Bubbling Blueberry Muffins

These moolicious blueberry muffins are so quick and easy to make ...they are hard to resist when they come straight from the oven.... so eat 'em while the blueberries are hot and bubbling inside. Great for a morning breakfast after a hard run up Mount Royal!

- Preheat oven to 350, line a 12 - muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl:

1. Whisk 1/2 cup margarine with 3/4 cup sugar, a tsp vanilla and rose water, 2 eggs.

2. Stir in 2 cups cake flour and 2 tsps baking powder until well mixed.

3. Fold in 2 cups blueberries.

4. Fill your liners generously with batter.

5. Bake for 20 minutes.

Moolicious!

Taco Burgers

The fastest, tastiest meal. This comes together in no time...
It's a fusion of American (USA) and Mexican for The Gold Cup soccer game.


Taking a short cut...

- Sprinkle in a package of taco seasoning to 2 pounds ground beef. Add in chopped fresh parsley and oregano and form 4 nice - sized patties.
- BBQ 5 minutes per side. Turn off and top with Provolone just so it melts.
- Lay on a bed of Italian Farro *takes about 20 minutes and sprinkle in some cilantro.
- Top cheese burger with salsa (homemade or store bought).
- For the salad, your favorite blend of greens, spritzed with lime juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Homemade salsa:
- Preheat oven to 350
- On a sheet pan, place a pack of cherry tomatoes, 3 cloves garlic, 1 sweet red pepper, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor, with lime zest and juice, freshly chopped cilantro and spices: cayanne, a few dashes of hot sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- Pulse to combine.
- Serve with tortilla chips and top on your burgers!
- Refridgerate!


Moolicious!

Almond Moo Tart

Ok, I must be on a pie-kick.

Here's an easy dessert that is yummy any time of the year.

The crust:

1. In a food processor, pulse 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cornmeal, 3 tbsps sugar, pinch of salt, 1 tsp almond extract, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup sliced almonds. You should be left with a crumbly mix that sticks together when you squeeze it.

2. Preheat oven to 350.

3. Lightly grease a tart dish and press your mixture firmly in your dish.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to completely cool.

The filling:

After cleaning out your food processor....

1. In your processor, add 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup cream cheese, 1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 2 eggs. Blend for 30 seconds, mixture should be nice and smooth; scrape down the sides if needed.

The topping:

With your fingers, mix 2 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp cornmeal, with 2 tbsps butter or margarine, and another 1/3 cup sliced almonds.

Assembly:

1. After crust has cooled, with oven at 350 once again, add filling and make sure it's even, add topping evenly and bake for roughly 50 minutes.

Allow to cool (refridgerate!) like a cheese cake before enjoying!

Moolicious!

Ripened Raspberry Pie!

Yeah....I don't do pies that often, but raspberries have been great in every way possible this year; sweet, yet tart, juicy, huge and ruby red in color. My favorite berry, no doubt. I needed to showcase them in all their glory. You will need a deep pie dish for this one!

The design on top is in honor of Val and Bruce's new "summer" puppy to be.... :) Happy retirement Val!

For the crust:

In a food processor, pulse: 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp baking powder.

Add 3/4 cup cold unsalted and chopped butter, and slowly add in 1/3 cup ice cold water and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Keep a few handfuls of flour nearby and add some if you find it too moist.

- Wrap with saran and set in fridge 30 minutes prior to use.

For the yummy filling:

- Clean and dry 8 cups fresh raspberries.

- In a pot, simmer 3 cups raspberries, 2 tbsps quick cooking tapioca, 1 cup sugar, a few seconds of freshly grated cinnamon stick, a splotch of vanilla extract and almond extract and a pinch of salt. 5 minutes, until liquidy.

- Add the simmered mixture to the 5 remaining cups of fresh raspberries.

- Allow to completely cool.

Pie assembly:

- Split your dough in two equal pieces.

- Roll out 1 half of dough (about 1/4 inch) and fit in pie dish.

- Fill with cooled berries.

- Roll out 2nd piece- now would be the time to make a design (doggie or otherwise) and place over berries. Cut off excess, brush with egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. I used a lavender infused sugar that I found, but you could use any really.

- You may want to cover your crusts with foil.

- Bake for 10 minutes at 425 and then lower to 400 (remove foil) and then bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown.

The house will smell berry-licious!

Enjoy.

Moolicious!

BBQed Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

This pork tenderloin was amazing. I served it with a chic pea salad with feta, tomatoes and sweet red pepper, and a plain foccacia pizza-bread.

I had a small loin and the combo of spices was this:

1/2 tsp each: oregano, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, pepper, salt, and a pinch of rosemary.

1. Put olive oil into a zip loc with the pork and the spice rub. Rub it all into the meat. Let sit in the fridge for an hour.

2. BBQ on med-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side, turn off BBQ and let sit in the heat for 3-5 minutes.

3. Optional sauce: In a small pot, combine a splotch of honey and about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. Let simmer and boil down into a nice sauce, add a pinch of rosemary and spoon over pork.

Moolicious!

The Perfect Meal

You may ask why I called it the perfect meal, but literally everything was perfect about it. From the gnocchi, the rice, asparagus and sausages, the weather, the beer, eating outside, having been famished before hand and of course, my company- this is what perfect means to me.

Simplicity:

- Toss some clean, thick asparagus with oil, salt and pepper, throw em on the grill- direct.
- We had German sausages; just the right amount of salt and spices- right on the grill- for about 10-12 minutes, rolling them around.
- For the gnocchi, cook according to package instructions and then toss with melted butter, oil, freshly grated Romano cheese, and fresh basil, salt and pepper and then add a spritz of lemon juice.
- The rice, we cheated and just a package of wild rice.



Moolicious!

Lavish Lobster Rolls a la Moolicious

We do eat well. That I'll have to admit...
When we want "take out" or restaurant style food, usually I make it; whatever it is we're craving. It saves money, time and we can eat in the comfort of our own home or balcony.
Lobsters have been at a good price lately, so we went for some New England style lobster rolls tonight, served with a side salad, store bought fries and a splash of white wine.
Go to a restaurant and the bill will set you back about 80 bucks. Not at Moolicious Kitchen.


For the lobster roll mixture.

- Chop 3 tails, 6 claws into small bite sized pieces.
- Mix about 1/4 cup mayo, a few dashes of hot sauce, lemon zest and a squich of juice, a tsp or so of Dijon, 2 chopped scallions, salt and pepper.
- Mix well with lobster.
- Butter your plain hot dog buns, fill with lobster and top with parsley.

That's it, that's all !


Moolicious!

Crispy Cornflake Crusted Cod with Campanelle

We needed a healthy-choice, energy packed meal for last night's Velo la Nuit; a 20 km night time bike ride that takes you around the island of Montreal.
This was perfect!
We used cod, but tilapia or any other strong, meaty white fish would work.


1. Prep your crust station. 1 plate flour, 1 plate crumbled CornFlakes, 1 bowl beaten egg.

2. Preheat oven to 425.

3. Get pasta water ready. Get saute pan with oil heated.

4. Get pasta ingredients ready: slice one shallot, sliver one roasted red pepper, chuckify one small zucchini, zest a lemon and reserve the juice in a small bowl, grate some sharp Gouda cheese, defrost shrimp and set everything aside.

5. For the fish: First season with oil, salt and pepper, coat with flour, then egg, then CornFlakes. Get everyone done and bake on a cookie sheet for 20-22 minutes, flipping half way.

6. With about 10 minutes left on the fish: add your pasta (about 2 cups dry) to water, saute your shallot and zucchini for abot 5 minutes, then add shrimp, lemon zest and juice, noodles, red pepper, salt and pepper, olive oil and about 1/2 cup pasta water to create a nice sauce.

7. When you serve, have a lemon wedge for your fish and be sure to top the pasta with the Gouda cheese!


Moolicious!

Shrimp on the Barbie Pizza!

Yes, you heard right. This summer, we are all about everything BAR BEE QUOO-ed!

This simple pizza recipe is great for al fresco dining, which is how we enjoyed it.

1. You'll need to bake your (store bought or home made) dough first in the oven for about 8-10 minutes at 425, so it is strong enough (and easy to maneuver) on to the grill. No toppings yet. So bake and let cool.

2. Get the grill heated up at medium high.

3. Top your pizza: dollops of fresh sun dried tomato pesto, slivers of roasted red pepper, thinly sliced shallots, about a dozen cooked shrimp and top with a blend of mozzarella and Gruyere cheese.

4. Now slide onto the grill, sit and have a beer, but keep an eye on it because it can burn. As soon as the bottom gets darker and the cheese is bubbling, remove, top with fresh basil, and chopped scallions.

The whole pizza experience is taken to a whole new world with the flavors of the grill!


Moolicious!

Crispy BBQed Rosemary Porc Loin

So easy, so yumm yumm.

For the porc rub:

- Chop a sprig of rosemary, 3 cloves of garlic, zest a lemon.

- Season porc with oil and salt and pepper, then rub in the rosemary mixture.

- BBQ on high until done (10 minutes or so, flipping a few times- this will depend on the thickness).

-When done, let rest under foil for 5 minutes, spritz some fresh lemon juice and voila!

Serve with green beans and wild rice.

Mooliciouis!