Yum! Fruity!

So, I am eating a lot of fruit salad lately - chock full of delicious citrus fruits like pink grapefruit and oranges, bananas, kiwi and grapes (or golden raisins). Sometimes with pineapple too, when I'm in the mood to tackle cutting one up. And I love a little toasted coconut on fruit salad - tres tropicale!

I was getting tired of waiting for Starbucks to bring back their seasonal rio citrus fruit salad (instead of the crunchy unripened melon thing they push for the rest of the year) and it's so much better to make my own anyway. And bigger! I probably get 6 servings of fruit in one of my concoctions! And I can be as fussy as I like - no membranes on my grapefruit, thank you very much!

Mmm... cookies!

While Jamie was taking good care of me this weekend he got a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. What with our new cupboard space and all, we actually had all the ingredients on hand! He used the recipe on the chocolate chips package, and they turned out great! Even though I was sick, I still managed to eat one - very delicious!

Now Jamie's out of town and I remembered that he put them in the freezer before his trip. I suspect I will be digging those out as soon as I can taste food again!

Sweet, delicious buttertarts

Finally was able to do one element of my holiday baking! Butter tarts - best known for being delicious all year round. I normally make them with my other Christmas baking, but this year moving meant that I was too tired to bake and also that most of my equipment was hidden in boxes!

Butter tarts are so easy. I use my Grandma's recipe but substitute frozen tart shells for hand-made pastry for the sake of convenience. I'm not a big fan of pie crusts and such anyway...

These are always popular - they have golden raisins, coconut and walnuts, as well as all the usual sugar and syrupy goodness! Excellent with a big glass of milk.

Nothing tastes like a cupcake!

Had a really strong craving for cupcakes the other day. Sure, I could go to Cupcakes, the store, (which I love and am sometimes known to do!) but I felt like baking, so searched online for a good recipe. I wanted lemon, vanilla and coconut flavours. Found this great recipe from Martha Stewart for vanilla cupcakes and this recipe for buttercream. Just modified half the buttercream by adding some lemon extract, and toasted a bit of coconut for topping some of the others. Both the batter and icing were really easy, and while the ingredients list of butter, white flour, white sugar and confectioner's sugar won't win any nutritional prizes, I did use organic eggs and had to spend time whisking (exercise!!).

So good! I did vanilla-vanilla, vanilla-lemon and vanilla-vanilla-coconut. I adore coconut. Brought some to Bonnie's yesterday, where we had a wonderful lunch of carrot soup, salad and wild salmon. Still have a few cupcakes left and am wishing I had one right about now! And more of that carrot soup!

Super delicious!

Yesterday while I was making dinner and chatting to Jamie on the phone, I asked him what he thought of mixing pineapple juice and Canada Dry together. He was skeptical, but good gracious, it is delicious!! Added maraschino cherries too, and cherry syrup and it's the best thing I've ever had! I'm thinking of naming it the PineFizz. Here's the "recipe":

In a highball glass:
-1/3 glass of 100% pineapple juice
-2/3 glass of gingerale
-2 maraschino cherries
-3 tsp maraschino cherry syrup (let it settle to bottom)

I bet it would taste great with some vodka or rum as well (I will experiment with this in six months!)... Enjoy!

Yummy Saturday

Had a great day on Saturday - Jamie and I visited with Bonnie & Dave and Jasmine, and we went to White Rock for fish & chips. Soooo good! I'd been having a craving for them all week, since spotting them on a menu elsewhere. Cod is a better choice over halibut, as halibut has a higher mercury content. Next time you're in White Rock stop at Coney Island Fish & Chips - they are the best. Followed up with ice cream for some and a walk for all, down to the pier.

And a big thanks to Bonnie for all the delicious-looking vegetables from Dave's orchard (different Dave!). Can't wait to eat those beets, squash, carrots & broccoli, and much more! Going to tuck into them tonight - making roasted chicken & veggies for supper. PJs loves vitamins! And stuffing (hey, practicing for Thanksgiving!).

Sounds tasty

Just saw a recipe online for "non-alcoholic champagne". Sure it's no Cristal, but it sounds delicious and sugary:

3 cups sparkling white grape juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups ginger ale.

Add pineapple chunks and lemon, lime and orange slices.

I will have to find a reason to buy all that stuff. I think I may already have some leftover bottles of sparkling white grape from our art show at work a while back... OMG - maybe I can put maraschino cherries in this!!!!

Mmmmm...

I am SOOOO in the mood for maraschino cherries and a bean soft taco supreme. Not at the same time, necessarily - that might be gross... But I think I am going to have to make a pilgrimage to the valley to get some Taco Bell this weekend! And a stop to pick up some cherries sooner than that! I've been eating exceedingly healthfully, but man alive, a taco and some cherries would suit me right.

Other things I've been in the mood for a lot lately: vanilla yogurt, peaches, coconuts. Together - so delicious! And Earl Gray tea mistos - you can make them yourself with hot milk and a water-decaffeinated tea bag!