A Traditional Hungarian Dinner

Christmas celebration #4 this year was at my Uncle Andrew and Aunt Julie's place. Julie made nokedli, and she let me photograph her in front of the blazing (only a minor exaggeration) stove while she cooked for our family and friends.

Nokedli is a hungarian dumpling dish that was, this evening, served with a beef sauce or pork sauerkraut. It begins as dough:

which is "grated" using a traditional hungarian cooking tool, over a large pot of boiling water until it cooks.

Served with a delicious cucumber salad, pickles, and bread, it was a delicious meal!

When asked her favourite food, my cousin Emma proudly answered, "nokedli!" That's the Hungarian in her coming out. Here we are enjoying the festivities:

I love Christmas--Canadian or Hungarian style.

Meet Rosie

Welcome to the family!

I am so glad you're here.

It's about time!!

Boyfriend Banana Bread

This is my boy:

And this, is his banana bread:

My boyfriend likes banana bread.

No, I don't think you understand. I mean he really, really likes banana bread. To the point that he would probably eat an entire loaf if left unattended. Which is why absolutely must join him in eating it:)

Where oh where my dear did you learn of your love of banana bread? You may not even recall. I however most certainly recall when I learned of your love for banana bread. It was approximately 3 months ago, when we spotted some spotty bananas on a counter top. I was, naturally, outraged at their state. Ew. (I do not like brown bananas). You however were swooning. So I did what any normal brown banana hating person would do...I made bread with it.

And I believe the rest is history. Along with that loaf and many others after it.

The secret to this recipe is one very strange ingredient: Miracle Whip. You can ditch the shortening and replace it with miracle whip ladies and gentlemen, because it makes this bread moist and yummy!

I was iffy before we tried it but I will now endorse it, for what it's worth. And my BF? I'd say he would endorse it too. (If eating it really quickly is a sign of approval anyway).

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 1/3 c mashed fully ripe bananas (about 3)

1/2 c Miracle Whip dressing

1 1/2 c flour

1 c sugar

1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional) and/or chocolate chips

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F

2. Beak egg, bananas and dressing in a large bowl with whisk until well blended. Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Add to banana mixture; stir just until moistened.

3. Pour into greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

4. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Or you know, eat it warm:)

This One's From Jenny

Hello Blog world. This is is still Julia. However in a moment you will hear from a girl who is not. Her name is Jenny. She is pretty fabulous in her own right, and today she speaks out against your favourite Julia. (Me.)

Well, more like she's outing me, and I think she will do a better job of it. I will say no more.

Jenny, the floor is yours.

“I could eat this meat by the spoonful!”

Yes, folks, those are the words of one girl who we like to call Julia. This past weekend I was making some delicious taco wraps for dinner and cooked the ground beef with some fantastic hot and spicy seasoning. The irresistible taste had dear Julia pining for more.

I’m afraid that her days of vegetarianism are over.

Our apprentice chef has learned that one cannot appreciate food without including the protein-rich animal flesh, most commonly referred to as “meat,” into that category.

This instance was not the first time our dear cook-turned-vegan found herself eating meat. It was rather the final straw in a line of “Oops, I had no choice but to eat it” occurrences.

So, cyber-world-blog-stalking friends, next time you see the cute 3^rd-year Uni student in the picture on the right column of this page, give her a pat on the back and welcome her back to the meat-eating world.

I think it will be a long time before she takes another sabbatical of this sort

Here’s an interesting fact about meat for you to chew on: Chuck Norris invented hamburgers when he threw a cow through a chain-link fence.

-Blog post by Jenny

Well thank you Jennifer for putting it so eloquently! (Isn't she fabulous folks?) I hope no one out there is like, Oh my goodness Julia! You terrible person you, I will never read your blog again, in fact I am exiting-NOW.

Ahem. Well, I'm sorry to say that Jenny does speak the truth. It has been so hard to keep my energy up and resist the occasional stop at Wendy's so I caved. I'd say the majority of my meals are still vegetarian, (x-blog reader now poking head in) but I'm up for the occasional burger here and there!

Sooo...uhh..now that I'm out so to speak, can some please find me some nuggets? Thank you.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip JiP Cake!

Are you drooling yet? I still am!

So, today, I got an SOS text: We have rotten bananas- please help!

So, naturally, I grabbed my trusty recipe book, which FAILED ME. There were NO recipes for Banana Bread! What kind of recipe book doesn't have banana bread I ask you!?

Luckily, my friend JP (JiP) had a brilliant and easily modifiable recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars! And not only did they take no time to assemble, but they only took 7 minutes to cook.... IN THE MICROWAVE! That's right, we didn't even need an oven to make this delectable cake! So if you have 15 minutes, and some rotten bananas, I have the perfect thing for you...

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip JiP Cake
Makes 32

What You'll Need:
Banana Chocolate JiP Cake:
1/2 cup butter softened
3 over ripe bananas
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips



Peanut Butter Icing:
1 cup Icing Sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp warm milk

1. In a large bowl, mash 3 over ripe bananas until smoothish (depending on weather or not you want chunks of bananas in your cake!)

2. Add softened butter to banana mixture and mix until well combined. Add brown sugar and mix until creamed.

3. Beat eggs into mixture and add milk and vanilla

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mixture. Mix until just combined. Add Chocolate chips.

5. Pour into two 8x8 glass pans. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan.

Meanwhile...


6. While your cookie bars are in the microwave, get started on your icing! Mix icing sugar and flour together. Cream peanut butter into icing sugar, and slowly add the warm milk. Mix until smooth. The icing should have a thick consistency that is easy to spread.

7. Once cool, ice the brownies and cut them into 16 pieces.

Enjoy with a cool glass of milk and a sweet Sufjan Stevens Christmas Song!

**TIP TIP TIP!!**

If you toss your chocolate chips in 1 tsp of flour before you mix them into the dough, they won't sink to the bottom while baking!

Caution: Eat fast- they tend to disappear quickly!

Hello Blogesphere!

Can I just be the SECOND to say how exciting is it that Pink Mixers now has TWO authors!?!

I am so excited to be contributing to Pink Mixers and I am REALLY excited to start cooking! Julia is on of my best friends in the whole world and I while I am no blogger, I have a passion for cooking that I hope you will all be able to see!

So a little bit about us!

I met Julia when I was in high school. We took strings class together and became fast friends when we volunteered at camp one summer. We've both been through a lot in the past 5 years (WOW 5 YEARS!) but one thing has always been consistent, the amazing friend I have in Julia!

We discovered our shared passion for cooking one now infamous New Years Day, when there was nothing but an Iron Chef marathon! I think we sat in front of the television for 6 hours straight watching Bobby Flay BBQ, Mario Batalli make exquisite pasta, and Kat Cora make the most delectable looking southwestern food you've ever seen! We decided to cook! We made grilled chicken served on a bed of caramelized onions, brown rice, fresh cranberries and white wine. I can still taste it! Ever since then we have been inseparable, cooking up a storm, calling each other for ideas, and baking whenever we get the chance!

I cook and bake for every meal! Recently I found out I have a developing insulin resistance, (PCOS) which means that I have to be really careful about what I eat. No refined sugar, limited carbs, the carbs that I do eat have to be complex, low starches, so basically lots of veggies and protein! So you can look forward to a lot of stir fry recipes! Unlike Julia, I am not a vegeterian. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but I also love steak, and flame broiled hamburgers, and roasted chicken, and ham and cheese sandwiches. So while Justin was bring sexy back, I'm bring meat back (to this blog anyways!).

And don't worry, just because I can't eat too much refined sugar, doesn't mean I don't use it! I have various friends that I'm trying to fatten up (muhaha!) so I am constantly baking muffins and scones and brownies and cookies. You should also know that I drink coffee like you wouldn't believe, and I have a weird passion for good foam on a double tall, lactose free, latte. So look forward to a lot of coffee education in your future!

I'm not much of a photographer, but I will try to capture the beauty of food on film! I am so excited to post and I am looking forward to hearing your feedback about my recipes!

As they say on Iron Chef,

ALLEEEEEEEEE CUISINE!

-Leah

Sam AKA Mole

I want to introduce you to some of the people that I mention so very often throughout my blog. They are oh, so, important to me. And they make for fabulous food buddies!

Meet Sam:

My dear Samantha- affectionately known to a few special individuals as 'Mole.'

Why?

Well that is a terribly long story. I'll just say that it involves 3 best friends, the 30 hour famine, a nursery, and an incriminating photo.

This isn't it.


But it's pretty funny anyways! (Sorry Sam).

I met sam back in elementary school for a brief period of time, but it wasn't until high school that we really started to get to know eachother. We had one of those instant friendships; the kind that come so naturally, you feel like you have known eachother your entire life.

We make up two members of the three musketeers along with lovely Alesha, and spent every free moment together. Sam's family of 4 took the three of us in and provided us with a home and second family, many breakfasts, lunches, afternoon snacks, and dinners, a place to spend my hours away from home, and laughs that were never ending.

Sam has a brilliant sense of humor that really helped me become who I am today. She finds something funny in everything and it is that quality that makes her so endearing. I would not be who I am today without her friendship, and I can't see myself without her.

Thanks for being my best friend through thick and thin, Sam. You da best.

Jenny: Roommate Extroardinaire!

I want to introduce you to some of the people that I mention so very often throughout my blog. They are oh, so, important to me. And they make for fabulous food buddies!

Meet Jenny:

Where to start? Jenny/Jennifer or Jen, is in fact my university roommate. However we go waaaay back to the days of Sunday school! Our paths split when my parents went to a new church when I was about 7, but they met up once again when we counseled at the same summer camp. Little did we know, that months later we would be living together, doing literally everything together at University.

It was purely a God thing that Jenny was placed in my life. She brings such passion and joy to each and everything we get to do together. Whether it is a cooking marathon (which we equally enjoy), or planning our next adventure to start a new company, travel the globe and save the world, we adore doing it together!

Jenny is all things great, but here are some specifics:

World traveler.
Future mother of many adopted children.
Cooker of creative, cultural food.
Huge smile wearer.
Wise advice giver.
Bilingual.
Student of International Development Studies.
Slowly saving the world, one smile at a time.
Lover of Jesus, Family, and Friends.
Selfless acts doer.
Passionate.
Giver of wisdom and love.
Patient.
Enforcer of escaping homework.
Wifey and friend.
2good2b4got10.
A+ Roommate and Best friend.

Leah is "So Dang Cute!"

I want to introduce you to some of the people that I mention so very often throughout my blog. They are oh, so, important to me. And they make for fabulous food buddies!

Meet Leah:


She has been one of the most influential people in my journey of becoming who I am; specifically in regards to this passion that I have for food. She encourages it, and brings it out of me in a colourful and creative way. She has a passion for people, and one day hopes to own her own restaurant/cafe. I wouldn't be surprised if this little endeavor happens sooner, rather than later.

Leah and I have been the best of friends since we were 16. We met in our high school music class, as we both had a passion for stringed instruments. The violin was our weapon of choice. We then both worked and attended a summer camp, where I eventually became the head chef.

Pretty much, we go way back :)

But enough about us, this post is about Leah!

Cooker extraordinaire.
Encourager of others (specifically moi).
Creatively blessed.
Singer, not only in the shower.
Role model.
Food TV watcher.
So extremely loyal.
Friend to all those who love life.
One on One Camp Counselor.
Fearless.
Announcer of new sayings like, "___ is so dang cute!" and "Abso-freakin-lutely!"
Bright clothing wearer.
Singer of Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus.
Lover of rustic, antique over new and shiny.
Bold and Enthusiastic.
Best friend through everything.

I feel like that pretty much sums everything up!

Genevieve: Love ya Cupcake!

I want to introduce you to some of the people that I mention so very often throughout my blog. They are oh, so, important to me. And they make for fabulous food buddies!

Meet Genevieve:



What a super star.

We met while attending a leadership training conference in Calgary, Alberta (both reppin' for York University, Woot, Woot!) back in the fall of 2008. This girl likes food, but you would never be able to tell if you looked at her. Why? Because she has the amazing ability to eat soooo well. Fabulously healthy and totally inshape. I envy that, but am completely inspired.

And Gen, if you read this and disagree...tough! It's my blog :)

She has her own blog called "rubber pants," which is about cupcakes no less! She is a fantastic baker and does the cutest things with sugar. Check her blog out here.

We, Gen and I, are a bit of a team. I think so anyway. That or two peas of one pod. We have a love for Food TV that cannot be severed. This sounds oh, so, romantic...and it kinda is! We go on dates all the time checking out restaurants that have been on "Restaurant Makeover." See here.

Genevieve in a few words is:

Beholder/Keeper of the prettiest of names.
Baker of cupcakes and deserts.
Inspirer of others creativity.
Organizer of life (and everything in between).
Hard worker (and high achiever! - Way to go Gen).
Colour coordination master.
Owner of a Cuisine Art Mixer.
Lover of life.
Laughs at my lame jokes.
Beautiful and kind.
Such an amazing Friend!