Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cup canned pumpkin

Icing:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup shortening
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 3 tbsp cream or milk

Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients, and beat for 20 minutes. This is easiest in a food processor, but can also be done with a mixer in a bowl. Paper or grease 24 cupcake tins, and fill each to about ⅔ full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean after being poked into the middle of one.

Icing: Whip together the butter and shortening until smooth. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon, stirring thoroughly. Alternately add icing sugar and cream/milk. You can add a bit more or less of each depending on the consistency you would like. Spread or pipe onto the cupcakes after they have cooled.

Optional: Add pumpkin candies or other decoration for a more interesting presentation.

Related posts:

1. Carrot Cupcakes
2. Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
3. Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs , separated
• 1 lemon rind, grated
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup poppyseeds

• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1¼ cups icing sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1½ tsp grated lemon rind (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8″x4″ loaf pans. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in egg yolks and lemon rind. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk. Beat egg white until stiff, fold into batter along with poppyseeds. Pour into loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, checking after 40min to see if it’s brown and a knife comes out clean.

Combine topping ingredients and drizzle over loaves after they have cooled.

Makes 2 loaves.

Variations: Use blueberries instead of poppyseeds, or leave off the topping for a lighter snack. For muffins, bake in muffin tins for about 15-20min.

Related posts:

1. Lemon Meringue Pie
2. Harvo

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 4-5 servings of dry spaghetti (I measure this as a large handful or about half of a regular package - let me know if you have a foolproof way of measuring this!)

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• basil, thyme (~1 tsp dried or a small handful fresh)
• 1 large onion
• 1 handful mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 carrots, chopped into half coins
• 1 bunch of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 tbsp soy sauce or red wine vinegar (optional)

Directions:

Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook for 7-9 minutes or until it is soft enough to eat but still somewhat chewy.

Vegetables: In a large frying pan, heat the oil at medium-high until it pops when you drop water on it and then add the onion, mushrooms and herbs. Fry for a couple minutes, then add the carrots and brocolli. At this point you can add soy sauce or red wine vinegar to your taste, or add a little water to steam the broccoli with instead. Turn down the heat and stir every now and then until the other ingredients are ready.

Sauce: Follow the directions for Basic White Sauce, except fry the garlic in the butter for a minute before adding the flour and add the parmesan at the end. 

The order I usually do things in is: chop the vegetables, then heat the pasta water while starting the frying process. When the vegetables are all in the pan, I start the sauce, putting the pasta in to boil whenever the water is ready. If the pasta is ready too soon, you can drain it and leave it aside tossed with a little oil so it doesn’t stick.

Related posts:

1. Mom’s Lasagna
2. Kate’s Mexican Lasagna
3. Rainy Day Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp (rounded) baking soda

1 pinch salt (about ¼ tsp)

1 cup sultana raisins (or other dried fruit)

1 cup milk

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then add syrup and milk. Mix well. Bake in a greased loaf tin for 40min to an hour at 325°F or until the top is brown and a knife comes out clean after testing the middle of the loaf.

Note: I baked it at 350°F for 30min and then 300°F for 20min, but if you have a good oven it shouldn’t be that picky. See the picture of the recipe from my grandma Wynne Taylor for more details, including gas stove, electric stove, toaster oven, and her own old oven that had to be nursed along.

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1. Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

I can still remember a time when I didn’t know how to make even this. I somehow read the recipe wrong and thought I had to cook just the butter and flour for 5 minutes (Don’t do this!! It ruins pots!!). Despite that, this is a really easy recipe to make - almost as easy as kraft dinner and tastes much better. This is a variation on Basic White Sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

• 2 cups dry macaroni

Directions:

Fill a very large pot about ⅔ full with water. Bring to a boil. Add the macaroni, stir until boiling again, then turn down the heat to medium-high. If you leave the lid on, make sure it’s cracked open a bit so the pot doesn’t boil over. Cook for about 8 minutes, or more if it’s too chewy at that point. Drain the water, and set aside until the sauce is done.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a smaller saucepan. When it is fully melted, add the flour and quickly mix it in (I prefer to use a fork). A little at a time, add the milk while continuing to stir. As a general rule, add about half as much milk as there is already sauce in the pan, and make sure it is completely mixed before adding more. This will prevent lumps from forming. After all the milk has been added, continue heating and occasionally stirring until the sauce thickens. Once it starts to bubble at all, turn down the heat to minimum and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese has all melted. When the pasta is done, combine the sauce and macaroni in whichever pot can hold it all. Serve with raw or steamed veggies for a complete meal (corn, peas, carrots and brocolli are my favourites).

Serves 4.

Note: My sister recently taught me that for a single serving it works well enough to make this like you would kraft dinner. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and put it back in the same pot. Add each of the sauce ingredients, stirring well after each. The sauce turns out pretty much the same.

Variations: The easiest way to spice this up is to try different cheeses. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with any of the hard cheeses (gruyere, emmental, parmesan, mozerella, etc). I also like to add nutmeg and/or white pepper for a little extra flavour. In the above picture, I used a rainbow mix of small pasta instead of just macaroni.

Related posts:

1. Basic White Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When it is fully melted, add the flour and quickly mix it in (I prefer to use a fork). A little at a time, add the milk while continuing to stir. As a general rule, add about half as much milk as there is already sauce in the pan, and make sure it is completely mixed before adding more. This will prevent lumps from forming. After all the milk has been added, continue heating and occasionally stirring until the sauce thickens. Once it starts to bubble at all, turn down the heat, or remove it from the stove.

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1. Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter/margarine

Filling:

• 1½ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• dash salt
• 1½ cups hot water

• 3 slightly beaten egg yolks (egg whites in meringue)
• 2 tbsp butter/margarine
• ½ tsp grated lemon rind
• ⅓ cup lemon juice

(above is about one lemon’s worth of rind and juice)

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 6 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar with melted butter. Mix. Press into 9″ pie plate.

Filling: In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually add hot water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over moderately high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer (8 minutes for creamier filling). Remove from heat.

Stir a moderate amount of hot mixture into eggs yolks, then return to hot mixture. Bring to boiling and cook 2 minutes (4 minutes for creamier filling), stirring constantly. Add butter and lemon rind. Slowly add lemon juice, mixing well. Pour into crust.

Meringue: Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over top of pie and bake at 350°F for 12-15min. Cool to let filling set before eating.

Note: For Lime Meringue Pie, use 1 1/2 tsp grated lime rind, 1/4 cup lime juice and 2 drops green food colouring.

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1. Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup margarine
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1½ cup bran
• 2-3 tbsp wheat germ (or another ¼ cup bran)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Cream together margarine, sugar, salt and molasses. Beat in eggs. Add milk, baking soda and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add flour and baking powder to creamed mixture, stir only a little. Add bran and wheat germ. Mix only until moist. Fill 12 greased muffin tins. Bake 20-25 min.

Note: You can make the entire recipe in a food processor.

No related posts.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter or margarine
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1¼ cups flour
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together in a large bowl. Sift in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Cookies: Roll the dough into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Press down each one with a fork about halfway. Bake for 10-12min.

Reverse Peanut Butter Cups: Place small balls of dough into mini cupcake baking tin or silicone cups. Make a dent (I found it easiest to use my thumb or a knuckle), and put a few chocolate chips in each. Bake for 10-12min. During baking the chocolate chips make the hole bigger, so you can put more in just after they come out of the oven.

Related posts:

1. Peanut Butter Cups

Original recipe is here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Phenomenal-Chicken-and-Pasta-in-Creamy-Pesto-Sauce/

Ingredients:

Marinade:

• 2 tbsp chicken/veggie broth
• ½ cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Pesto:

• 1½ cloves garlic
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 3 tbsp walnuts
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Sauce/Pasta:

• ½ - ⅔ of a 16 ounce package dried pasta shells (or penne, or linguine)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 5 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced (optional)
• 3 tbsp walnuts, crushed
• 1 tbsp flour
• ¼ cup white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream
• salt to taste

Directions:

Start the chicken marinating right away so that it can get as much flavour as possible. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade in a medium sized glass bowl, making sure the liquid covers the chicken, and set aside.

Add the ingredients of the pesto to a food processor, except the oil. Pulse the blade until they are well mixed, then pour in the oil a little at a time. This should result in a thin green paste. Set this aside as well.

(This can be done while starting the sauce) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes, or to taste. Drain, and toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent it sticking.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, and sprinkle the sugar over top. Fry until the onions are soft. Stir in sun-dried tomato pieces and walnuts, and cook about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour evenly, and mix in for about a minute. Add the chicken marinade along with ½ cup white wine. Simmer and stir for about 8 minutes.

Add the pesto and cream to the pan, and cook until the sauce has thickened. Combine the pasta and sauce in the frying pan or pasta pot (whichever can hold the full volume), then serve with fresh parmesan, pepper, and salt.

Makes about 3-4 servings.

My alterations: The first time I made this, I left out the sun-dried tomatoes (hard to find), and halved the recipe. I also replaced pine nuts with walnuts because I happened to have them on hand. Pine nuts are the more common ingredient in classic pesto, but walnuts work just as well for the extra richness and crunchiness. The sauce was pronounced “a little cheesy” by the boyfriend, who dislikes sharp cheese.. but the plate was licked clean in the end. The second time I made it, the sun-dried tomatoes did provide a nice counter to the parmesan, but as a fan of cheese I don’t think they were necessary.

The original recipe calls for penne, which I find a bit too solid. I first tried pasta shells, which were wonderful for scooping up the sauce, and then linguine. The other change I made was to add flour to the sauce. This helped the sauce thicken, which was definitely needed for the linguine so the sauce would stick to the pasta.

For a lighter meal, I might increase the amount of pasta, substitute milk for the cream, and chop the chicken into smaller pieces. More servings, less sauce per serving. The sauce is so flavourful that it shouldn’t make a huge difference.

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1. Chicken Curry