Too Hot to Cook

So unless you live in Ontario (which is having it's coldest, soggiest July in 17 yrs) you may have heard that BC is having a heat wave.

Yes. It's hot. Yesterday was Vancouver's hottest day EVER. So hot that I haven't been cooking, and if you want me to bake, I'll call you insane. I've even dreamed of curling up in the freezer section at the grocery store, next to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Instead of cooking we've been:

a) eating out; although, no restaurants here have air conditioning and so it sort of defeats the purpose...

b) sticking to sandwiches and other easy stuff

c) Some days I cooked stuff like potato salad and turkey smokies, or baked chicken fingers and pasta salad in the morning, and then just stuck it in the fridge for the evening.

When it cools down I'll get back to cooking, I promise. Maybe it will inspire me to come up with some great hot weather recipes!

In the meantime I just have to referee Hubs and Jake as they fight over the last of the Chapman's frozen yogurt.

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Blueberry Crumble Bars

I love the blueberry bars at Starbucks. LOVE. So when I found this recipe in Canadian Living, I was all for it! These aren't like Starbucks bars; buttery, more oatmeal, more substantial; but still have a great blueberry taste and oh my, warmed up with a scoop of Chapman's Frozen Yogurt....

I tweeted after eating this that it took ALL my self restraint not to lick the plate. Really. It did.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
4 tsp cornstarch

Filling:
In a medium sized pot, combine the blueberries, sugar, and orange juice. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, until tender. Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with 2 Tbsp of water and and then whisk into the blueberries, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat.

Pour blueberry sauce into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap needs to be actually touching the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.

In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, sugar, orange rind, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until you have coarse crumbs. Actually I found this a bit difficult and ended up using my hands!

Press about 1/2 of the mixture into a 9 inch square cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper. I can't really stress the parchment paper enough; this makes the squares really easy to remove from the pan and cut. Next, pour the blueberry filling on top of the pressed bottom and spread evenly. Top with leftover oatmeal mixture. I didn't actually use all the oatmeal mixture, I had a bit leftover.

Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes, until light golden and bubbly. Let cool in the pan and when cool, remove from pan and cut into squares. You can keep the squares in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days, or transfer to the freezer for about 2 weeks. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving-and they are especially good warmed slightly in the microwave and topped with a dollop of vanilla frozen yogurt.

Yum!

Makes about 20 squares.

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Crockpot Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

A few months ago I discovered the blog The Crepes of Wrath, and drawn in by her insanely drool-worthy photos, I began trying some of her recipes.

Oh MY.

This was the original recipe for crockpot pulled chicken. I took that recipe, plus some of the ideas from the comments, and ended up with the most amazing pulled chicken sandwiches that we've ever had. Jake was ready to build an alter to worship the barbequey goodness that was our dinner. So delicious, easy, and what a great way to cook without heating up the kitchen!

2 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
1/2 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Bulls Eye BBQ sauce with Guinness
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

Put everything in a crock pot, cover, and cook on low for about 7-8 hours. Ours was finished in 7 hours. It will seem soupy, but don't worry-take out the chicken and shred with two forks, then add juices and mix until it seems well coated and moistened. I had some sauce left over which was fine.

Serve with toasted buns to pile the meat into at the table.

Serves 4-6.

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Home made Turtles

Inspired to try these candies (because I just loooove Turtles), I took the plunge. Was it worth it? These are really, really good. Just work intensive. If you like to make candy and spend time stirring, dipping, shaping, then it's a recipe for you! The original recipe is from Company's Coming Holiday Entertaining

1 lb of pecans
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 bar of Parowax

*here is where I tweaked it. I suppose that the wax allows the chocolate to set better, but I didn't like the idea of wax in the chocolate. So instead I used:
350 g semi sweet chocolate squares
350 g bittersweet chocolate squares
1/4 cup of butter

And then when I ran out of that....
300 g semi sweet chocolate chips
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter

Spread the pecans over the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch and an 8x8 inch pan.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the first amount of butter, sugar, and condensed milk. Bring to a boil. A candy thermometer is handy here, although even with one I found that I made the caramel a bit too chewy. It's better to be a bit on the softer side. Once the mixture boils, stand and stir, turning the heat down and allow it to bubble gently for about 25 minutes or until it reaches 250 F to the medium hard ball stage (if a small amount is placed in ice water it will hold it's shape but can be easily flattened).

Pour the mixture over the pecans. Let it set.

Spoon out pecan mixture into small clumps and set them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for easy dipping.

Melt the chocolate and second amount of butter over hot, not boiling water in a double boiler, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat.

Dip the caramel/pecan clumps into the chocolate, tap against the side of the pot to get rid of the excess chocolate, and set back onto the waxed paper.

These will seem to take forever to set. Be patient! I even left them overnight and they were perfect by morning.


The original recipe says it makes 5 dozen, but I ended up with double that.

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Chicken Burgers

Awhile ago I was in an art class where they were talking about food styling, and how they got their burger pictures to look perfect. Well-I'm not expert here, but I thought this one turned out pretty damn good considering that it's all real food that I ended up eating a mere few seconds after I put the camera down.

Often I find chicken burgers a bit too moist, to the point where the patty tends to fall apart somewhat as you try to eat it. This one was no exception. I pan fried the patties, but I'm sure if you cooked them on the grill you'd have more success. It was flavorful and moist, and a nice change from the usual beef patty. On the inside I slathered the bun with honey mustard, and topped the patty with some cheddar, red onion, tomato, and lettuce.

The original recipe is from Canadian Living's Summer 2009 Special Cookbook Issue.

1 egg
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp each pepper and salt
1 lb ground turkey or chicken
hamburger buns.

Mix the egg, water, and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the onion, bread crumbs, thyme, salt, pepper, and then mix well. Add the ground turkey and, using your hands, mix together until combined. Shape into four 1/2 inch thick patties.

Place on a greased grill over medium high heat, and close the lid. Grill, turning once, until cooked through. (about 10 minutes) The center should read 165 F with a digital thermometer.

Makes four.

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Bicks Macaroni Salad

This is a great pasta salad to take along to a picnic, a BBQ, or just nosh on with some great marinated, skewered chicken. Yummy!

Serves 8

1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup Bicks corn relish
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups uncooked macaroni
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped green onion
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

In a small bowl, mix the mayo, relish, salt, sugar, and pepper together, and Chill.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain well and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, combine macaroni, celery, red pepper, green onion and toss. Add the dressing, and toss until coated. Gently fold in the eggs.

Chill for about two hours.

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