Mixed Greens with Berries, Pumpkin Seeds, Goat Cheese and a Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing

Fresh raspberries and blueberries, salad greens and some open raspberry liqueur inspired this salad. Initially I had planned to puree the raspberries to make a vinaigrette, but decided that the liqueur would add flavour, colour and sweetness and the few raspberries that I had could be eaten whole.

Poppy seeds add crunch, but also bring their unique flavour to the salad. The dressing was on the tart side, but this was balanced by the berries in the salad. The sweetness can be adjusted when you make the dressing.

Paired with grilled chicken breast this was a light summer meal, very refreshing and bursting with colour and flavour.

To make the dressing, whisk the following together using a hand blender:

1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Add:

1 - 2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Whisk in:

3 tablespoons raspberry liqueur

Taste and adjust seasoning and sweetness / tartness

Stir in:

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Cover and refrigerate until needed.





To assemble the salad, wash the salad greens of you choice. I used a combination of baby spinach and mesclun greens.

Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry nonstick pan, over a medium heat, stirring often. When the seeds are lightly coloured, remove from the heat and stir in a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine:

the amount of greens you will be serving
toasted and cooled pumpkin seeds
fresh blueberries
enough raspberry dressing to lightly coat everything

Portion the greens, pumpkin seeds and blueberries onto the plates.

Add:

fresh raspberries
crumbled soft goat cheese




I served the salad with a grilled chicken breast; it can be served as a side salad or as a main salad. Toss the greens with the dressing right before serving.

• When I serve green salad, I allow a large handful of greens per person as a side salad, or appetizer. For a main course salad I allow 2 - 3 handfuls, depending on what else is in the salad.
• The dressing made more than I needed for 2 people, but I had a few opportunities to use it up. It will keep in the fridge, well sealed, for 3 - 5 days.
• If you have raspberry vinegar, use it instead of rice wine vinegar. It will add more colour, as well as increase the fruitiness of the dressing.
• The poppyseeds can be eliminated if you wish. Add fresh herbs instead...parsley, thyme, tarragon or basil.
• Tossing the blueberries with the greens and dressing works as they are a firmer berry; the raspberries will get squashed and mushy. Add them to the plate.
• Add other berries such as strawberries, blackberries or even red or black currants.

Pink Lemonade Squares on a Coconut Crust

I came across a different kind of lemon the other day; the rind is striped pink, green and yellow and the inside is pink. Very interesting, and of course I had to buy some to try. I thought they would be slightly sweeter for some reason, but other than the colours, they taste exactly the same as plain old yellow lemons!

The first thing I thought of making with them was a pink lemon bar, with a coconut crust, as I knew there was a tiny bit of coconut sitting in the pantry. I also had a tiny bit of whipping cream, which I added for richness and extra creaminess.

When mixing the filling ingredients I realised that the yolks from the eggs would overpower the pale pink lemon juice and the bars wouldn't look any different than if I had used yellow lemons.

I chose to add a few drops of red food colouring, which is not something I do often, as I am not a fan of adding colour to food, preferring to go along with the natural colours of the fruit and vegetables. I made an exception here, because I really wanted these to be 'Pink Lemonade Squares'. I am glad I did, because the little bit of red that I added gave a slight pink tinge to the filling, kind of like the flesh of the lemons.

These are quite tart and refreshing, despite having what I would refer to as a lot of sugar. They are also a lot richer than they first seem, thanks to the butter and whipping cream.

Turn the oven on to 350F and line an 8" X 8" pan with foil, lightly greasing the foil.

To make the coconut crust, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl:

1 cup flour
3 tablespoons coconut
1/4 cup sugar

Add:

4 ounces butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until combined.

Press evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake at 350F until set and starting to colour slightly around the edges, about 12 - 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.



Turn the oven temperature down to 325F.

To make the filling, whisk together the following in a heavy bottomed pan:

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons whipping cream
6 eggs
3 ounces butter, cubed
Grated zest of half a lemon

Whisk in the lemon juice:

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice






Place the pot onto the stove,on a low heat, and stir continuously until the butter has melted.

Increase the heat to medium low, and cook, whisking constantly, until the filling has thickened enough to leave a trail when whisked,  the texture of a thick custard.

Immediately remove from the heat.

Whisk in:

2 drops of red food colouring

Strain the filling to remove the zest.

Pour the filling onto the cooled crust, spreading evenly.

Bake until the filling is set in the centre, and bubbling a bit around the outside, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until completely cold before cutting.




To serve, gently lift the foil from the pan, peel it back from the sides of the bar and cut into squares. I like to trim the outside edges off, and then cut it into 9 squares. Keep the bar refrigerated until ready to serve.

• This is the same crust recipe as I used in the post Chocolate, Pecan and Dried Cherry Squares. I omitted the cocoa and used coconut instead.
• For the filling any citrus fruit can be used...lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges, blood oranges or a combination of any of them.
• The filling can be cooked in a double boiler, if you are more comfortable doing it that way. Cooking directly on to stove can lead to scrambled egg if you are not very diligent with whisking and keeping the temperature low. It's all about patience.
• I like to strain the filling once it comes off the stove for 2 reasons: removing the zest gives the filling a silkier texture, and straining removes any bits of egg white that may have cooked. The more careful you are with the whisking and temperature the less likely it is that this will happen.
• If you have fresh passionfruit, the pulp can be used in combination with the lemon juice. In this instance I like to leave the seeds in though, as they are a feature of the passionfruit, and are edible.
• Pour the filling into a tart shell and make a lemon tart. Serve with whipped cream, or sprinkle the surface of the tart with sugar and broil, or use a blow torch, to caramelize the sugar and turn this into a burnt lemon tart.
• Another option for ther squares or tart, is to turn it into a lemon meringue. This is a great way to use any extra or frozen egg whites. Make a meringue using 1 part egg whites : 2 parts sugar. Pipe or spoon onto each portion, and broil or use a blowtorch to quickly cook the meringue. Serve immediately.

Chocolate, Pecan and Dried Cherry Squares

Whipping cream, dried sour cherries and the slowly being used up crystallized honey were the basis of this rich, chocolatey, chewy and crumbly square. There are a lot of ingredients to measure out, but once they are ready to go the whole thing comes together pretty quickly.

I made and baked the crust, and prepped all of the filling ingredients while it baked. Then the filling was made while the crust cooled, poured into the crust and the whole thing baked.

The crumbly shortbread crust is a good contrast to the creamy, rich, chewy filling. The squares do freeze well, and actually taste just as good if eaten frozen as they do when eaten at room temperature!

To make the chocolate shortbread crust, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl:

1 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Stir in:

4 ounces melted, cooled butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until the wet and dry ingredients come together to form soft clumps of dough.

Press the dough into the bottom of an 8" X 8" pan that has been lined with foil, and lightly greased.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until the pastry is no longer wet, and is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven.

To make the filling, heat the following in a heavy bottomed pan until the butter has melted, and the honey and sugar have dissolved:

3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

Turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (it cannot be stirred down).

Boil for 30 seconds.

Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in:

1/2 cup flour

Return to a low heat and cook, stirring for another 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Whisk in:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir in:

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
2/3 cup roughly chopped dried sour cherries

Stir in:

4 ounces chopped dark chocolate

Scrape the filling onto the baked crust, spreading it evenly.

Bake at 350F until the centre of the filling is set and firm to the touch; the edges will bubble a little bit. The surface will be less shiny than before it was baked.

This should take about 22 - 25 minutes.




Allow the squares to cool completely before gently lifting the foil out of the pan, and peeling it away from the sides. Cut into squares, and serve at room temperature.

• What I love most about this square is how versatile both the crust and the filling are. One recipe can be changed around in so many ways to use up bits and pieces that are available to you...
• If you keep the crust chocolate consider adding a pinch of cayenne pepper as well as cinnamon; finely ground instant coffee or espresso powder can be used as a flavour; Earl Grey tea is also an option.
• No cocoa? Omit it and use flour in place of the cocoa. 
• Make the crust using flour, but no cocoa. In place of the cocoa use dried coconut.
• For the filling, the nuts can be changed by using a different nut to replace the pecans. You can also use a combination of different nuts...this is a great way to use up small amounts of two or three nuts. Some nuts that would work well in the square include almonds, walnuts, cashews, macadamias, pistachios or peanuts.
• Try other dried fruits instead of cherries...cranberries, raisins, blueberries, figs.
• Use white or milk chocolate instead of dark.
• Add sea salt into the filling to achieve a salted chocolate square.
• Grated orange zest will brighten the filling, and works well with fruits such as cherries or cranberries.

Pork Meatballs in a Hoisin Barbecue Sauce

Inspired by my daughter mentioning a dinner of pork meatballs and hoisin sauce, this was sweet and sour, spicy and rich and made enough for two meals.

It also used the opened can of tomato paste, the last of the jar of hoisin sauce, the last of the tamari, some chopped toasted peanuts and the ground pork that has been in the freezer for a couple of months. All in all, a success!

The barbecue sauce has Asian as well as western influences, is quick and easy to make and freezes well. So making a large batch is a no brainer for me. I added ginger and sesame oil to the meatballs to bring more of the Asian flavours through, and serving it on the steam fried noodles gave the sauce something to soak into.

To make the sauce, cook in a bit of olive oil until soft:

1/2 cup diced onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

Add the remaining ingredients:

2/3 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
5 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin




Simmer the sauce while you make the meatballs.

In a large bowl, combine:

1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix in:

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

Mix with your hands until well combined. If the mixture is too wet and does not hold together when you form a ball, add more breadcrumbs.

Form the meat mixture into 16 meatballs.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a wide, shallow sided pan.

Add the meatballs and brown quickly on all sides.

Add the sauce to the pan, cover and simmer.

The meatballs should be fully cooked after about 30 minutes. The sauce will have thinned down from the steam in the pan, as well as the meat juices released from the pork.

Skim any excess fat from the top before serving.






I served the meatballs on a bed of steam fried noodles and green beans, garnished with chopped green onions and peanuts.

• The meatballs can be made with any ground meat...beef, chicken, turkey. The amount of breadcrumbs may differ, as some of the meats have more moisture. I always start with 2/3 cup and add more a bit at a time if needed.
• The meatballs can be made ahead...refrigerate for a day, or freeze for another time.
• Cilantro can be used instead of, or as well as, the parsley if you have some.
• Add chili flakes to spice it up a bit.
• The sauce can be used with burgers, on pizza, in stir fry, on meatloaf, or it can be used to braise beef, pork or chicken (add some chicken or beef stock to thin it down).
• Use rice wine vinegar instead of apple cider.
• Hoisin sauce is very sweet, so feel free to cut the amount of honey added. You can always add some in at the end if you need to.

Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The story behind this bar is long, but I made it to use up some graham crumbs. Adding in the toasted hazelnuts I found, and using up more of my crystallized honey made perfect sense when I decided to use 3 of the apples...my apple pie cheesecake idea turned into salted caramel apple cheesecake.

I was making this for a coffee break treat, but it can be served as dessert as well. The sweetness of the honey is understated because of the tartness of the cream cheese and apples. The salt enhances the caramel, and there were just enough hazelnuts to add interest to the crust without overpowering everything else.

To make the salted caramel apples, combine in a heavy bottomed pan:

2 ounces butter
1/2 cup honey

Heat on a low heat until the butter has melted.

Turn the heat up to medium high, and stir until the caramel starts to bubble. Then leave it to cook until it is a deep golden colour, stirring occasionally.

Add the apples:

3 peeled, cored and sliced apples (1/4" thick)

Turn the heat to low. The caramel will seize up from the cold apples, and then start to melt again.

When the apples are tender, but still hold their shape, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the caramel. Reserve the caramel.

Add the salt and cinnamon to the apples and stir gently to coat each slice:

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon





Set the apples aside until needed. Heat the oven to 350F and line an 8" X 8" pan with parchment paper.

To make the crust,  combine the following in a food processor:

265g graham crumbs
20g toasted hazelnuts

Process until the hazelnuts are finely ground.

Place the graham crumbs and hazelnuts into a bowl. Add:

70g melted butter

Mix until well combined, and moist crumbs form.

Press the crust onto the bottom of the prepared pan and bake until set and slightly golden, about 8 - 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you make the cream cheese filling.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix until smooth and creamy, with no lumps remaining:

1 pound brick cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar

Add, one at a time, scraping the bowl down in between:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix in:

5 tablespoons whipping cream

Remove 1/4 cup of the cream cheese filling, and combine it with:

2 tablespoons of the cooled caramel from cooking the apples

Set aside until needed.

Place the cooled apples on top of the crust.

Scrape the cream cheese filling into the pan, spreading it gently over the apples.

Use a spoon to drizzle the caramel cream cheese over the vanilla cream cheese filling, to create a swirled pattern.

Put the 8" X 8" pan into a larger pan and adding about 1/2" of hot water to the large pan.

Put into the oven and bake until the centre of the filling is set, but still moves slightly when the pan is tapped.

This takes about 45 - 50 minutes.

Turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and the cheesecake inside for 5 minutes.

Take the cheesecake out of the oven, and out of the hot water bath. Run the tip of a sharp knife around the edges between the cheesecake and the parchment paper.

Allow to cool completely and then refrigerate overnight before cutting.




To serve, carefully lift the parchment paper out of the pan. I cut the cheesecake into 9 squares, as I was serving men who eat a lot! This can be served with coffee, or as dessert...add whipped cream and some fresh berries.

• The apples can be sliced or chopped, just make sure to remove them from the caramel before they turn to applesauce.
• Pears, nectarines or plums can be used instead of apples.
• Brown sugar can be used instead of honey: increase the amount to 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and cook over low heat until the butter melts, the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble.
• Maple syrup could also be used instead of honey.
• The salt can be omitted; it can also be increased. Taste your apples after the salt has been incorporated. I felt that 1/2 teaspoon was enough.
• Save the caramel for the swirl in the filling; any extra can be heated to use as a sauce for serving the cheesecake, or drizzling over ice cream.
• No hazelnuts? Use another nut such as pecans or almonds, or substitute graham crumbs for the nuts.
• The apples and crust can be cooked and baked a day ahead to save time. The cream cheese filling can also be made ahead and kept refrigerated until you are ready to bake the bars. 
• I find that brick cream cheese is better for cheesecake than the soft spreadable type as it remains firm after baking. Allowing it to come to room temperature before mixing it with the sugar helps to eliminate any lumps.
• The caramel from cooking the apples can be used instead of, or as part of, the whipping cream.
• To make this into an apple pie cheesecake, sprinkle streusel or crumble over the top of the batter before baking.
• The cheesecake cuts better when completely cold; making it a day ahead is the best way to do this if you can.