Apple Chips

Here is this month's recipe as it appears in The Hinton Voice. 

[We are about to come into one of my all time favourite seasons – I’m not talking about fall, although that’s pretty high up on my list too.  I’m talking about apple season!   Crates of freshly picked, crisp, colorful apples line the stands at the Farmer’s Market’s and grocery stores.  Guaranteed around this time of year, I always have at least 10 pounds of apples in my house at any given time.  I pack them in our lunches, cook them into oatmeal, and bake them into oodles of delicious treats.

One of my favourite healthy snacks is apple chips, though I didn’t start making them at home until recently.  Not only are they way cheaper to make at home, they are really easy to make as well!  Slice your apples and bake – that’s pretty much it!  Pure apple goodness – it doesn’t get much better than that!

There are a few tricks to making sure your apples chips turn out nice and crispy:

-       First, slice your apples as thin as you can – too thick of a slice and your apple chips will be more gummy than crisp (which can also be equally as delicious, but that’s not what we’re going for here).  The thinner you slice your apples, the better.

-       Second, make sure that all of your slices are uniform in thickness to promote even cooking.  There’s nothing worse than having a mixture of undercooked/overcooked chips. Also, one slightly thicker apple slice can turn the entire batch of stored apple chips soft if it’s not cooked to the same crispness).  Use a mandolin (a slicer) if you have one, if not use the sharpest knife you can find. 

-       Third, once your apples are done cooking, leave them in the oven as it cools down.  This will help crisp up the apple chips, and as far as I’m concerned, the crisper the chip, the better!]

Recipe makes approximately 4 dozen apple chips

Ingredients

- 2-3 apples, any variety

Optional ingredients

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 2 cups filtered water

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp sugar

 Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine water and lemon juice.

Wash apples, and then slice (see tips above) and place them in lemon/water mixture for about 15 minutes.  This will help prevent the apple slices from turning brown.

Strain water and pat apple slices dry.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or a silicone baking mat) and place apple slices in a single layer, being careful not to overlap.  Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 2-3 hours (2 hours for soft apple rings, 3 hours for chips).  Turn oven off and leave apple chips inside for an additional hour.  The apple chips may appear slightly soft when you take them out of the oven, but they will harden up as they continue to cool.  

Store in an airtight container for up to a week, or in the fridge for up to a month.

 - Nutritional Info (1/2 recipe) -

Calories - 80   Fat - 0    Carbs – 22     Protein - 1   Fibre – 5

Salsa Verde: Green Tomatillo Salsa

What a crazy week this has been!  We incorporated a company (as of June Marc is a Journeyman Electrician so he needed to start a business so he can contract himself out).  We also purchased Marc a company truck - as you can see, he is pretty excited about that!  It's been a crazy busy week of meeting with the dealership, lawyers, accountants, banks, insurance brokers, etc. and getting everything lined up  to start the business. 

We've also been getting ready for our trip in two weeks.  We are heading to Seattle for IFBC, my very first blogging conference!  Neither of us have been to the US since we were kids so we are both pretty excited for the trip!   Even though the conference is just for a weekend, we both took 2 weeks off so we could take our time exploring the US on the way there, and visit my family on Vancouver Island the following week before we make our way home.   Needless to say, a lot of exciting things are happening for us right now! 
Today I decided to share a recipe I recently fell in love with - tomatillo salsa.  I was first introduced to this type of salsa last year, when a Mexican friend of mine hosted a dinner party before Christmas.  I couldn't get enough of this salsa - it was incredible, especially paired with her homemade tortillas.  
One of my bosses went to Mexico recently and brought me back a tortilla press.  I hit up my friend for some masa harina (corn flour with a hint of lime - perfect for tortilla's) and attempted to make my own version of tomatillo salsa to go along with them.  After a few attempts, I had a winner. 
Ingredients - 1 lb tomatillos - 1/2 jalepeno, deseeded and rinsed - 1/2 medium white onion, chopped - 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped - squeeze of fresh lime juice - 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves - dash of salt
Directions

Peel tomatillos and rinse - pat dry.  Cut in half and place on a baking sheet (cut side down) with jalepeno.  Broil for about 5 minutes, until tops have turned brown (even black in some spots), like the photo below: 

Blend roasted tomatillos and jalepeno with remaining ingredients until combined. 

Summer: a visit with our nieces!

The past few weeks our (soon to be) 15 year old niece Gillian was visiting with us.  She lives a 5 hour drive from us so for the past few years she has stayed with us for a week or two in the summer.  

We usually bake something together while she is here, and this time was no exception.  The first evening she was here I was getting this post ready so needless to say she wanted to make cookies.  Instead of chocolate chips, we used Reeses Pieces and Mini Reeses - the results were delicious!     

About a week or so after Gillian arrived, her parents and little sisters Ella (6) and Aline (3) arrived for a visit!  The little girlies loved helping me water my garden while they were here:

We took them for an fun afternoon at our local spray park where they had an absolute blast - especially Ella who laughed with glee every time the water splashed her! 

On one of her last nights here we had a crazy downpour of rain.  It came down hard and fast, and in less than an hour we had just under 50 mm.  As you can see, the street outside our house flooded like crazy.

We made the most of the rain and all piled into the car and drove through puddles for a bit - good times all around! 

I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far!  It's hard to believe it's coming to a close soon - I'll be loving each and every moment leading up until the very last day!  

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is my August recipe for The Hinton Voice.

[Ok, so these cookies are amazing.  They are literally the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had in my life (sorry Gramma, if you are reading this - your Ginger Sparklers are still my #1).   These cookies do what a good chocolate chip cookie should - they stay soft for days after you bake them – if they last that long that is.

I've seen “secret ingredient” (aka pudding mix) cookie recipes floating around for some time now.  Each claims to be the best cookie ever, but that's a pretty bold statement to make.  Now, having tried incorporating vanilla pudding into my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe, I know it truly is a star.  The second the pudding mix hit the cookie dough batter, something magical happened. The delicious smell that wafted through my kitchen was simply incredible.  Not that I tried copious amounts of dough or anything (ok, so I might have), but it tasted just like birthday cake batter – likely due to all the vanilla goodness.

When I took the cookies out of the oven I was initially met with skepticism.  They were really puffy and just didn't quite look like they had finished baking.  Having burned cookies before after making this assumption, I took the pan out of the oven anyway and thought I would see what happens.  Sure enough, as soon as they cooled they were the perfect shape and consistency!  In fact, I had a really hard time keeping my husband away from these cookies long enough so that I could take a picture of them.] 

Recipe makes 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

¾ cup golden brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract)

1-3.4 oz package vanilla pudding mix

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp coarsely ground sea salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1-2 good quality chocolate bars (my favorite is Lindt)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Fold in eggs and vanilla until well incorporated.  Mix in vanilla pudding mix (be prepared for your kitchen to start smelling like heaven at this point).

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Coarsely chop chocolate bars and add to batter along with chocolate chips.  Mix until just incorporated.

Drop cookies by heaping spoonful onto baking sheet (12 cookies per pan fits perfectly).  For more uniform looking cookies, roll dough into a ball first.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly browned.  Cookies will look quite soft but they will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on pan until slightly firm (about 5 minutes), then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. 

 - Nutritional Info (per cookie) -

Calories - 97   Fat - 6    Carbs – 10     Protein - 1   Fibre – 1

Raspberry Overnight Oatmeal

I absolutely adore steel cut oats, and they are by far my favourite breakfast food.  They pack a ton of nutrients and to be honest, they just taste really darn good.  I truly feel like I'm eating dessert every time I'm eating this, which I love considering it's so healthy. 

Steel cut oats take on the flavour of whatever you serve them with, making them extremely versatile. Another recipe I love using steel cut oats (and also the most popular post on this blog to date) is the very first recipe I posted, Apple Pie Breakfast.  

I love that after assembling a few basic ingredients in your slow cooker right before bed, you'll wake up to a delicious smelling house and a tasty, nutritious, already-made-for-you breakfast.  

This recipe keeps really well in the fridge, and re-heats fairly decent making it an ideal breakfast for busy mornings. 

Ingredients - 3 cups water - 1 cup raspberry juice - 1 cup steel cut oats - 1/8 tsp sea salt - 1 tsp coconut oil - 1 cup raspberries - 1/4 cup brown sugar Directions
For best results: combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like. Be sure to stir every hour or so if possible (you can also cook longer without stirring, just add an extra cup of liquid to the ingredients). 

Stovetop Directions Bring water and raspberry juice to a rapid boil.  
Stir in oats, salt, and coconut oil - cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.  
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
Stir in brown sugar and raspberries, cooking for an additional 15 minutes.  
Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving.  Sprinkle with brown sugar to taste. 

Homemade Marshmallows

Here is my June recipe for The Hinton Voice. 

[When I first set out to make marshmallows, I really had no idea just how easy they would be to create.  In fact – I was quite convinced that the opposite would be true.  Candy making is a skill I have always admired, but never really had much success with.  I made caramel sauce for a friend’s birthday once and I kid you not, it took me a good 4 or 5 batches before I finally made something edible.  I went into marshmallow making with that experience still fresh in my mind, so you can imagine my surprise when this recipe turned out the very first time I tried it.  Just over 20 minutes after I began, I had a fresh batch of homemade marshmallows setting on the counter.

So how do they taste compared to store bought marshmallows? After getting over the initial shock that marshmallows could be made in a household kitchen, a friend who sampled these called them “little clouds of heaven”.  Another was quite impressed and proclaimed, “these taste just like [marshmallows] you find in the store, without the chemical/preservative aftertaste”.   To me, they reminded me of the first time I tried homemade ice cream – partially due to the fact to the type of vanilla I used, and partially because upon the first taste I remember thinking “so that’s what this is supposed to taste like!”

So there you have it – homemade marshmallows. Now you can impress everyone at your next campout by bringing these marshmallows to the fire! I know for me, s’mores and rice crispy squares will never be the same again!   In fact, my Dad and I made s’mores last night (hence the above photo) and quite honestly, they were the best either of us had ever had.   Now to make some homemade graham crackers and I’ll be set!]

  

Ingredients

- Olive oil (for brushing)

- 1 box (4 tbsp) unflavoured gelatin

- 3 cups granulated sugar

- 1 ¼ cup light corn syrup

- ¼ tsp salt

- 1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

- 1 ½ cups icing sugar

Directions

Line 9x13 inch pan with plastic wrap and brush with oil.  Set aside.

Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ¾ cup water in saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring only to dissolve the sugar.  Let mixture cook without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, place ¾ cup cold water in bowl of electric mixer.  Sprinkle with gelatin (no need to stir).  Let soften 5 minutes.

Attach bowl (with gelatin) to mixer fitted with whisk attachment.  With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture.  Add vanilla, then gradually raise the speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes.  Beat in vanilla.  Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with a spatula.  Set on counter, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.

Cut marshmallows into pieces using a sharp knife dusted with icing sugar.  You should get 30 large marshmallows. Roll marshmallows in icing sugar to coat.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

 - Nutritional Info (1 marshmallow) -

Calories - 150   Fat - 0    Carbs – 35     Protein - 1   Fibre – 0

Greek Salad Skewers

I was recently invited to a friend's barbecue and was incredibly excited when I learned that the evening had a theme - food on a stick!  I went to my favourite foodie websites to find inspiration and found some really great ideas!   BLT's, caprise pops, and sticks of strawberry shortcake were all top contenders, but as I set off to the grocery store the morning of the barbecue, I still had no idea what I was actually going to make.  As I perused the vegetable isle, my eye caught some baby tomatoes and the idea hit me - greek salad on a stick!  With easily kebob-able vegetables and my Uncle's greek dressing recipe, I knew I had a winner.  This was confirmed when I saw a couple of kids excitingly eating a stick filled with vegetables!  :) 
Ingredients - 1 small zuchinni - 1/2 english cucumber - 1/2 medium purple onion - 1/2 each yellow, red, and green peppers - 1 box cherry tomatoes - 1 small jar pitted kalamata olives - 1-2 heads of romaine lettuce - 1/2 brick feta cheese
Dressing: - 2/3 cup olive oil - 1/3 cup white wine vinegar - 2-4 cloves garlic - 2 tbsp fresh oregano - 1/4 tsp pepper
Directions Cut the zucchini, cucumber, purple onion, and peppers in veggies into bite sized pieces.  Toss with cherry tomatoes and olives and set aside. 
Combine all ingredients for dressing in a blender (I use my magic bullet for this - it's the perfect size).    Pour all but 1/4 cup dressing onto cut veggies and marinate in fridge for a minimum of 2-3 hours. 
Chop romaine into bite sized pieces and carefully slice feta into cubes. 
Place veggies on a skewer alternating every third veggie with romaine lettuce.  Place feta on skewers last (trust me, they won't make it the entire way down the skewer without breaking). 
Drizzle with any remaining 1/4 cup dressing and serve!