I feel like there has a lot of celebrating, eating cake or cookies and gaining a few pounds alongside it all.

At a time when signs seem to be creeping up around the neighborhood of "Bootcamps! Get Bikini-Ready Fast" and people are talking about eating a lot of salad and dieting, I'm feeling like a bit of an outcast with my cheesecake and flourless chocolate cakes.

I recently had a conversation with friends about eating dessert after dinner. Some friends have memories of always having a little something after each dinner. My father wasn't a huge fan of dessert and sweet things (though, that has changed) so we used to keep cakes and pies for get-togethers and celebrations. I pretty much do the same now (though we entertain a lot and go to many get-togethers). Except, my hubby usually wants something sweet, so he'll dip into the ice cream and I often cave in too because !gosh-darn-it!, it's sugary-fatty goodness - how can one say no?!!

Either way, cake and desserts are always welcome. Especially cheesecake, one of my hubby's favorites. For his birthday/father's day, we had family over and enjoyed this colorful cake. I found it easy to make and I LOVE blueberries, though you could substitute other fruits or berries of your choice, if you prefer.

I guess next week, I'll get into salads and bootcamp business.

Or not.

It was my hubby's birthday and I wanted to make something small for the four of us to enjoy. We were going to have family over to celebrate on the weekend but I wanted to have something sweet to celebrate on his actual birthday.

We are big chocolate fans and my hubby enjoys subsituting almond flour with regular flour in recipes (he's a lower carb advocate). I also substituted baking splenda with the bulk of the sugar in this recipe.

The cakes were very rich and chocolatey. One small cake was a lot to eat. I would have preferred them to be a touch more sweeter though, but that's my preference.

This is a great recipe when entertaining. They can be made beforehand too. Add some whipped cream and berries and you have a decadent dessert that serves a large group.

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Flourless Chocolate Cakes
makes 12 muffin size cakes or about 6 individual springform pans

3/4 cup (180g) butter, chopped
220 g (7-1/2 oz) pure semisweet chocolate, chopped
1-1/4 cup sugar (*I used 1 cup splenda and 1/4 cup sugar)
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Melt the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan, until smooth.

Remove from heat. Add almond flour and cocoa and whisk until completely mixed.

Add the eggs and incorporate until uniform.

Spoon the mixture into prepared 12 cup muffin tins or mini-springform pans.

Bake at 300F for 20-25 minutes until firm. Remove from oven and let cool in their pans on baking racks. Serve.

Recipe adapted from: flourless chocolate cakes, donna hay modern classics book 2

I've come across recipes and seen pictures of dutch babies but I have never made one or tasted it before. Apparantly, dutch babies are also known as German pancakes. This is where I was confused because did the Dutch and Germans get together on this? According to wiki, one possibility could be that the term "dutch" may be a moniker for "deutsch". Who knows. Dutch baby or Deutsch baby... either way, it's Delicious, baby.

I looked for a recipe and was amazed to see how simple it is to make. It really isn't hard. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to making one. It really is as simple to make as a pancake. Tasty and can be made with any combination of fruits or without if you prefer.


You can enjoy dutch babies for breakfast or make it for a quick dessert. Sprinkle some icing sugar on it and people will think you worked so hard for such a pretty dessert. Easy entertaining! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me :)

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Apricot and Strawberry Dutch Baby

makes a 10 inch pancake

3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk

3 -4 cups strawberries and apricots, diced in sizes of your choice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter


Preheat the oven to 425F.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the flour and milk and whisk until smooth. Fold in the apricots and strawberries.

Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Add the batter and spread the fruit evenly.

Place the skillet in the center of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. The edges should puff and be browned. Remove from oven and cut into wedges and serve.

Recipe adapted from: Mixed-Berry Dutch Baby, Food and Wine July 2009 Magazine

I clipped this Hellman's Grown-in-Canada Fruit and Vegetable Availability Chart from a magazine. For those of you who wonder when certain fruits and vegies are available in Canada, this will come in handy.

Last week, I made some mint chocolate chip cream with a big batch of mint I have growing on my kitchen windowsill and I was left with egg whites sitting in my fridge. I find it hard sometimes to use up the whites (no egg white omelettes for me - blech. I want the tasty yolks in there!) I'm also not a huge fan of meringues.

"You can grow bok choy here?" and "I've never eaten bok choy!" is something I heard a lot.

It started a couple of years ago. First, it was jumping on the couch. The children got bigger and I eventually forbid them from couch jumping, as they could make serious dents by now. Then, they moved onto our bed. King-size bed for two kiddos makes for non-stop jumping fun.

It often happens that I will have an ingredient in abundance in my pantry that leads me to scout out different recipes. This time it was raw peanuts. I was cleaning out my freezer and noticed a big bag of them.

I love cookies and I do like to try something a bit different at times and I felt that these fit the bill. Chocolate cookie with peanuts. Reminiscent of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup though? Well, not quite. I think next time I'll make a peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips in it, if I want to get closer to that nostalgic feeling.

I have no idea how grocery stores keep their strawberries or other berries looking fresh without them developing mold or getting soft so quickly. Never fails, when I buy a big batch of strawberries, there are always casualties by the next day. Either they shrink a bit and become soft, with their skins looking unappetizing, or a few start a mold science experiment by the next day. I hate throwing out berries I just bought.

So, I have made the no-waste berry challenge this year. I'm going to prolong my berry eating, without waste with two easy techniques.

Freezing and Macerating.

I was looking at the dried beans in my pantry the other day. They were looking sad. Sad because I haven't used them in a while. I try to incorporate more beans and lentils in my meals but I don't often get around to it. Dry beans need to be soaked and cooked and I don't always remember to do it until I need it. Much like frozen meat that has to be defrosted. Canned beans to the rescue!

It was one of those times I was getting cravings for something fresh. Whether it be a salad with a tangy dressing or a piece of sweet watermelon, I am always looking for something that gets my taste buds satisfied and I remembered this recipe which contained beans too.

I also like when a dish can do double duty. I've served this dish as a salad side or as a chunky dip alongside tortillas for scooping. It's great both ways.

But, now I'm soaking a batch of beans to use. I will whittle down my pantry of dried beans.

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Mexican Style Salad or Chunky Dip

1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 cup whole kernel corn, fresh or frozen
1 can (19 oz) black beans, drained or 2-1/4 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, optional

Mix together ranch dressing, cumin and chili powder. Set aside.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Stir in the dressing mix. Serve as a salad or as a chunky dip with tortillas.


Recipe adapted from: Mexican Salad