Ale Toffee with Pretzels and Beer Ganache

Booze AND candy. Win.

I really like pinterest.

Wow. That was a lie.

I love pinterest. It’s a problem in my life.

This recipe was a pinterest find, and a doozy at that. It’s super easy and pretty impressive once it all comes together.

I made these for a guy friend’s birthday (c’mon folks – man + beer, it’s a perfect combination) and they were a big hit. We also had them for our cinco de mayo dinner (I know, they're not mexican, but they're delicious. and mexican people like delicious. therefore I dont care.) The toffee is crunchy (but not tooooo crunchy) and the ganache is creamy and not too sweet.

I know, you’re thinking “beer and chocolate? You crazy.” It’s what I thought too! But it’s sooo good!

Daunted by making candy? I promise these are one of the easiest recipes for candy you’ll find out there. A good stepping stone into making all kinds of delicious homemade goodies.

Silpats (the mat underneath my toffee) are fabulous. You should probably buy one

I used the exact recipe from the Beeroness (great name btw!), except I didn’t cook my toffee as long (I was afraid it was going to burn). I like mine a little lighter and it turned out fab (less risk too if you’re not used to it).

OH! And I used alphabit pretzels instead of regular ones (cause I’m fun like that!)

OH OH! and I used a local beer to this area - Kawartha Lakes Brewery Nut Brown Ale - instead of the amber ale she used (because i couldn't find it). I'm not a big beer girl (don't know if you noticed), but this stuff is delicious (I may have had one or two while I was candy-ing) 

Here’s the link to her recipe:

http://thebeeroness.com/2012/05/01/chocolate-pretzel-beer-toffee/

Make this toffee. Eat it with your friends. Make it for your dad for father’s day.

Make it for someone who has had a breakup (toffee and beer heal all wounds).

Ok! There’s my short and oh so very sweet post for today!

Xx

-BBC

p.s. I made two batches of cake pops this week and will hopefully have a detailed tutorial for you this coming week. I was a baking machine.

p.p.s. have y’all tried cake vodka yet? That stuff is magical.

Turkey Burger Sliders with Bacon Jam and Avocado Mayo - BBC Original

admit it. you made a face when I said "turkey burger". well I'll prove that face wrong (or ... something that makes sense)

Wow. I’m sorry. You know why. Don’t make me say it.

I know excuses are lame, but for real! I moved! I didn’t have internet! Life has been hairy.

I really need to chat with you about something though; I hope you have a few minutes to listen.

So, I moved downtown last weekend to a fabulous new apartment with a fabulous new roommate. She’s the best; just about the wackiest and most wonderful person I know. Having someone around when I get home, someone to bitch to or just yammer on about boys is something I dearly missed. And you know what? I didn’t know that I would miss it at all.

When I moved in on my own, I thought I needed solitude and peace and quiet. Turns out that solitude and peace turn me into some sort of lonely monster. And a hungry one at that. It’s funny how wrong we can be about ourselves sometimes.. who knew!

I don’t know if you noticed over the past year, but there was something funky going on in my life. (If you didn’t notice, I’m telling you now – Life = funky in 2011/2012).

Sidenote for accountants only – I almost put FY before 2011/2012 in that sentence. How embarrassing.

So when I moved, I hoped that a change in location and a change in contact information (holler at me if I missed you) would remove the funky from my day-to-day. I hoped and I prayed a little, hoping that a change was imminent. It stressed me out (like most things to be honest).

WELL. Let me tell you. After packing, loading, unloading and unpacking last weekend, I can honestly say that something has shifted in the universe. The only funkiness I have seen in the last week was a tiny little dance session in my audit room with a certain wonderful senior.

Living downtown has allowed me to meet up with friends I haven’t seen in a while, go to shows, go to the beach and go for walks at night. Plus, did I mention that my roommate is fabulous? AND Smitty lives a 5 minute walk away too.

There. That is my rant to make up for the fact that I’ve been neglecting you. I know it was long. I know it was too peppy for someone who is in the office today. But too bad, so sad! That’s how I feel.

Now, one of the other benefits of living downtown is that it’s convenient for friends to pop by for dinner. This past Friday, my lovely friend Vanessa stopped by for an indoor spring barbecue. We had turkey burgers, Tahini slaw, oven fries and homemade ice cream sandwiches. The turkey burgers were my own recipe, so I’m going to share them here with you:

It's lucky I have leftovers to look forward to, or I'd be attempting to manger my screen right now.

Turkey Burger Sliders with Bacon Jam and Avocado Mayo (A BBC original):

• 1/2 lb of ground turkey (roughly)
• 2-3 tbs of plain yogurt
• 1 jalapeno – seeded and chopped fine
• 1 green onion, chopped fine
• A small handful of basil leaves, chopped fine
• Salt, pepper and your favourite spices (I used my “Mountain Man” rub from Cabela’s.. cause I like the name)
• Bacon Marmalade (PC Black Label) – if you can’t find this where you are, you could make your own (which I plan to do soon) or you could use an apricot jelly (it would still be really yummy)
• 1 avocado, salt, pepper, lime juice (1/2 lime) and mayonnaise (I homemade my mayo, but you really don’t need to do that)
• Swiss cheese, sliced thin or grated.
• Arugula leaves or whatever lettuce you like
• Mini ciabatta buns (or full -sized buns if you want full-sized burgers.. duh)

BACON JAM! bacon jam. BACON! JAM! 

Maple Oatmeal Muffins

I think I have a thing for muffins.

There I said it. Muffins and I, we’re in a serious relationship.

Not those cake-y greasy ones you get at the grocery store. And certainly not the ones that crumble all over your dress when you eat them in the car. Those ones aren’t up to snuff.

I’m currently in love with homemade muffins (warm from the oven if you please). Ones that are not only delicious, but keep you full for hours on end.

If I close my eyes when I’m sipping my mid-morning tea and eating my muffin, I can almost imagine that I’m at home, in my chair with the sun beaming in. Almost.

Muffins are extremely easy to make and when you’re busy, they’re a great way to switch up your snacking routine.

Busy season tip – I freeze my muffins (without papers) and microwave them at the office for a steamy treat.

Sidenote! Life update: We’re back down to 7 hour days. Which means I’ll have time for my life again. Love it. AND I’m moving in less than 2 weeks. Downtown. Which means more playtime and more restaurant reviews.

If life is like real estate, I’m hoping that this location change makes things brighter and better. And I’m sure it will (everything looks sunnier on this end of busy season).

OK! Back to this recipe:

You can find it here at the Crepes of Wrath.

Here are the changes that I made:

• I used half whole wheat and half white flour
• I added over ½ a cup of toasted pecans

That’s it! These are magical. A really good snack.

Maple muffins? That even has a nice ring to it.

Let’s celebrate ce weekend? Cinco de mayo and 7 hour days, I’m into it.

Love always,

-BBC

Amanda Squares - The Original BBC Original

I'm so excited! and I just can't hide it!

Ok.

It’s time to get real.

I’ve been putting this post off for a year and a half.

Why? Well here’s why:

1. These squares are my claim to fame. They’re quite possibly the reason I realized I was good at this thing you and I like to call “cooking”, and well, I figured once I showed them to you, you might not have a reason to stay.
2. They’re the easiest thing ever. And I figured, once my friends and family figured that out, they might not need me anymore either. (I like being needed..)
3. I want to keep condensed milk prices low (supply and demand my friends).

Now, I know you’re wondering, so I’m going to tell you. No, I didn’t name them. A dear friend of mine did, back when these were a staple on the party circuit (along with guac and homemade salsa).

These babies are perfect for holiday parties with family, pre-bar snacktimes with friends, or post-bar morning munchies with your girlfriends (just remember to hydrate folks. It’ll save your life/ bod).

This recipe makes enough for a 9x13 pan, I promise, you’ll need them all

If you're planning on bringing these to a party where there will be adult beverages served, perhaps think about bringing a container you don't care about. Forethought. 

Thai Peanut Pork Curry - Busy Season Meals

15 minute meal. I need this in my life right now.

Right now, I’m in my bed. My shoes and workbag are beside me on the floor. I plopped them there, jumped into my PJs and got into bed. That’s how my day went.

Today’s retrospective forecast calls for large amounts of harried busy-ness, a few scattered hailstorms (where my computer crashes AGAIN, and I lose all of my work AGAIN) and a smattering of inspiration.

That smattering is why I’m not currently curled up in a ball eating cookie dough from the freezer while simultaneously  banging my head against the wall. Not a pretty picture? You should see it from this side.

But I’m not doing that. I’m writing to you.

My inspiration comes from meeting 6 wonderful women at a speed-mentorship event. These young professionals were new to Canada and came from all over the world. They picked up their lives and moved, with the hope of a new life here. All of them had amazing life stories, great experience and were far braver than I ever hope to be (and I was mentoring them!)

After talking to each one about the accounting profession in Canada and passing on my wee bit of knowledge, I came away a little refreshed, a little bit happier, and wondering why these amazing ladies weren’t helping me with my life. It’s interesting how that works some times.

There's something about the interplay between cold lettuce and hot curry that tickles my fancy. (that was an odd sentence. I'm going to run with it)

But you’re not here for that. You’re here for pork! And I’m going to give it to you, hopefully super quick so I can see the insides of my eyelids for more than 6 hours tonight.

This is a dish I make probably once every two weeks. It’s a staple. It’s delicious. But most of all, it takes about 15 minutes, start to finish.

Thai Peanut Pork Curry:

Roasted Eggplant and Pumpkin Curry - Busy Season Meals

A BBC Original! 

Oh hi!

Today feels a little less grey and a little bit sunnier, don’t you think? Maybe it’s the literal sunshine that’s beaming through my window right now or maybe it’s that I can almost reach out and grab summer by the throat.

Did I say throat?

I meant hand.

(But for real, I’d like to grab summer by the you-know-whats this year, ask it where it’s been and then run away and never come back. Yep. That’s the plan.)

I’m terrible at cooking with the seasons. Not in that I don’t shop for the veggies by what’s here, because I’m great at that (I have a farmers’ market problem.), I just crave things that I shouldn’t crave according to mother nature.

Summertime – I want mac and cheese with my steak.

Winter – I crave green and leafies

Yesterday – I craved hot chocolate after my intense grappling/martial arts class (but that’s not really to my point, it’s just weird.)

So, when it was sunny and lovely out a few days ago, I wanted curry. Something so warm and satisfying, with steaming rice and bright green cilantro. None of that namby-pamby spring food for me. Pumpkin curry all the way.

Things you need in your life. The pop of these seeds are really what make the curry so yummy and fresh.

Egg and Awesome Sandwich - Busy Season Meals

Doesn't this look... eggcellent? (double groan)

Hey!

You over there, with the bags under your eyes and no pep in your step, you look like you need some more busy-season food. Some more quick and easy meals that you can make in a hurry and eat for lunch for a few days. Meals that have tons of energy packed into them without giving you what we in the industry call “auditor’s ass”

.

Boy oh boy do I have lots of those; tons and tons of delicious treats have been backlogging my big ‘ol camera for a few weeks now. I’m trying to pay attention to you, I really am, but between work, working out, working on my life and things not working the way I want, there hasn’t been much time for me to sit down and tapa-tapa-tapa my random thoughts and musings on this little keyboard.

I know we’ve had this talk before, about simple things being the best, but I think we might need to have it again. Because I forgot. I hope you didn’t, but I know I did. I was off adding smoked cheese to polenta and stuffing meat with two other kinds of meat and I forgot how delicious a few, really good, simple ingredients could be.

This busy-season meal makes me happy. Really happy. And it serves many purposes, so I’m going to share in the hopes that you make this one night this week (and then make the eggplant pumpkin curry that’s going up tomorrow, right after) so that you have tons of healthy meals to get you through your hectic schedule.

We need all the help we can get.

The basic premise for this simple, open-faced sammie came from a number of places:

The Kitchn – Spring Sandwich

Another sandwich I saw online that had mayo and avocado and other delicious things

Alton Brown’s Baked Boiled Eggs

sidenote: do you read the Kitchn? Cause you should.  

Wait! Back the truck up. Baked boiled eggs? Say what?!

You heard it. Baking your eggs is way easier than boiling them, and they come out creamier and dreamier. Plus! If you’re making some for a party, or for a ravenous family, you can make as many as your oven will hold, all at once. Win.

The instructions for baking boiled eggs are as follows (directly from someone’s blog who got them from watching the Great Alton Brown)

• Preheat oven to 325
• Place eggs on the rack (perpendicular if you will) and close the oven. Bake for 30 minutes for hard and 25 for medium.
• You can put a baking tray underneath them if you are a little skiddish (I did..)
• Take them out and immerse in a cold bath for 10 minutes before peeling under cold water

BBC tip: make your eggs in advance so that you have a healthy snack or yummy bfast during the week. They will keep for 5 days in the fridge if you keep them in their shells.

Just so you know, this avocado was perfect. A rarity in my life. it's the small things.

Recipe after the jump!