Chantrelle and Cream Cheese Filled Trout

Hello Everyone! How are you doing?? I have been busy focusing on raw foods and eating really simply; I'm actually taking part in Raw Food Rehabs 11 week initiative Raw Balance but before I made that commitment I made this treat, and oh my! was it ever a treat! And while it was a treat I actually felt really good about it. It is trout that I caught filled with Chantrelle mushrooms that I picked, onions and garlic from my garden and a little cream cheese to hold it all together.  What is better then that? Plus the fish was a lunker so I was extra proud! My boyfriend has been working out of the country so I have been learning to do all of these things all on my own :) I've always loved fishing but as he is the 'professional' he always took over in some way, this time I did everything all on my own, even the cleaning and filleting. AND the chantrelles I picked while out getting firewood with a friend - how resourceful am I?? Haha... I have been feeling pretty empowered lately but don't worry I won't get to carried away!

Anyways back to the food talk...

It really is more about the method then the measurements as all of my cooking is. I do want to share something about the mushrooms though, many people cook all mushrooms on a lower heat and with chantrelles if you do that a lot of water comes out and end up steaming them instead of frying them, so I cook them at at medium - high, not full out but closer to high then medium and they get really nice and caramelized quite quickly. I then let them cool down and added a little onions, garlic, salt and pepper, it really should be all about those beautiful mushrooms. I added enough cream cheese to hold it all together. I filleted the trout and laid each fillet out, I added a scoop of the filling and rolled it up securing it with a toothpick. I roasted it in a 350 degree oven until the fish was opaque, I was careful not to overcook it but I can't really give you a time as it will all depend on the size of your fillet, and how much filling is inside, the filling does need to be warmed through only, my fillets came from a 3 1/2 lb trout (REALLY good size for my lake!) took about 25 minutes.

Creamy Hemp Seed Hummus

Going Gluten free is quite easy as long as you change your frame of mind. Once you get over what you can't eat, you can focus on what you can eat, and it just takes that little tweak in your brain, not to mention the fact that you feel so much better. Since I have been gluten free I have felt incredible! No more tummy troubles which had become such a part of my life that I didn't even realize they existed. They weren't absolutely unbearable but they were there and not all that pleasant! I wanted to share this dish with you because its beautiful and tasty!

Hemp seeds add the perfect creamy and nuttiness to this hummus, I didn't have any tahini and it seemed to be a blessing in disguise. I ate it with zucchini shaved into ribbons and rolled it up into deliciousness - I love things that are rolled up!

1 Can of Chick Peas (Drained and Rinsed thoroughly - to prevent any tummy troubles!)
1/4 C Hemp Seeds
3 Large Garlic Cloves (I love lots of garlic, please use as much or as little as you like)
Juice of a lemon
Big pinch of Salt

First grind the Hemp Seeds in a food processor until they are fine, add the garlic until its not to chunky and then add everything else. If your feeling like a little extra naughtiness add a couple of table spoons of olive oil slowly as it is whizzing to stay a little cleaner feel free to use water to make everything smooth.

I added a bit of the hummus to a ribbon of zucchini and with some I rolled it up like you see the beauty in the middle and others I made into little packages, both were equally delicious but i think I prefered the spirals. I added some sliced tomatoe and drizzled with a bit of balsamic - and it was amazing! You could easily serve this as a snack, appetizer or enjoy as a meal - the hummus makes it very filling!

Spanakopita Asparagus Rolls Ups

I love to roll my food up. There is just something so satisfying about being able to put everything together and create a perfect bite.

These guys were just that! Perfect bites, go on check 'em out!


This was the love child of my making spanakopitas for my lunches and my making sushi for dinner. I had been making veggie sushi for a quick dinner (which didn't turn out all that pretty, and didn't have a lot of time to be photographed as it went directly into my mouth after a particularity long day at work! But as I had some extra phyllo sheets I decided to turn up the creativity a little on a long time classic.

My spanakopita filling is very simple:

I use
1 package of frozen spinach (my grocery store now sells the frozen spinach in a bag, frozen into little 'pellets' of spinach - it thaws a lot faster and the package has a little more then the traditional box, I would think you may need about 2 boxes)
1 container (250 gs I think) of feta
2 eggs
nice big pinches of salt, pepper and nutmeg (mmmm.... nutmeg!)
about 1/4 c toasted pine nuts

You will also need:
Phyllo dough, melted butter and asparagus spears.

I just mix this all up until it is to my liking, sometimes I add more cheese, sometimes less, just do whatever you like, its not like the spanakopita police are going to come and get you!!

Begin by laying out one sheet of phyllo, brush with butter and add another sheet on top, brush the second sheet with butter and then cut the sheet in half, place one half on top of another so that there are 4 sheets stacked together.

I added two lightly steamed asparagus spears facing opposite directions so that the tips were just poking out for presentation and then topped it with a little of he filling, really just enough to hold it together; it should be about the crunchy asparagus. I rolled it up and put it on a baking sheet brushing with additional butter. Bake at about 375 until the tops are brown and the dough is crispy. (About 10 - 15 minutes) Let cool slightly before serving.

These would make a fantastic appetizer or snack. They are certainly elegant enough to serve to guests! (And fairly friendly on the pocket as you can really make the ingredients stretch!)

Stuffed Pretzel Bites

I know... I have been a very baaaa -ad blogger. I offer you my sincere apologies, I have just began a new job and it has taken over my existence. It is am amazing opportunity for me though and I am so very excited! It is all mellowing out though, all becoming 'normal' it is just a much longer commute, but I have made a few tasty treats that I would like to share with you.

Today it will be these stuffed pretzel bites!
These little suckers disappeared within minutes!
Make them right now!
I promise you will not be disappointed!

Just Look:

My goodness! As far as Savories go, it just doesn't get any better then this.

So anyways I will just get on with the recipe because that's what you really want
Trust me!

1 package of instant yeast
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cup warm milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
6 cups water
4 teaspoons baking soda
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tablespoons coarse salt

Fillings of your choice!

Slowly heat the milk until it is warm to the touch but not boiling and add the brown sugar.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and the package of Yeast to the milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Add the remaining flour if you need to. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times, form it into a ball and add the ball to a clean lightly oiled bowl. Cover with Plastic wrap and all to rise in a warm area for about 2 hours or until it doubles in size. The waiting really is the worst part! But in this case it is so worth it!

You will know it is ready when there are bubbles on the top and it is all big and puffy!

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the four sections into a 12×4-inch rectangle. Fill the bottom 1/3 with the filling of your choice. I decided to do a few different ones including ham and cheese, cheese and caramelized onion, ham, cheddar and mustard and some of the last with Dijon mustard. Mmmmm... mustard! Roll it into a log and then cut into one inch pieces. Into nice little bites!

Boil up 6 cups of water in a pot and add the baking soda. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Boil pretzels in batches, cooking about 20 seconds each, making sure they are flipped. You will see them get all nice and puffy, and I've got to tell you I was worried about the cheese during this step, but if you are sure to leave them in for no more then 30 sec. your cheese will be fine!

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until they resemble little golden gods that you must eat immediately.

Careful they are hot! and you must not forget this last delicious step:

Brush them with melted butter until they glisten and top with nice crusty chunks of salt.

I hope these tasty treats make up for my time away!!

Bacon Wrapped Cod

First things first: Happy New Year!
Now onto the goods...

These tasty bites are a little bit of heaven!

Just look at them!

They were actually inspired by an appetizer that I had at a Christmas Eve party that I went to. A friend of mine always has an appy and drinks party of Christmas Eve and it is always a lot of fun. Over the holidays there are always so many parties to attend and everyone is always trying to feed you but a lot of people go for the convenience of pre-made appies and that just doesn't fly with me. Sure they are convenient and a lot of them taste not so bad, but Donna always outdoes herself with a beautiful spread of homemade spanikopita, wontons, dips, spreads, meatballs, pizza bites and this year a little bundle that consisted of a piece of chicken and a water chesnut marinated in ginger, garlic and soy and wrapped in bacon. I decided to seafoodize that tasty little bundle that was gone off the table in mere minutes!

I simply took two fillet of cod and added it to a bowl with some lime zest, ginger and garlic all of which a grated with my new microplane that I got for Christmas. Thanks Mom! I added a bit of pepper and left it in the fringe overnight. Then I just chopped it into bites and wrapped each bit with bacon and secured with a toothpick. Pop those suckers into a 400 degree oven until the bacon is crisp and you have one tasty treat on your hands!!

I would suggest the bites be on the bigger side as not to dry out the fish but if you wish to substitute any other protein, I love scallops, or chicken, even beef would probably be pretty good.

Cozy Cabbage Rolls

Here we are in the heart of fall; this time of year I always crave comfort food and what is more comforting then a warm meal that comes out of the oven? Mmmmm.... Cabbage Rolls. The epitomy of Ukrainian comfort food.


Often I find that people use too much ground meat and make them very large. So I went about an experiment. I made two different kinds of Cabbage Rolls, 1 that was made of ground meat and the other that was made of sauteed mushrooms. The both have the same ingredients other then the meat/ mushroom can you tell which is which:


They look very similar and oddly enough they didn't taste all that different either. I suggest mixing them up in a casserole dish if you are trying to cut down on red meat. I had to make both because of my meat eating partner. I enjoy meat too, but often opt to not partake and am always looking for ways to reduce meat with out having to substitute with a freaky soy product. These were both really good, even my meat eating partner had a hard time figuring out which was which! Here is the recipe:

1 large heat of cabbage
1/4 lb ground beef (the small package) or 1 lb mushrooms finely chopped and sauteed
1 carrot finely chopped
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
2 onions finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic
3 cups of cooked rice (whatever floats your boat)
2 eggs
medium pinch of rosemary
large pinch of salt & pep

1 jumbo or 2 - 3 regular cans of whole tomatoes

First pop a whole head of cabbage into a huge pot of boiling water. Martha says not to use an aluminum pot... I think that my pot is aluminum and they worked, but it could be something else. Feel free to take the risk if you must. Other people remove each leaf first and then boiled them separately. I just threw the whole thing in, accidentally forgot about it and them took it out. It was cooked through and the outer leaves weren't very pretty but the rest was great. Let it cool and then remove each leaf and set aside.

Then begin making rice. Just follow the package directions. Then move on to chopping the mushrooms (actually I ran them through a food pro until they were fairly finely chopped - you do need a little texture) and begin sauteing them with some Olive Oil and pepper (leave the salt out). In the meantime finely chop the celery, carrots, garlic and onions, again I used the food pro, if you choose to do this make sure that you do it in small batches, or else you will get a puree and you want more like pieces that are the size of rice grains, or a little bigger. Divide the chopped veggies into two bowls. Make sure the mushrooms are sauteed to the point that they have given up most of the water, then add them to one bowl and add the beef to another. Add one egg to each bowl and 1 cup of rice, mix it in and then decide if you want to add more rice. I went for it, but you might not want to and in the end you will be eating it so go ahead and do what you must!
This is how each looks, bad light I know but you get the idea!


Now you will want to empty your cans of tomatoes into a juice jug or bowl and whiz with a hand blender. I added a small handful of salt pepper, and a little less rosemary. Whiz until it is a smooth sauce.

Now assemble! Pour a little sauce into a casserole dish, take one cabbage leaf. If it is a big leaf, remove the bottom v shape of the stem, just the hard part so you end up with a small v out of your leaf. You can leave it in but it is trickier to roll. Just do whatever works for you. Add some filling to one side of the leaf and roll it up. Add to the dish and repeat until you are done. Top with a bit more of the sauce, cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour.
I serve mine with sour cream. Yum!!

Lasanga Roll Ups

Hello All! I am back, I do have a confession. I got a new camera at the beginning of August so technically I have just been taking a lazy summer break. Oh how I wish it was a lazy break, it was full of activity, every weekend something different. Every weekend something. And you know what disappoints me the most about summer - that I don't have enough of it, I know that we were lucky to have an early start to summer - That was so great. But remember when you were a kid and summer felt like it lasted forever? I miss that. Now summer is measured in about 8 - 10, 12 weekends if your lucky.

So to make up for lost time I present you with tasty tasty lasagna rolls:


These are a pretty easy to make but do take some time. I began by making the marina sauce so that definitely added quite a bit of time. I didn't really measure when making the sauce so I am going to suggest you use your favourite recipe or jarred version if your pressed on time. And I will take a rain check and remember to write down the ingredients next time!

Begin by boiling a nice big pot of water, when it reaches a rolling boil add in a handful of salt and 8 lasagna noodles. Cook according to package directions and lay out on a baking sheet lined with a tea towel. Make sure that the noodles keep keep their hands to themselves and don't touch.

Begin making the filling aka Spinachy and Cheesy Love

1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped mixed herbs
1 pkg frozen spinach - thawed and drained very well
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan
1 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper

Mince up the onion and garlic and saute until golden.

Add the rest of the filling ingredients except for 1/2 cup of Parmesan (save that for the top) to a bowl and give 'er a good old mix up.

Lay one of the noodles out on a dry counter and spread a little bit of the filling on it leaving a bit of space at one end. Like this:

Actually, maybe leave a little more then I did...
Also try not to make it to thick. Just about this thick:

And roll it up!

Pour a little bit of marinara into the bottom of a baking dish and add the roll. Repeat until they are all in the dish. Make sure to use a big enough dish that you can get all of the rolls as well as about 3 cups of Marinara. It is important that there is a good sauce to roll ratio as the filling is quite rich and the acid in the sauce helps to cut that so you can get perfectly balanced bit each time.

Top the rolls with the reserved Parmesan and bake in a 350 degree oven until it is warmed through and the cheese has melted into heavenly goodness.

Rice Paper Roll Ups

Today I had the hugest sushi craving, I decided that I would make it myself. After all it wasn't a full on raw fish craving just the novelty of a roll. I made the rice and then realized that I didn't have any seaweed so I ran down to the grocery store and you know what? They wanted $9 for 6 sheets of Nori. Ha! The nerve ! The gall!
I would outsmart them! Yes I would!

And I did, I knew that I had rice paper roll ups from making summer rolls, I picked up a package of Dulse and I went about recreating a sushi taste. I combined the sushi rice with some wild smoked salmon lox, avocado, cucumber, a few spears of Asparagus and some roasted garlic aioli. I rolled it up and it was just as satisfying.

And here it is all laid out...

Tuck in the sides and roll like a burrito...

Enjoy!