Whenever I do Christmas baking, Nanaimo Bars are a must. Living here on Vancouver Island, only a couple of hours from Nanaimo, it seems almost obligatory. This recipe, culled from the Victoria Times Colonist many years ago, was the winner of a contest in Nanaimo in 1986, whereby they sought the ultimate Nanaimo Bar. The lady who submitted it was called Joyce Hardcastle. I have enjoyed her recipe every year since then.
It’s December, and that brings on the cycle of madness known as Christmas baking. Every year, I make these, which are the best butter tarts I have ever tasted. The recipe came from a lovely lady called Katie Baxter, who called them Regal Butter Tarts.
I wanted something different for supper the other night, so I used one of Chef Michael Smith‘s recipes, adjusted it for the ingredients I did not have, and it was delicious. It was also very quick to make, and dinner was on the table in 30 minutes.
If you are looking for food that can be prepared in a real hurry, turkey breast cutlets are ideal. You can fry them in a frying pan with some olive oil in about 10 minutes. You could serve them with a salad and bake potatoes in the microwave for a very fast meal.
This meal wasn’t fast, because I really wanted fennel cooked with cream and parmesan to be part of it:)
This is a simple and easy dinner to make. It takes about 45 minutes. I make it sometimes when I want a meal that takes little preparation and produces a tasty dinner.
One of the things I like about baking a ham, is the leftovers. Ham sandwiches, stuffed pasta shells, pea and ham soup and tonight- just plain cold ham with potato frittata and salad.
Stuffed pasta shells are a treat my husband makes for me when we have leftover ham. I love this combination of flavours.
We are having a bake sale at work next Monday, and I was trying to think of something original, fast to make and tasty. I got a bit experimental, and decided to make individual butterscotch brownies (aka blondies by some people) and insert an apple rose in the middle.
It’s my daughter’s birthday in a couple days, and she lives too far away for me to make her a cake. Her favourite cake is carrot cake, so I decided to make carrot cupcakes and mail them to her. I’m afraid she will have to make her own cream cheese icing to frost them with.
With Christmas about 6 weeks away, it’s time to make the Christmas fruitcake. My husband likes dark fruitcake and I like light fruitcake, so I make a compromise version, somewhere in between. It’s easy to make, but takes quite a while to cook.
