Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

So what do you do with those kale leaves leftover from the last post, BBQ Steak & Zucchini with Veggie Rice PIlaf? Besides making the Food Network's amazing Smoky Kale Chips, of course! Being the health-conscious chip-addict that I am, this is an excellent alternative to my favorite fat snack. Inspired by this smoky kale chip recipe, I decided to find a way to incorporate kale into these granola bars for an extra nutrition boost. Why go to all the trouble? This dark, leafy green superfood is so ridiculously high in Vitamins A & C, iron, potassium, and cancer-fighting goodness, it's worth the effort! 

Yield 8 bars

• leaves from 2 stems of kale, ribs/stems removed 
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1 cup California raisins (or substitute with 1 cup dark chocolate chips)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds

kale, before and after

Preheat oven to 350. 

Remove leaves from 2 stems of kale and store ribs for other use. Wash and pat leaves dry. Rip into bite size pieces and place on ungreased baking pan. Bake for 11min or until leaves are crispy. Transfer crisp kale from baking pan to ziploc bag and use your hands to crunch down from the outside of the baggie until it becomes kale powder. 

Combine kale powder with all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Blend with a spoon until dry ingredients are moist.

Lightly spray baking pan with non-stick spray and spread batter in pan. Batter will likely fit an 8x8 pan, but if your pan is larger like mine is, spread over half the pan only so that mixture sits about an inch high. Bake at 350 for 30min. 

Let cool completely before cutting. I like to saran wrap each bar individually so they are easy on-the-go snacks. Otherwise, store in an airtight container. 

Dark Chocolate Chip variation

BBQ Steak & Zucchini with Veggie Rice Pilaf

When it's Sunday and 24°C, the patio develops an irresistible charm that lures you out with the promise of a light breeze and a sturdy ledge to rest a couple glasses of California red upon. With Smokey Joe (our portable grill) practically begging to be fired up, we had little choice but to give in.

And yes, I said 24°C. I was already a pushover when it came to Smokey Joe - I refuse to succumb to this silly Americanism and operate by the Fahrenheit scale! It's true that I wasn't born with a calculator implanted in my brain like my mom (and most stereotype-abiding Asians)... I get that [°F] = [°C] × ⁹⁄₅ + 32, but it's not my mediocre math skills that hold me back from this conversion. I may have moved to norCal, but I am Canadian!! Speaking in Celcius may confuse some people down here, but I'm happy to have one more thing that defines me in this extremely populated state. Plus a country that doesn't sell ketchup chips doesn't deserve my mathematical efforts ;) This is probably enough ranting (for now)... so, back to the BBQ! 

Serves 2

• 2 steaks, size and cut of your liking
• Steak marinade: 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar



steaks in marinade

• splash of beer (I used corona)
• 1 zucchini, seasoned with:
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/2 tsp hot Cajun blackening spice
• 1 bunch kale stems, leaves trimmed
• 1/2 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 inch section fresh ginger
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp sweet madras curry powder 
• 1 1/4 cup long grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth

Start by marinating your steaks in the fridge at least 4 hrs in advance. Combine marinade mix with steaks in an airtight container (ie. ziploc baggy, tupperware with lid, bowl with saran wrap).

seasoned zucchini

Slice zucchini lengthwise into 4-6 thin slices, depending on size of squash. Sprinkle all seasonings onto one side of zucchini. Set aside until ready for grilling. 

Trim leaves from kale, leaving stems only. Store kale leaves in airtight bag/container to keep fresh for other use. Wash stems and dice to pea-size. 

Dice onion. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. 

curried veggie pilaf

Add small amount of olive oil to non-stick frying pan with lid over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and onion, stirring for 3min.  Add diced kale pieces and stir for another 3min. 

Add seasoning (bay leaves, turmeric, coriander, cumin, salt & pep) and rice, stirring for another 2min to toast rice.

Add liquid, reduce to med-low, cover with lid and cook until all water is absorbed (approx 15min).  Remove from heat. Fluff before serving. Add salt to taste. 

While the rice is cooking, take steaks out of the fridge so they get closer to room temperature, fire up the BBQ and get ready for grilling. Place zucchini straight on the grill and let cook for 15-20min.  

I like my steak to look like sashimi on the inside, whereas B likes his medium-well, so time the grilling of the steaks so they are ready at the same time as the zucchini! 

Red Thai Chicken Curry

It was during my early days of experimenting with Thai curries that my oops moments were most frequent. Brian likely shudders at the sound of my oops'es, which serve as short notice warnings of the choking aroma of spices that billow out from the kitchen soon after. When the spice clouds have dissipated, and I serve a curry along with a nervous "good luck!", I've been told how this can sound more like a threat than the genuine well-wishing I'd intended. Oops. One of Brian's more tragic dinner experiences, which is coincidentally one of my fondest memories, began with my heavy spicing hand (part oops, part intentional) and ended in a lot of red-faced sweating, water chugging, ice cube sucking, and nose blowing. All in all, some quality dinner entertainment for me... but unfortunately, not much dinner eaten for 

B. He called it quits after a few bites and accused me of attempted murder. From there was born our new rating system, much like the Scoville scale for chili peppers, but instead of numerical heat units, we have charges ranging from assault with a deadly weapon to first degree. For my birthday that year, Brian designed an apron bearing my hockey team's logos, along with a special chef skull and crossbones as my personal spice insignia. Since then, I think I've worked my Thai curry spicing down to an edible level, but if you have a weak tongue... good luck!

For a meatless version of this recipe, simply omit the chicken - I always include a lot of vegetables so it will still be quite filling. The vegetables listed below are my usual selections, but Thai curries are so versatile, most combinations of vegetables will work! 

Serves 4

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast 
• Chicken marinade: 
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce






• 2 squirts sriracha
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine or long-grain white rice (3 cups water)
• 1 carrot
• 1 parsnip
• 1 turnip
• 1 medium (or 2 small) yams
• 1 small eggplant
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 large (or 2 small) broccoli crowns 
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 inch section fresh ginger root
• 1 red jalapeno (or 1-2 red Thai chilies, as pictured on blog background)
• 3 dried red chili peppers (I use Tien Tsin Chinese chilies) 
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 8 basil leaves
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk, light or low-fat if available
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup red curry paste (I like Aroy-D or Mae Ploy brands, but Thai Kitchen works too)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 4 squirts sriracha
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• Garnish: sesame seeds or fresh chopped cilantro 

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small strips. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix, and set aside. 

Cook rice per instructions on package. 

Wash vegetables. Peel the carrot, parsnip, turnip and yams. Cut all vegetables up roughly into 1-inch bite sized pieces. 

Mince garlic, ginger, jalapeno and dried chili peppers (seeds included for extra heat). Thinly slice the onion. Heat a small amount of olive oil to a frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown. Add sliced onion and continue stirring for a few minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside. 

Pour coconut and skim milk into large pot over med-low heat. Add red curry paste, smushing to blend with coconut milk. Add the garlic, ginger, peppers and onion to the pot and cover with lid. 

Add small amount of olive oil to same frying pan used for the garlic mix, and cook chicken over high. Option for extra heat: add small amount of red curry paste and fry along with chicken. Once chicken is cooked, remove pan from heat. 

Add sliced carrots, parsnip, turnip, yams, eggplant, cooked chicken, chopped cilantro, basil leaves, soy sauce, sriracha, red chili powder and ground pepper to the pot (leaving greens til later so they don't overcook/wilt). Stir to mix, increase to medium heat, cover and let simmer for 10 min. Stir as needed. Reduce to low and let simmer for another 5 min.

When veggies are cooked (test when yams are soft), add sliced zucchini and broccoli florets to pot. Stir, cover and let simmer for 10 min til greens are cooked. 

Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro or a sprinkling of sesame seeds. 

Chicken Nood Wraps with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Whenever I answer the question, "what's for sups?", with the question, "what do YOU want for sups?", the answer is usually immediately: nood wraps! Last night was no different. 

Nood wraps are high up on our list of go-to meals and I have to give Brian credit for what I thought would be an awkward combination of foods that turned out pretty delicious! It all started at one of those choose-your-own-adventure delis in Kelowna last summer when we decided to share a wrap and I let Brian go wild with the ingredient selection. Impressed, I attempted to recreate the wrap at home with some tweaks of course. For me, "tweaks" are most often defined as extreme flavor bursts that tend to involve some heat. I wasn't sold on the deli's drippy chipotle lime dressing, and went with a thick peanut sauce instead, which I think is pretty key, so I strongly suggest a heavy hand when saucing the wrap. 

Yield: 3 wraps 

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 



chicken & marinade

• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp cayenne*
• 1-2 squirts of sriracha*
• Spicy thai peanut sauce: 
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• at least a 1-inch section of fresh ginger root (sometimes more), minced
• 2 small chilis, minced, seeds included for extra heat (I've got dried tien tsin chinese chilis used for hunan dishes, but have also used fresh red thai chili peppers)*
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1-2 limes) 
• 2/3 cup reduced-fat peanut butter (I use creamy/smooth, not chunky)
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp cayenne*



dried egg noodles

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 large whole wheat wraps (I prefer La Tortilla Factory's wraps for their low-fat, low-carb, high fibre options) 
• 3 bundles of oriental style dried egg noodles (can be fresh or dried, as long as it's not fried!)
• fresh, washed spinach
• grated cheese (marbled colby-jack pictured above) 
• fresh chopped cilantro

* This is not recommended at all, but if you really can't take the heat... reduce/omit the cayenne, sriracha, chili peppers and basically all things fun :)

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small strips. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix, and set aside. Feel free to marinade hours in advance to really let the goodness soak in.

spicy thai peanut sauce

Prepare peanut sauce. Start by mincing the garlic, ginger and chilis. Heat a small amount of olive oil to a small frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat and set aside. 

Juice lime(s) and pour into small sauce pan with lid. Combine all other peanut sauce ingredients, including the cooked garlic, ginger and chili peppers with lime juice in sauce pan. Cook over low heat til peanut butter melts. Stir frequently to mix and prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Remove from heat, cover with lid and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 C. Place wraps in aluminum foil and warm in oven for 5 minutes. Feel free to skip this step if you don't need warmed wraps. 

Boil enough water in a separate pot to cover noodles. Dried egg noodles cook in 2-3 minutes in boiling water (or per package instructions). Drain cooked noodles in colander. 

Add small amount of olive oil to the same small frying pan that was used to cook the garlic, ginger and chilis. Stir fry chicken over high heat til cooked. Remove from heat. 

Chop fresh spinach up a bit if they are not baby leaves. Grate as much cheese, and chop as much fresh cilantro as your taste buds desire. 

Build your own wraps!  I arrange all of the prepared items on the kitchen counter in an assembly line so you can customize wraps with as much or as little of everything as you like. As previously mentioned, a solid helping of peanut sauce is crucial to tasty times, so don't be afraid to start with an initial coating of sauce as a base layer, followed by some generous dollops to top the pile off before you close the wrap up. 

Note: My eyes and stomach are always bigger than the tortilla. I pile things high and end up having technical difficulties with wrap execution, so maybe don't go overboard if you want to keep things elegant. Enjoy! 

Paella!

Mmm travel photos. I love a trip down memory lane in faraway places. It was 2009 when I went through Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Mija and Costa del Sol with my family. Spain is beautiful. Spain is delicious! I just couldn't get enough of paella! Literally. When I finished my own giant order of paella, I'd somehow manage to scarf down whatever was left of my sister's paella! Little sister + little sister appetite = more for me! 

It's 3 years later, I still have yet to purchase a traditional paella pan, but finally decided not to let my lack of paellera get in the way of attempting this delight any longer. As usual, I turned to my trusty 10in Hamilton Beach aluminum non-stick covered chicken fryer, and sure enough, it managed to achieve socarrat, that golden crust of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan - Woo! This version was sadly made without any seafood at all so as not to scare Brian off (introducing a new dish + prawns, shellfish and other creepy sea creatures = hungry boyfriend). Good news is, he loved this paella! Which means I can start sneaking subtle amounts of ocean crawlers into my next paella! 

Serves 2-4

·                     1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

·                     Spices for chicken marinade: 

o    1/2 tsp ground pepper, 

o    1 tsp paprika

o    1 tsp oregano

o    dash of cayenne

o    1 tbsp vinegar (preferably apple cider vinegar because it helps the body's absorption of minerals from the foods we eat)

·                     150 gr prosciutto (sold in packages or at the deli counter)

·                     150 gr chorizo

·                     1 cup frozen peas

·                     4 cloves garlic

·                     1 sm onion

·                     1 sm bell pepper (any color)

·                     1 med tomato

·                     Fresh parsley

·                     Seasonings: salt, pep, paprika, and dash of cumin

·                     2 bay leaves

·                     1 1/4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

·                     2 1/2 cups chicken broth (low-sodium for your heart's sake)

·                     Lemon wedges for garnish

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into bite size cubes. Add marinade spices to chicken and set aside.

Trim the larger pieces of fat from prosciutto and cut into bite size slices. Set aside.

Wash and prepare vegetables and set aside. 

o    Measure 1 cup of frozen peas and set aside to thaw

o    Mince garlic

o    Dice onion

o    Cut pepper into thin, 2-inch slices

o    Peel and remove seeds from tomato. Dice. 

o    Chop enough fresh parsley for a handful

Cut chorizo into small chunks (the kind I bought breaks away like ground beef).  Heat any 10-12 inch non-stick aluminum pan (as long as it has a lid) to medium-high. Add chorizo. Stir til cooked. Remove chorizo from pan, and set aside on paper towels to soak up fat.

Using chorizo dribblings (or if none left in pan, add a small amount of olive oil), add chicken to pan. Cook over med-high heat, turning so that chicken browns on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside with chorizo.

Using a small amount of olive oil, add garlic and onion to pan. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes til onion translucent.

Add tomatoes and cook for 5min. Sprinkle with salt, pep, paprika (generous), and a dash of cumin if available.

Add rice and let toast for a minute, stirring.

Add bell pepper, chicken broth, chicken, prosciutto, chorizo and stir to mix. Increase heat to med-high, bring to near boiling, reduce to low, cover, and let cook for 10min. If it looks dry early on, add a splash more broth.

Add thawed peas & parsley. Stir to mix. Cover and let cook over low for another 10min, or until all liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and let stand 5min before serving.

Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.


-----------------------------


Update posted April 27, 2012: Sneaky Scallops


Made paella! again with a few variations/additions: 

• used 2 tbsp dried parsley instead of fresh parsley (forgot to pick a fresh bunch up at the store)
• added the red stemmed bottoms of a bunch of red swiss chard (2 1/2 inch section, slicing each piece lengthwise into 3 thin strips)
• added 10 bay scallops (stir fried along with a bit of olive oil long enough to sear outsides

I asked  Brian after he requested and finished a second helping whether he noticed anything different... His eyes squinted instantly in suspicion, and said, no.... why? Needless to say, Operation Sneaky Scallops was a success!