The Recipe: Nana's Rhubarb Pie

Filling:
3 - 4 cups Rhubarb
1 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Flour

Use a little more sugar if rhubarb is fresh. You can add orange peel or pineapple. If you freeze fresh rhubarb in 3 - 4 cup portions, let thaw to get rid of excess water or increase flour so that the filling won't be too runny.

Nana's Pastry:
6 cups Flour
2/3 cup Shortening for each 2 cups of flour (approx 1 lb)
2 tsp Salt

Blend well with pastry blender. You can store this in a plastic bag or container in the fridge. This will make 4 small double crust pies.

To make one double crust pie:
Put 2 cups of the above dough mixture in a bowl. Add 5 Tbsp ice water (to ensure dough is cold enough).
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The Recipe: Roasted Butternut Garlic & Apple Soup

1 Medium Sized Butternut Squash
1 Full Garlic
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Large carrot
1 Granny Smith Apple
4 Cups of Chicken Stock
3/4 Cup of Riesling
½ tsp of Cinnamon
½ tsp of Nutmeg
½ tsp of Cloves
½ tsp of Allspice
1 Cup of 2% or Skim Milk
Salt
Pepper

Start by cutting squash into cubes, drizzle with 1 ½ tbsp of olive oil and coat. Roast cubes for 30-45 minutes @ 350F until tender on a cookie sheet, ensuring the edges do not burn or crisp. Cut the top off of garlic so the top of the cloves are exposed, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, wrap in tin foil and roast with the squash.

In a stock pot on the stovetop, dice carrots and onion and sautee on medium heat with rest of olive oil, careful not to brown the onions (requires frequent stirring). After about 7 minutes add peeled and cubed apple piece to pot. Once apples, carrots and onions are soft, approx 12-15 minutes, add stock, wine, roasted squash, garlic (let garlic cool and gently squeeze cloves out of there skins) and spices. Bring contents to a boil and cook for a couple minutes to ensure alcohol burned off and reduce to low heat.

Use a hand blender to puree contents of pot, ensuring all lumps are removed. If you do not have a hand blender, you can use a traditional blender (be careful as hot liquid in a blender will create pressure and could pop the lid off, blend small quantities at a time). When ready to serve stir in the milk and salt and pepper to taste, leave on stove top just long enough to bring milk up to heat.
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The Recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

The Recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins 4 large bananas 3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups spelt flour* 1/3 cup softened butter 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Mash bananas. Add sugar, vanilla, egg, and butter. Blend wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and add in chocolate chips. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients being careful not to over mix.

For a convection oven, bake at 360F for approx 18 min (or until toothpick comes out dry). For regular ovens, bake at 375F for approx 20 min.

* can substitute in 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
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Our Kitchen Island

So this is the first post... the biggest question is: why do a blog?

I guess the simplest answer is that I love cooking and people seem to love my cooking. I am told I have a gift and when you have a gift it is always best to share this gift with as many as you can. I also believe that if you do what you love you will be successful, hence with my passion for food and my background in online, it is only natural for me and my wife to combine these efforts and see where they take us. You have to start somewhere....

In addition, it is great way for me to keep track of my recipes and ideas. So this is where it starts.

The plan for the Blog is to post videos of the actual meals I am making for the family (which consists of my wife, Benny almost 3 and Jack almost 1), and add a blog talks about my general thoughts on foods, and cooking and life accordingly.

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Quick Recipes

These quick recipes taste great and are easy. They are quick when you need something in a hurry and can be made quickly from scratch to plate in under 30 minutes. Quick recipes do not need to sacrific any flavour or style. Enjoy lots of quick meal ideas below and check back often as we add more quick recipes to the list.

	Recipe: Peach & Spinach Salad with Candied Almonds The peaches combined with the candied almonds in this recipe are killer, just try not to eat them all before adding to the spinach salad.
	Recipe: Roasted Fall Vegetables Autumn is here and nothing says fall like hearty roasted fall vegetables. I love this combination of beets, butternut squash and sweet potatoes.
	Recipe: Pan Seared Tuna The key to tuna is cooking it properly, really hot and not too long! The roasted pepper sauce is a beautiful and simple addition to the tuna steak.
	Recipe: Broken Down Roast Chicken This broken down roast chicken recipe is a quick prep and results in a wonderful juicy chicken. Some even say they like it better than a full roast chicken.
	Recipe: Fluffy Pumpkin Pie I love the soft and smooth texture combined with the classic pumpkin flavours. This pumpkin pie recipe will not disappoint!
	Quick Recipe: Crepes with Sauteed Apples Spoil yourself! The crepes combined with the apples and fresh fruit that make them such a treat.
	Quick Recipe: The Perfect Steak The right cut, treated right to bring out the beautiful flavours of a great steak with a few tips you might not know.
	Update: Quick Recipe: Crusted Halibut with Basmati Rice A quick twist on a previous recipe for those who like something a little sweeter.
	Quick Recipe: Balsamic Dijon Salmon A beautiful moist piece of salmon, great for gourmet at the campsite or anytime at home.
	Quick Recipe: Crusted Halibut with Basmati Rice Halibut is beautiful white fish that tastes great and extremely healthy.
	Quick Recipe: BBQ Cranberry Balsamic Turkey Turkey and cranberry are not just for holidays get them on the BBQ this summer.
	Quick Recipe: Chicken and Turkey Tacos in Ezekiel Wraps Just as easy as making tacos from a package, but way better!
	Recipe: Grilled Cheese Bread, cheese and butter, great tips for making the perfect gooey grilled cheese.
	Quick Recipe: Balsamic Almond & Feta Mixed Green Salad Beautiful salad with great flavours when you want a salad that stands out.
	Quick Recipe: Ryan's Creamy Strawberry Daiquiris Nothing says summer like a daiquiri with fresh strawberries.
	Quick Recipe: Shrimp a la Erin Great starter with lots of flavour.
	Quick Recipe: The Perfect Over Easy Egg It may sound simple, but there is an art to achieving the perfect over easy egg.

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Making Pies With Grandma

I recently had the pleasure taking a trip to visit Grandma in a village called St. Clements. St. Clements is about 5 minutes from St. Jacobs Ontario and in the middle of Mennonite country. This was a special trip as Grandma was teaching me how to make her famous pies. Grandma's Pie Crust Every Pie has to start with a crust and this is an all purpose crust that can be made in batches and pulled out for when company is coming! Grandma's Peach Pie This pie is all about the fresh peaches in season and kept simple to show off the great flavours of the peaches. Grandma's Apple Pie My personal favourite, need I say more!

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Recipes: Dinners

	Recipe: Roasted Garlic Gnocchi with White Wine Rose Sauce Creating beautiful pillow-like gnocchi is all about the correct tools and products. Using the right potatoes and flour is important to ensure you do not end up with a heavy gnocchi.
	Recipe: Turkey & Chicken Meatloaf The key to a good meatloaf recipe is taking some time up front to cook your vegetables to bring out the flavour before you add to the rest of the meatloaf ingredients.
	Recipe: Pumpkin Gnocchi The subtle nutmeg with the smooth sweet pumpkin are fabulous together with the alfredo sauce.
	Recipe: Pumpkin Soup This is a wonderful pumpkin soup with the hearty fall flavours associated with pumpkin but also a surprising little kick and some sweetness to round things out.
	Recipe: Pan Seared Tuna The key to tuna is cooking it properly, really hot and not too long! The roasted pepper sauce is a beautiful and simple addition to the tuna steak.
	Recipe: Broken Down Roast Chicken This broken down roast chicken recipe is a quick prep and results in a wonderful juicy chicken. Some even say they like it better than a full roast chicken.
	Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup A gorgeous and smooth soup for a cool fall night with seasonal ingredients.
	Recipe: Everyone's Favourite: Chicken Fingers Flavourful and fun! Kids and adults will love this recipe.
	Recipe: Quick BBQ Dip: Perfect for Chicken Fingers Kids will love dipping their chicken in this sauce. Quick and easy to make as well.
	Recipe: Beef Bourguignon Inspired Turkey Stew The meat falls apart and the sauce has such depth of flavour you have to serve it with potatoes and bread to sop it all up!
	Recipe: Turkey Breast with Fresh Basil, Sundried Tomato & Balsamic Rub A perfect light summer meal that is big on flavour.
	Video Recipe: Chicken, Proscuitto and Mushroom Risotto I always have some aborio rice on hand for a night when I want to make something special, the prosciutto chicken and mushrooms make it wonderful main course.
	Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings The same great buffalo taste and texture without the deep frying
	Dinner: BBQ Turkey Thighs and Salad with a Blueberry Reduction Easy rub and a great bbq idea when you want something different than steak and more than chicken breast
	Recipe: Mushroom, Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Breaded Chicken Breast I always have some aborio rice on hand for a night when I want to make something special, the prosciutto chicken and mushrooms make it wonderful main course.
	Recipe: Turkey Chicken Burgers!!!!!! Summer is all about the burgers and since everyone in my family doesn’t eat beef we put together some turkey and chicken burgers with some extra touches.
	Recipe: The Perfect Steak The right cut, treated right to bring out the beautiful flavours of a great steak with a few tips you might not know.
	Recipe: Crusted Halibut with Basmati Rice Halibut is beautiful white fish that tastes great and extremely healthy.
	Update: Recipe: Crusted Halibut with Basmati Rice A quick twist on a previous recipe for those who like something a little sweeter.
	The Recipe: Balsamic Dijon Salmon A beautiful moist piece of salmon, great for gourmet at the campsite or anytime at home.
	Recipe: Chicken, Mushroom, Bacon Pizza from Scratch Pizza from scratch is a labour of love and the results are well worth the effort.
	Chicken and Turkey Tacos in Ezekiel Wraps Just as easy as making tacos from a package, but way better!
	BBQ Cranberry Balsamic Turkey Turkey and cranberry are not just for holidays get them on the BBQ this summer.
	Recipe: Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya My take on Jambalaya, make sure you make it when you are hungry because it is hard to stop eating.
	Recipe: Chicken Chili Grey Cup (Canadian Football) and the Super bowl require a chili everyone can enjoy.
	Recipe: All Purpose Tomato and Beef Sauce Everyone has to have a tomatoes beef sauce that stands on it owns even without the pasta.

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