English muffins, Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and Pizza del Bianca

Dough for all three made from Bianca bread recipe.

IKEA food, an excursion to enjoy köttbullar!

(Here we are! The girls ran straight for the doors since it 

was too cool to wait to be photographed.)

 I will be heading to Burlington, Ontario IKEA with a friend and my eldest daughter this morning for an adventure in the wilds of Canada, in the search of...oh gosh whatever isn't tacked down and can be loaded into a Chevy Tracker.....

(Oh Yeah!)

And while there I'll be especially keen on eating köttbullar and buying a giant tub of lingonberries! I promise to post pictures of the cafeteria and food when I get back!
(My little SweetPea
and I about to dig
into our köttbullar.)        (Only at IKEA does the Cafe
                                       food look this amazing!)

 
 
(Amy served our food
with a grin!)
     

(Mannie LOVES IKEA food!)

  

Competing in the 2011 Mark Twain Chili Cook-Off Sunday February the 13th

*UPDATE*

Feb. 13, 2011 - Okay well I didn't place, but, I had such an amazing time cooking and talking and swapping recipes with the other chefs that it was a win for me anyway! My good friend Runa dished out all of my chili for me and had to turn folks away when the last bits had been scraped from the bottom of the pot. LOVE! Below are photos from the event and the recipe. The addition of mushrooms was surprising to some, but crimini have a firmness that is perfect for chili. It behaves much like a piece of well stewed meat, absorbing the surrounding flavors and maintaining it's excellent bite. I encourage you to give this recipe a try, you won't be disappointed.

Feb 12, 2011 - So tomorrow I'm competing in another chili contest with my All Organic Creole Buffalo Chili. Last year I won first place at the Infringement Festival's funraiser with first place for my White Hot White Vegan Chili. People were scraping out the bottom of both crock pots for the last bits with spoons and I knew both were keeper recipes. I'll post pictures and the recipe after I take the win!

2011 Mark Twain Chili Cook-Off

 

 

 

 

 





Organic Creole Buffalo Chili (2 qrts)

Ingredients:

6 slices of Organic and Locally Raised Bacon, crumbled
1/4 cup Bacon fat
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tbls Olive Oil
1/4 cup Paprika
1/4 cup Red Chili Powder
4 tsp Nutmeg
4 tsp Freshly Cracked Pepper
1/4 cup Organic Flat Parsley
4 Organic celery stocks thinly slivered
6 Organic Scallions thinly sliced
1 1/2 Organic Sweet Pepper, thinly sliced
4 tsp Thyme
8 cloves of Garlic, crushed
4 tsp Oregano
1/2 cup Apple Sauce, fine
2 16 oz cans of Organic Crushed Tomatoes
1 1/2 cups Crimini Mushrooms sliced
2 8 oz cans of Tinned Organic Black Beans
2 lbs Organic and Locally raised Ground Buffalo meat
8 cups water

Directions:
Fry the bacon until crisp and set the fat aside. Drain and crumble the bacon and set aside.
In a large container over a medium flame, add the olive oil, tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions. sweet pepper, celery, parsley, salt and garlic.
Brown the meat in the apple sauce and bacon fat. Add water slowly to the large pot of vegetables. Stir gently and slowly add the herbs and seasonings.
Then stir in the washed and drained beans. Add in the browned ground Buffalo and crumbled bacon. Cover and cook for two hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

Banana Bread

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (2)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bread loaf pan.

Mix together, using a fork, the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and baking powder. In a small bowl, melt the butter and stir in the eggs until well blended. Hand mash the two ripe bananas into this small bowl and stir gently. Fold in the banana mix into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold and allow to cool completely on the rack
.

Dutchy style meat dish with sweet brown rice and julienned carrots and mushrooms in barley pudding

Julienne 2 carrots.

Cook 1 1/2 cups rice on low heat in 4 tbls of butter.

Add 3 cups of hot water, carrots, and cracked pepper.

Add ends of onions left from cutting for meat dish. 

Sprinkle 2 tsp of thyme and tarragon on top.

Slice 2 lbs of london broil.

Slice onions.

1 cup of bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 3 tbls chives, and cracked pepper.

Mix well.

Melt 1 stick of butter and add meat and a 

generous splash of red wine, then lid. 

Medium heat until cooked through, 30 minutes. 

Do not remove lid. Do not stir.

Melt 3 tbls butter then add halved mushrooms.

Mix 2 tbls melted butter with 1/4 cup red wine.

Stir into 1/4 cup barley flour.

Stir into mushrooms until a thick pudding forms around the mushrooms. Turn the heat down low and cook for another 10 minutes.

Plate and enjoy!