Lattes

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never discovered a taste for coffee until I was well into my thirties. My husband was late to coffee as well, using it to stay awake the year he earned his MBA, which was also the year we had our first child. Coincidence? Nu-uh.

So. Coffee. I would not thank you for a cup of straight black coffee, which is what my husband favours. I'm a designer drink girl, something that began when I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks a few years back. Starbucks lattes are expensive. Some lattes (yes, I mean you PSL) are also a bit hefty in the calorie department. PSL are seasonal and a sometimes treat, so no biggie, right? Then Starbucks introduced the Cinnamon Dolce Latte.

This Summer I drank way-y too many CDLs. Sure, the calories aren't so bad (when you order skinny) but the cost per day was getting a bit out of control. Last Mother's Day my husband had attempted to make me a CDL as part of my 'breakfast in bed' and it was passable. It needed some work - the cinnamon was a bit gritty, for example, and left a rough after-taste but overall it was a respectable fascimile of the real thing. So I recently decided to try and find a way to make a good CDL at home. And it wasn't that hard. Here is the recipe -

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine the sugar and cinnamon with the milk and heat. I did this on the stove top. I strained the milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the gritty cinnamon problem of Mother's Day memory. Add the coffee and voila. It's pretty darn close to the real thing.

For the gadget-happy crowd, a slight variation on the above. Go get yourself a Keurig Milk Steamer / Frother. Put the milk, sugar and cinnamon in this bad boy and it will steam your milk in about 90 seconds. Oh yes. Steamed, slightly frothy milk at the touch of a button. And the nifty little stirrer thing-y that whirs the milk around does a great job of dissolving the sugar and cinnamon...so no need to strain. I haven't even tried the frother yet. It had me at steamed.

Now I realize that to save myself a few bucks I went and invested in a not inexpensive gadget. Thank you, kind husband, for pointing this out. I've made peace with my purchase. Up next - the homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte. Oh yes, you can!

Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake

I love food magazines. I've tried to curb how many I buy and stick to getting my foodie fix through websites like food gawker but try as I might I can't fully resist the glossy pages of what my husband calls my food porn. I have gotten more selective the last couple of years, but I still have literally dozens of pages of recipes that I have clipped from various magazines stuffed in a box alongside my recipe books. I go through them every season looking for something new to make. This past Sunday I finally got around to trying the 'Category Winner - Desserts' from a Cooking Light Recipe contest that I think is circa 2006. It's called One-Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake. It's fabulous. Truly. I can't believe I didn't get a picture...I must have been too distracted licking my plate.

Those of you acquainted with McCain Deep and Delicious Chocolate Cake - OBCMC Cake is kind of like that. But better. The cake part is moist and studded with chunks of chocolate. The icing is whipped, melt in your mouth deliciousness with just a hint of mocha flavour. I must admit that I originally wanted to try this cake because it calls for one jar of Marshmallow Fluff, and I have always wanted to buy said product. A win-win all around. No one was disappointed in this cake, which I served at our 'back to school' Sunday dinner. The main course was good too - (Steak Frites with Shallot pan reduction) but really, we only had eyes for dessert.

Cottage Food

I think this Summer was a record for our cottage attendance. We made it up three times, once each in June, July and August. Never before attempted, never before accomplished!

While at the cottage we tend to eat. A lot. Which is why I'm glad we only went up three times. Ahem.

I have a few favourite dishes from the cottage this Summer. I always try to attempt something new, something different, something I wouldn't necessarily try at home when we're North. This year we finally got to make 'Frogmore Stew', a recipe that has been clipped and patiently waiting to be executed for years now. It's another Cooking Light find that you can get here. I served it with small dinner rolls but next time will make corn bread, since I've found a reliable (and yummy) version! This was so easy to put together, effortless - which is nice at the cottage.

Peaches for dinner!

Well, officially this recipe is advertised as an appetizer, but I made it for dinner one night and it was delicious. Ooey, gooey and messy but worth the clean up involved. I can't say that the fam was as excited about this dish as I was. While D. loves peaches I think he wishes I would just focus on the classics like his beloved peach crisp and stop being so fancy-dancy with fruit.

So all this recipe requires is quesadillas, peaches and brie cheese. The dip is honey and lime juice/zest. You assemble the peaches and brie on the quesadilla, top it with another quesadilla then heat it up in a frying pan on the stove. I didn't do the best job cutting up the brie but no matter - it ate just fine. The full recipe, including the dip, can be found here at Cooking Light.

Peaches

The Summer has gone by very quickly, perhaps thanks in part to all this crap-tastic weather we've been having. The only decent dish I've banged out lately is a peach crisp recipe dearly adored by my husband. My older son tried peach crisp recently and is also a fan. Funny how he has no problem trying new foods when they are dessert!



I started making this version of peach crisp about 5 years ago. I can't remember where I found it but I imagine a quick search on the Internet turned it up. It is a recipe provided by Pillsbury. It's super quick, relatively easy (oh how I hate peeling peaches...) and very tasty. I always eat mine with ice cream but my husband, not an ice cream eater (yes, it's true!) prefers his warm with a good cup of coffee.

Fresh PB&J

I can't believe that Ontario strawberry season has come and (nearly) gone again. We ate a whole whack of fresh local berries the past month. Most of the time we ate our berries washed and sliced, very simple but very tasty.

To round out strawberry season I decided to try a strawberry dessert. I let Google guide me this time out (strawberry dessert) and one of the first hits was Fresh Strawberry Bars from Better Homes and Gardens. This recipe brings together the flavours of a peanut butter and jam sandwich in a dessert bar. I had just enough of my homeade strawberry jam from last season to use for this recipe. It was spread on top of the base just before the berries were spread overtop.


This dessert was a real winner with all of my guys, who are peanut butter fanatics. I found the base to be quite rich but managed to eat my share! We enjoyed our Strawberry Squares after a very casual Sunday dinner featuring another Summer sandwich - the Classic Club. Our version featured sourdough bread, crisp bacon, turkey, lettuce, russian mustard and....apple slices. My husband doesn't like tomato very much, so I've started substituting apple slices on his sandwiches. If you've never eaten apple on your sandwich, you should try it. I whipped up a couple of side salads (pasta and coleslaw) to have along with our Clubs. A great (and easy) Summer dinner.

Happy Canada Day!

What to do when you have a half dozen different sized maple leaf cookie cutters? Make festive Canada Day cookies, of course! I made a batch of these cookies to take to work (and for the kids to enjoy at home, wink wink nudge nudge) and they turned out rather scrumtious. The recipe is a reliable one for sugar cookies from Williams Sonoma Kids Baking. The icing recipe is super simple - just icing sugar, corn syrup and water. The red and white sprinkles were left over from Valentine's Day baking. I made three different sizes (again, six to choose from!). I wish the weather on July 1st had been as festive as the cookies! We had brief glimpses of the sun but periods of light rain as well. Summer 2009 is shaping up to be a wet one here in Ontario....