Staying with Citrus / Citrus, Herb & Bean Dip

Oh dreary Canadian weather, where art though spring? This week I am staying with citrus.

Appetizer - Fresh Herb & Bean Dip

Equipment: Large bowl

Servings: 8-12

Ingredients

1 19 oz can cooked white kidney beans, drained, rinsed ( 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic

Zest & juice from 1 lemon (1Tbsp zest, 1 Tbsp juice)

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup packed fresh herbs, flat leaf parsley or basil or favorite delicate herb

French Stick / Fresh Veggies

Order of Events

1. Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until mixed through.

2. Put dip into a serving bowl and rest in the fridge 1 hour before serving.
3. Slice French stick into rounds and slice each round in half.
4. Serve Fresh Herb & Bean dip with chunks of French sticks.
5. Assemble the appetizer plate. Each plate should have a dollop of bean dip, garnished with lemon zest and parsley, vegetable sticks, French sticks, olives

Zest Off The Blahhhhs!

 Zest off the winter or I mean spring blahs with a pan of Lemony Date Squares.

These squares are easy to make and the hit of lemon brightens them beautifully!

Unite Your Sous Chefs - Coerce someone to make them for you!

Lemony Date Squares

Oven Temperature: 350 F

Baking Time: 30-35 minutes

Equipment: 13 X 9 baking dish, medium saucepan, stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl and spoon

Makes: 20 squares

Ingredients

2 cups  dates, chopped, pitted ( 1 kg pkg)

3 Tbsp lemon juice

11/2 cups water

¼ tsp salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

11/4 cup unsalted butter

zest from lemon

Order of Events

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

1.     Zest your lemon, set aside. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat cook dates, lemon juice, water and salt until it forms a thick paste, 5-7 minutes.

2.     In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or in a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, butter and lemon zest until mixture is crumbly.

3.     Pat half of the mixture into the bottom of a 13x9-inch pan.

4.     Cover with the date paste.

5.     Top with remaining oat mixture and pat down.

6.     Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until browned on top.

7.     Cool on wire rack and cut into squares.

Citrus to the Rescue for Snowwy Blahhhs!

A bit of zest, a squeeze of juice. 

Citrus brightens breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert & cocktails. Citrus juice helps marry flavours, increase your vitamin C, aids in iron absorption and provides antioxidants.

With the snow still falling on March 27, I need citrus!

Citrus, Ginger Salad Dressing

Ingredients

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, sliced, chopped fine

2 Tbsp honey

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp each salt and pepper

½ cup olive oil

Order of Events

1. Whisk together vinegar, lime juice, ginger, honey, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Bean There, Havn't Done That

If you cook, you have had a food disaster. When we were first married my husband tried to bread chicken with whole oats. Terrible. Once when I was rushing I neglected to click down the bottom in my springform pan. Mess and cake goo all over me and the floor. This week someone near and dear told me a story about beans. She made the bean salad out of my book Cook. Rich sweet vinegary dressing, sweet peppers and beans. She filled two containers full one for her husband and one for her. She ate her lunch thinking hmmm, chewy but the dressing tastes divine. An hour later her stomach started to feel funny and then bad. She thought about her bean salad, she had soaked her dried beans over night, drained them and added the dressing. Wait, had she cooked them? No. "Oh my," she called her husband," honey have you eaten your lunch" He had and felt fine but when he arrived home that night he looked at her and said" What have you done to us" He was up all night visiting the throne and she was absconded to the throne room for a very long time in the morning.
Motto of this story, You have to cook not just soak your dried beans Or open a can.

POOG

I am not the most beautiful person in the world, my dog is not the smartest, my kids are not perfect, sometimes my house is a disaster, I make a mean cookie but sometimes I forget an ingredient and my husband, who is hands down the best thing that ever happened to me, is not always as funny as he thinks he is. However all of these things are OK.
I embrace the 80/20 rule to life. I give 80% of my focus and energy to 20% of the things I do every day and the other 80% of the things I do get 20% of my energy and focus. Sometimes I hit this target head on and sometimes I miss but that's OK.
 I figure it's the whole picture that counts not the individual entities and this lets me be a little easier on myself and others. In total discloser sometimes I am easy on myself and others and sometimes I am not but that's OK.
The funny thing is some people tell me from the outside looking in, it appears that I do have it all going on and that's more than

OK.

Deb's 50th BDay Bash

I was born January 26, 1963. Thank you to everyone for their fabulous BDay wishes. I am blessed with a soul mate, who I have now known half my life, 2 amazing boys and days filled with a love that carries me through the happy and challenging times.