Cooking is an Art

Ace of Cakes - Hogwarts

Ace of Cakes - Fish and Tacklebox

It's CHEESE!

Bill Gates' Sushi

Watermelon Lady

Pasta Bust

A sweet heart!

Cute sushi

The prettiest watermelon I've ever seen

Earth :)

Cake for Dinner

SALMON cakes that is. Savoury or sweet, I would never turn down cake as a main course. Salmon is one of my favourite foods, and these cakes are such a nice change from the usual dinners. They also put canned fish to a great use (and make it much more appealing). It’s not the quickest meal, but it’s very easy to do. They’re great because you can really throw any veggies in that you have lying around, or substitute tuna for salmon and they’re equally as good. I certainly enjoyed them, I only wish I had made a cake for dessert.

PS: I apologize for the quality of this photo. At the time I made them there was terrible lighting. I promise to do better next time.

Salmon Cakes

Recipe makes about 5 cakes

2           medium potatoes, chopped

½ cup   grated carrots

½ cup   broccoli

1 can    pink salmon, drained

1          egg

¼ cup   chopped onion

¼ cup   breadcrumbs

pinch    salt & pepper

Olive oil, for frying

Start by boiling the potatoes, and broccoli in separate pots. When the broccoli is done drain them, chop them finely and set them aside. Brown the onions in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Once the potatoes are cooked through and soft, drain them and return them to the pot. Now using approximately 1 tbsp butter and ¼ cup milk, mash the potatoes (you can use whatever measurements you like, just make sure they are mashed and smooth).

Next you are going to assemble the cakes. Put the mashed potatoes in a bowl and mix in the carrot, broccoli, salmon and onion. Once this is mixed add the egg and seasoning and mix until everything is evenly combined. Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Take a handful of the mix and form the cakes by creating a sphere and flattening it slightly. It should fit on the palm of your hand. Then carefully roll the cake in the breadcrumbs until it is evenly covered. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and set it over med heat. Fry the salmon cakes in the oil for about 2-4 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. They are great served with dipping sauces.

Tikka tikka tikka

I love trying new flavours from around the world. My family on the other hand… does not. Last week we all went out for dinner in downtown Toronto. Now, getting my family to all cooperatively decide on a restaurant is mission: impossible. They are all picky and don’t like to try new types of food. You can imagine my frustration as I made a list of various eclectic restaurants to try out, and all my Dad wants to eat is steak and fries. Finally after hours (I’m not exaggerating) of researching and arguing I was able to convince them to try an Indian restaurant called Aroma. It was a cute little place on King St. West, with lovely décor and pleasant wait staff. The food? I have one word for you: YUM. I haven’t eaten that much food in a long time, I just kept stuffing myself. From appetizer to dessert it was simply amazing. To start we enjoyed samosas, bhel chaupati and chicken pakora. My sister had no idea what to order so she had the butter chicken, a classic, and I had the chicken tikka masala, which was fantastic. Though my family was quite unsure about the menu at first, they quickly finished their plates when the food was served (which came as no surprise). Indian food has to be one of my favourites, and I am recommending Aroma Restaurant to everyone :)

Vegetable Samosas

Pretty vegetables :)

Chicken Tikka Masala

Warm, buttery Naan

Granola in the Most Parfait Way

As this is my very first post (and thus feeling slightly pressured), I thought I should blog about something that I really, truly love. One of my absolute favourite things to eat is parfait. I actually eat it everyday; you could say it’s an obsession. I could probably blog just about parfait… but I won’t, for my desire to gain rather than lose readers. After buying granola for so long I decided to try making my own. I’ve seen a few recipes and cooking shows on it and experimented a bit to come up with my own method. You don’t really need to follow a recipe, but I made one just for the sake of it. It’s really simple and fast, with a fantastically delicious result!

Maple Granola

2 cups Rolled oats

2 cups Puffed rice cereal (rice krispies)

½ cup Slivered almonds

1/3cup Maple syrup

½ cup Apple juice

¼ cup, 2 tbsp Brown sugar, divided

1 tsp Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350C.

Start by mixing together the rolled oats, puffed rice cereal and slivered almonds in a large bowl. Next pour the apple juice into a pot over medium heat. Add the maple syrup, ¼ cup of brown sugar and the cinnamon to the pot. Stir and heat until the brown sugar and cinnamon have dissolved. Turn off the heat and slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients, while mixing them all in the bowl. Once the dry ingredients are evenly coated and are starting to clump together, carefully empty the bowl onto a baking tray. Spread the mixture out so that the tray is evenly covered and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully redistribute the granola to ensure that it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick to the tray. Return it to the oven for another 8 minutes. If the granola is starting to brown and crisp then it’s done. Remove from the oven and let cool. It will firm and crisp up as it dries. It is important not to over cook it, because it will start to lose its flavour easily. Store in an airtight container.

Try adding a variety of mix-ins like dried cranberries, raisins, or chocolate chips.