chips- a little sea salt goes along way. Now- feeding soup to toddlers can be pretty annoying so what I usually do is tear up large chunks of bread and put in shallow bowl of soup. Crackers they can dip are also good. Regardless, it was a bit of a mess but they do have to learn sometime.

Pita Snacks

When I want to make a quick hot snack for the kids usually it's some kind of cheese melt. These ones are done on tortilla wraps but you could use whatever you've got hanging around. I did one with brie and pear (my fav) you could also add a little jam to satisfy a sweet tooth. One with tomato, parma, a little olive oil and salt and the other with red pepper and mozzarela. Put the top grill on in the oven and place them right under for about 4 minutes- I like using my pizza tray. In my experience, kids will eat anything with melted cheese on it.

Red Lentil Stew

Using a good basic knowledge for soup and stew making, you can find room to make up new recipes depending on what you have hanging around the fridge. I try to use alot of legumes and lentils as they are so good for us. This stew was easy and pretty quick to make as I used small red lentils which don't require soaking over night and cook within a half hour or so. It doesn't look like much (looks mushy and kinda yuch) but once the kids tried a bite they loved it. It's getting that first bite in that's hard so pull out your bag of tricks!

1 large red onion (I like the flavour of r onion the best, but you could use other)
clove of garlic
couple of tomatoes
two handfuls of carrots (I used baby carrots sliced length ways)
two handfuls of french green beans with ends snipped
cup of frozen corn
bag of red lentils
3 chorizzo sausage (I get a really yummy kind that is not spicy. you could use ground turkey, beef, chunks of chicken or just skip the meat)
about 5 cups of organic chicken stock
touch of cinnamon

If your using meat, brown it first in the pot your doing your stew in, after its browned put on a plate and set aside. For the sausage, I cut open the casing and brown the filling, breaking up with spoon while stirring. Chop up the onion and garlic and let simmer in a little olive oil on low. (you can also use a little of the excess fat left from browning meat.) Its important not to burn them as it will really effect the flavour. I like to put on low and place lid part way on to let them sweat a little, cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Chop up tomato and add to onion mixture, cook untill tomato has pretty much disolved, breaking it up with your wooden spoon while stirring. At this point I add the carrots and sprinkle of cinnamon (and celery if you have.) and let cook a little, about 5 minutes. Rinse your lentils in a large bowl and then add them to stew, stirring it in. Turn heat up a bit and add your chicken stock and meat, bringing it to a boil and then let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring once in awhile. About 5 minutes before you want to serve it add your corn and beans so they won't be over cooked and nice and crunchy.

I cook alot with my 'le creuset' and find it easy to get most of it ready while the kiddies nap and then pop it in the oven on low for most of the afternoon and then dinner is done. You can do this with any pot really and also a slow cooker if you have one. Get everything simmered and together on the stove top and when your at the part were you bring the mixture to a boil that's when you can pop lid on and into the oven or slow cooker.

Pasta Peas!

Pasta Carbonara and Spring Peas
This recipe has been scooped from Jamie OLiver's "Jamie's Dinners" cookbook. An easy recipe that everyone loves.
1 lb pasta (Jamie says farfalle, I use whatever I have around)
1 egg
7 tablespoons heavy cream
sea salt and ground black pepper (i find the bacon leaves it salty enough)
12 slices of pancetta or bacon, roughly sliced
couple sprigs mint (if you have some!)
couple handfuls of fresh grated pamesan cheese

Bring large pan of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Whisk the egg, the cream and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Cook your bacon or pancetta untill crisp in a second pan and set aside.

When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas for last minute and half. When cooked, drain and save a little of the cooking water. Add pasta to bacon and stir in most of the mint (finely sliced).

Now add the egg and cream mixture to pasta. Make sure you add while the pasta is still hot so that the heat of the pasta will cook the egg but not so they resemble scrambeled eggs. Should give you a silky smooth sauce. Toss together and loosen with reserved cooking water if you have to. Season and sprinkle with parma. Serve right away.

Simmered Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings

There has been alot of postings of desserty things lately so I thought I'd give the sweet tooth a rest and move onto some greens.. This recipe is also from the above mentioned Gourmet magazine featured as a Southern dish. I'm going to copy it out how it appears in the mag but when I tried it out I skipped the bacon, making it a quicker dish to prepare and it was still very yummy.

1 piece (1 pound) slab bacon (? umm... I'm sure reg thick bacon would be fine)
3 qt water
3 lb mixed greens such as collard, mustard, and turnip
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

Score bacon 2 or three times (do not cut all the way through) then simmer in water in a large pot covered for an hour.
Discard any coarse stems from greens and coarsley chop leaves. Add greens, couple tsp's of salt and one of pepper to bacon and cooked uncovered, stirring occasionaly for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cornmeal, brwn sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt, then blend in butter well with finger tips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand 5 minutes. With wet hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls.
Gently place dumplings on top of greens. Cook, covered and undisturbed, over low heat untill greens are very tender and silky and dumplings are puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard bacon, season.

Buttermilk Cookies

This recipe I scooped from Gourmet Magazine in their Jan. '08 Special 'Southern Cooking' edition. There are ALOT of amazing recipes included and I'll post a few I've tried and loved. This is definently a keeper, delivering a cookie soft and fluffy on the inside and just slightley crispy on the out. The glaze is also easy and gives you a cookie you'll be proud to serve!

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used 1 vanilla pod, sliced and seeds scraped out)
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven to 350 f, butter 2 large baking sheets
Whisk together flour, zest, baking soda and salt.
Beat together butter and sugar in large bowl untill pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. (using the vanilla bean gave me ever so subbtle black flecks in my my cookie which I love) Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture untill smooth.
Drop level tablespoon of dough about 1 1/2" apart on baking sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time, untill cookies are puffed and golden on the edges, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute then transfer to racks.
Glaze cookies: Wisk together all glaze ingredients and brush on top of warm cookies. (the whole 'brush' on thing didn't work out for me, instead I used 2 small spoons and blobbled about a 1/2 tsp of glaze onto each cookie.) Let stand untill cookies are cooled and glaze is set (of course trying a few out to make sure they are good<.>

The first time I made these I totally missed the lemon zest, b soda and salt and they turned out great. I could eat these all day, they are light and melt in your mouth delicious. The vanilla seed gives it a grown up elegance. So get out there and grab yourself some buttermilk and try them out. I'll post some ideas of things to do with all that left over buttermilk later....

Bread Pudding

I like this recipe as it seems a little more low fat than others I've come across. One thing I'd like to add is to get your egg and milk to at least room temp before you pour over bread. You could heat them up very slightly over low heat. I also let the bread sit for at least 10 min with egg mixture to soak up before putting into oven. I don't like it to crunchy on top so I loosley put a piece of foil on top and then took it off for the last 10 minutes.



1 loaf stale sliced white bread (I like using a baguette)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup golden raisins (you could also use cut up apple, cranberries...)
1 cup sugar (I use half and use a raw sugar)
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean and it was amazing, when I tried this without, the vanilla extract was a little much)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease with butter 3-quart casserole dish.
Butter both sides of bread slices, place on tin foil, and put into oven. Toast slices on both sides.
If using, place raisins in bowl of hot water to plump. Cover, soak for 20 minutes, and drain.
Combine sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Mix well.
Break up toasted bread, and put in casserole dish. Add drained raisins. Pour egg mixture over bread, and stir.
Bake 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

monkey bars

This is one of those recipes that whenever I make them, whoever tries one NEEDS the recipe. They are SO good and easy to make. I origionaly got the recipe from my American friend Pam (thank-you Pam!) The only thing that can be tricky is making sure you stir the butter sugar mixture and it doesn't burn- I usually let it boil for 2 min as I cook on gas but you want to make sure the brown sugar is comletley melted in with the butter. Place in oven in the middle as well. I usually stash them in freezer and treat myself to a little square with a cup of tea at the end of day. enjoy!


1 sleeve premium plus saltine crackers (35)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 bag semi sweet mini chocolate morsels

preheat oven to 400 f
Line 10x15" jelly roll pan (American for cookie sheet with lip <.>) with aluminum foil- butter foil (VERY important!)
Cover foil with single layer of crackers.
Heat butter and sugar- boil 3 minutes while stirring constantly!
Pour hot mixture over crackers- Bake for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately cover with choc. chips- spread as quickly as they melt. (resist urge to place back in oven to encourage melting chips, they will melt on their own!)
Cool slightly and put in fridge. Once they are chilled you can break into pieces.
~store in fridge or freezer~

sweet potato gnocchi

sweet potato gnocchi, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

this is so yum. the recipe is from my favorite foody site, epicurious. the kids had alot of fun helping me roll the dough.

2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork

1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish
Preparation

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.

chili with a cornbread topping

chili with a cornbread topping, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

I'm sure everyone has their own way to make chilli so I won't go into too much about the actual chilli. For me it's all about the cornbread topping- I love this. I just got a 'le creuset' so I am looking forward to making the chilli in it, then simply pouring cornbread batter on top and thowing the whole thing in oven. Previously I did the chilli in a pot them transfered to a casserole then poured the cornbread on top then baked.

the chili
First I saute a few large onions and a couple cloves of garlic in some olive oil. (don't all great recipes start this way?) Alot of the times when I'm chopping more than one onion I just throw it all in food processor. It's nice to have onions chopped into small bits as the toddlers in my house recognize them and then won't eat it. ("mamma, it's diiirrrr-ty!) Add a bit of cumin, ground coriander, and dried chilies- I always add a tiny bit as it doesn't seem like chilli if there isn't a bit of heat and its a good way to introduce a little spice to the kids. Depending on whats living/hanging in the veggie crisper I'll chop up some other veggies and add at this time (carrots, celery, red/green pepper, califlower, zuchinni and how could I gorget to mention corn! a little sweet and a bit of crunch- I know this is a bit for fetched for chilli but I like to bump up veggi content when I can.) While this is all browning I get busy with a can opener and open a few large cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of kidney beans (this changes depending on what I have, chickpeas, white beans, black beans... it's also good to rinse as you wash off the salty briney goo) can of tomatoe paste and dump it all in. Add a little ketchup and water untill the sauce is a deep red colour then while stirring, bring it all to a boil then turn down to a simmer partially covered for at least 40 minutes. (I found a recipe that suggested sprinkeling cocoa in mixture when its at a boil- not bad!) I usually make chilli vegi, or sometimes I'll do ground turkey/ If doing meat I usually brown it after the onion part.

the cornbread
this recipe is a Nigella one. I don't make chilli anymore without making this to go with it. It's so yummy and with a little guacamole and sour cream a complete meal. Sorry about the wierd cup sizes but the conversions are a little wacky.

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2.8 cups cornmeal
4 tablespoons plain flour
6 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
750 ml buttermilk
4 eggs
2 teaspoon honey
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cups cheddar cheese, coursley grated

combine the salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and oil mix well then stir it into dry mixture making a vivid yellow batter. Pour over top of chilli to cover. Sprinkle cheese on top of cornbread then bake in oven for 30 minutes (@375) untill it's risen a bit and golden. Let cool before digging in. I also like to serve with an extra sprinkle of sharp cheddar, and some cool sour cream and some tortilla chips.

The kids love this, even the extra picky 3 yr old. They are a little stinky afterwards but then, so am I...

sushi

sushi, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

most requested snack at our house. cream cheese with cucumber and carrot strips wrapped in whole wheat tortilla. can be done with hummus and red peppers, avacado, scrambled egg, oh the possiblities! (usually whatever you have kicking around in the veggie crisper)