Yogurt Lemon and Orange Cakes

For our study party last night, I decided to bring these little cakes. Sadly they did not turn out as good as I had hoped. Some of us liked them, others not so much. They're not bad but just not amazing. Anyhow they are easy to whip up and a good substitute to store bought anything!

Ingredients:

• 1 yogurt cup (the actual tin/recipient/cup which you will use in this recipe over and over again)
• 2 cups of sugar (use the yogurt cup)
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cut of canola oil
• 1 zest of lemon and its juice
• 1 zest of orange and its juice
• 3 tsp of baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. With an electric mixer, beat all the ingredients together. 
3. Put in little individual cupcake cups.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until slightly golden. 
5. Enjoy!

* You could add chocolate chips... or jam. 

Here is a picture you might enjoy, Anne-Claire and I were packing yesterday and with all our boxes we decided to build a fortress in the middle of our common area between the rooms! We have kept it as such since, it has been a laugh coming into our rooms. We have a 'secret' passage next to the tree!! 

Feta and Prawn Penne

This dish is one of my favourites. It is quite easy to make, albeit many steps and the end result is always so satisfying! I have changed the recipe a bit but the main idea is the same. Now, my pictures look nowhere as good as hers, simply because we were in a hurry to eat and only bothered taking 2 pictures after we have mixed the sauce in the pasta... but really its DELICIOUS. Please try it, it will make you happy!

Ingredients:

For the shrimp marinade:

• 25 small shrimps, or 15 large shrimps. 
• Lemon zest
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• seat salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and set aside in the fridge for 30 mins to 2 hours depending on how marinated you want your shrimp. 

For the pasta dish:

• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
• 3 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• A box of penne pasta (cook per instructions!)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 
2. In a skillet (oven proof), heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and add the minced garlic. Saute the garlic until golden brown. 
3. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the basil, vinegar, red pepper, salt and pepper. Mix well and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced a bit. Spread evenly in the skillet. 
4. In a bowl mix the breadcrumbs, the parsley, feta, remaining olive oil, sea salt and pepper. 
5. Put the shrimp in a single layer on top of the tomato sauce mix and then cover with the breadcrumb mixture. 
6. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. 
7. Mix the sauce with the penne and Enjoy!

* The original recipe calls for chicken broth and fennel. I have never tried it with both ingredients. Let me know if you do!

Banana and Choc Chip Muffins

SORRY for the lack of posts, but between exams, last minute cramming, packing up the place because we're moving and procrastinating, I have not had time to bake nor update this blog. However, today is your lucky day! In an attempt to empty the cupboards I decided to whip up these muffins. Boy were they amazing.  I made 18 of them and they're all nearly gone 12 hours later. They're soft and full of flavour. They definitely were a big hit in this apartment and they allowed me to finish the flour, choc chip and butter! yay! A must-try!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 egg + 1 yolk
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup of yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 bag of choc chips

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
2. With an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. 
3. Add the egg + yolk and continue beating.
4. Add smashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix well. 
5. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. 
6. Fold in the chocolate chips... you should get a really soft and light batter. 
7. In cupcake/muffin paper cups put 2 tbsp of the batter. (this can change depending on the size of your cups)
8. Bake for 20 minutes. 
9. Enjoy!

* You can have some sort of frosting. The original recipe calls for peanut butter frosting. 

Easter BBQ Salad

On Saturday, nine of us went up to Dana's chalet near St Sauveur in Quebec... it was a wonderful afternoon, filled with great food and great people. We had some great meat and also an amazing salad which i thought i should share with you. It was delicious and super simple to make, and also accompanied the meats well. A definite must try!

Ingredients: 

• Spinach leaves
• Greens
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 green pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper 

1. Cut the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers in cubes.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Refrigerate. 
4. Enjoy! ( Yes, it is THAT easy to make a salad!)

* You could add nuts, raisins... etc.

And now a few pics from the trip... just because I feel like sharing. Photos courtesy of Amina. 

From left: Tania, Dana, Michel, Malek, Anthony, Anne-Claire, Julie, Charles. [Amina not in picture]

From left: Anne-Claire, Amina, Michel, Dana, Malek, Charles, Anthony. [Tania and I got lazy.]

HAVE A HAPPY EASTER!

Baguette

Happy Easter Sunday! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and getting plenty of chocolate - it is probably the only day you can indulge without feeling the extreme guilt afterwards... then again I never get that guilt. I will update you guys on our easter shenanigans soon! In the mean time, something to keep you salivating... I made Baguette! Being the french that I am... it is no wonder why I love baguette so much. It is simply delicious. This recipe is extremely easy, and sooo healthy considering there is no butter whatsoever. You should definitely try it. It was a breeze! It last two days without going hard or moldy! Amazing! I got it from the book by Mireille Guiliano - French Women Don't Get Fat. 

• 1 tsp of active dry yeast
• 500 ml of warm water
• 550g of flour
• 3 tsp of salt (preferably sea salt)
• 1 egg wash (egg beaten and mixed with 1 tbsp of water)

1. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast with 100ml of the warm water. Mix using a fork and set aside for the next ten minutes. 
2. In a big bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Add the yeast and about 400ml of water... mix thoroughly until you get a soft dough. Knead the dough for about ten minutes. Set aside for an hour. 
3. Divide the dough into 4 different balls, and shape like a baguette. Put on your baking tray and let rise a bit more. (wait till it has nearly doubled). 
4. Preheat oven at 230 degrees. Brush the bread dough with the egg wash and make diagonal cuts on your dough to make it look like a baguette. 
5. Put in the oven with a bowl of 500ml of hot water in the oven so the bread can keep moisture. 
6. Bake for about 15 minutes and lower the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 7 minutes or until golden brown. 
7. Remove and let cool.
8. Enjoy!

* You could use wheat flower for an even more healthy approach!