I mention Lisa because she has sent me a few recipes to try out as I trek along on this blog adventure. The first recipe she sent me sounds delicious (tropical chicken!) but I'm strapped for time and money for many reasons, including but not limited to the fact that I have to gut my entire apartment and pack for a trip home this upcoming weekend. Given this limbo I've found myself in, my lovely friend and co-worker Caroline has graciously offered me her couch for the week until I get this apartment problem dealt with. She's also let Ernie stay there as well, which is a HUGE help to me since I have some major work to do on the place and I'd rather my kitten not inhale a bunch of gross junk along the way.
As a thank-you to Caroline and her roommate Alex for having my little family and I over this week, I've started on part one of the thank you gift: BLONDIES! Talking this over with Lisa, she sent me her fabulous blondie recipe, and here it is:
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.
Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.
These blondies taste a lot like brownies, minus the cocao. They were SUPER easy to make, took no time at all, and are gooey and delicious and perfect for generous friends and their housemates :)
I mentioned being strapped for cash these days. Seeing as I'm going home for 4 days, my fridge is virtually empty. I have very little fresh veg, no fruit, no meat, nothing fresh at all. It's for times like these that I urge everyone to keep pasta and sauce handy in their pantries. I spiced mine up a little bit, because I couldn't just pour canned sauce on pasta:
Julie's Cheapo Pasta
1 small onion, diced finely
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
salami or sausage (I had leftover lunch meat I have to get through)
butter
olive oil
canned pasta sauce (680mL)
pasta
grated cheese
Cook the pasta until desired tenderness. Drain, drizzle with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, set aside.
Chop the onions and the meat into little cubes and cook in olive oil and butter until meat is crisp and onions are sweated and golden.
Add the garlic and green onions. Continue to cook until garlic aroma comes through and onions have really sweated out.
You're going to incorporate this into the canned pasta sauce. If you like (as I did, since I seem to be addicted to my Magic Bullet), I blended the mixture of onion, meat and garlic, so it incorporated nicely into the sauce without being chunky.
Mix half the sauce with the pasta, and pour into a greased casserole dish.
Topped with grated cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350F for about 15 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes to crisp the cheese if you want.
The nice thing about playing around with pasta sauce is that you can help turn something cheap into something that tastes like you spent the whole day making it. Canned pasta sauce is relatively flavour-less and can be watery, so adding a thick garlicky meaty flavour base adds tons of flavour for mere pennies.
A note on flavour bases: Flavour bases are the foundation upon which soups, stews, braises, etc. are built. They combine aromatic, flavourful, hearty ingredients and use every drop of juice and fat to help add richness. Most of them start with butter or oil, onion, garlic and some sort of meat and/or root vegetable (not necessarily meat you will be cooking as the main component of the dish). The meat is important to add near the beginning since it releases oils and fat and drippings, which will then be soaked up by the rest of the ingredients (bacon is very common). Try it next time you make sauce or soup and I guarantee you'll be surprised by the depth of flavour you add to your food!
I'd also like to add that I went to Ta Ke Sushi last night and had the sushi dinner deal with some friends. For $15.99 you get miso soup, salad, 10pc nigiri, and your choice of a 6pc maki. A friend was generous enough to help cover my tab. I wish he was still around tonight at Caro's when I bring over these blondies. I have lots of friends to pay back :)
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