Homemade Barbecue Sauce

I can hardly believe that I’ve been on “summer vacation” for 2 months. Time is flying. But in the best way possible. Weekends are filled with warm weather, barbecues, dog walks, gelato and swimming. All the best things about summer. That said, barbecues are probably one of my favourite things about the summer, such good company, music and food. I just love the atmosphere. Mind you, I feel the same way about pool parties. Put them together and I will be at your house in 2 minutes.

A few snapshots from my summer from my iPhone and Instagram!

Barbecue sauce is something I’ve always had a bit of a problem with. The store bought sauces are just so overwhelmingly sweet. It kind of feels like eating liquid sugar; you can almost feel the sugar on your teeth afterwards. So not for me! I’ve challenged myself to try my hand at making lots of different types of homemade barbecue sauce this summer – the combinations are almost endless! This first version is more of your basic homemade barbecue sauce. Not too sweet with just enough tang.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce (makes about 2 cups)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped*
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp steak spice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp honey

* Can use less or more jalapeno depending on what level of heat you want.

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeno to the pan, saute for 4 minutes.

Add garlic and spices, cook for another minute.

Next, add the crushed tomatoes, ketchup, cider vinegar, molasses and honey.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Allow to cool, and then puree in a blender.

For a healthier alternative to store bought barbecue sauce, give this Homemade Barbecue Sauce a try.

- Lou

Homemade Fresh Pasta

You would think that making homemade pasta would be this cathartic, religious type of experience, but for me, it was just a relaxing, genuinely happy hour or so in my kitchen. You see, I have made pasta before, when I was around twelve I used to make homemade pasta all the time with a friend of mine, for no reason at all. It’s kind of funny to think back to rolling out the dough on my counter and cutting and twisting these oddly shaped noodles, not really realizing what I was doing; that I was making pasta.

I haven’t made pasta for eight years, and in those eight years I have become intimidated by the idea. And then I went to the most fabulous KitchenAid Canada event “Get Attached to the Versatility of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer” hosted by Chef Lynn Crawford, and watching her make pasta made me want to jump right in and make some too. Suddenly, making pasta seemed like something I could do again, something that would be fun.

To see more photos like this, follow me on Instagram!

And let me tell you, if you are intimidated by making pasta at home, you need to check out the Kitchenaid Pasta Press Attachment. Seriously, this thing is fool-proof. It makes homemade pasta a weeknight thing! So far I’ve only used the rigatoni shape, but I can’t wait to try the others

This is a standard recipe for your basic pasta dough. Now that I’m not intimidated by the idea, I’ll be experimenting with all sorts of different types of pastas! Stay tuned.

Basic Homemade Fresh Pasta

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp water

Directions

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour, eggs, salt and water on low speed.

Increase the speed slowly until a dough has formed. Knead for 2 minutes. Dough will seem crumbly, but I promise, it will come together.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes. To see if it needs more kneading, slash the dough with a pairing knife, if there are lots of air bubbles and pockets, continue kneading for another 2 minutes.

Let dough rest for 30 minutes under a kitchen cloth.

Cut dough into walnut sized balls and use your KitchenAid mixer and attachments as per instructions.

Have you ever tried making Homemade Fresh Pasta?

Disclosure: I was invited by KitchenAid to the “Get Attached to the Versatility of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer” event and was given the KitchenAid® Pasta Press Attachment. The decision to post about my experience is completely my own and all opinions expressed are mine!

Easy Breakfast For One

Breakfast is a tough meal, we all know it’s the most important of the day but all the convenience foods are so junkie. And honestly, at 7 in the morning who wants to prepare an elaborate breakfast? In high school, I used to eat toast with butter for breakfast…no wonder I was starving after first period! I’ve been trying to incorporate more protein into my breakfast to give me lots of energy in the morning and help me stay full until lunch – which is almost impossible. The protein in here comes from the yogurt, almonds and almond butter. This really is an Easy Breakfast For One (or two, or three – the recipe can easily be adapted for families!)

If I don’t eat this yogurt for breakfast, I love to bring it as a mid-morning snack for work (as long as you have a refrigerator available). Toss all of the ingredients into a Tupperware and you’re good to go. Whether you eat this for breakfast or a snack, it will definitely give you a boost of energy.

Easy Breakfast For One (serves 1)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped fruit (I like to use any berries, kiwis or banana)
2 tbsp chopped almonds (walnuts are great too!)
1 tbsp chopped unsweetened dried cranberries
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp of honey(or as much or little to taste)

Directions

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

If bringing to work or saving for later – be sure to refrigerate.

This is my go-to breakfast 6 out of 7 days of the week – let me know if you give it a try!

- Lou

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto

This dish was a complete fluke. Scrambled eggs with kale and prosciutto you say? Weird combination, right? Wrong. This started out as one of those, throw whatever you have into the pan kind of breakfasts, something that was not destined for the blog. And then it worked, and tasted magical. And I knew I had to share it, plus, sharing it required making it a few more times to get it just right, and that I could do. Food blogging can be pretty time consuming, but it’s amazing when you can recipe test a dish in the morning before work and have a delicious breakfast.

You may have seen me post this on Instagram earlier this week – I like to top mine with lots of hot sauce. Yum.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto (Serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices of prosciutto, diced
4 cups chopped kale
8 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
hot sauce for serving (Optional, but highly recommended!)

Directions

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add prosciutto and cook for 4-5 minutes or until starting to crisp, stirring occasionally.

Add chopped kale to pan. Turn down heat to low. Stir kale and prosciutto together. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn heat back up to medium. Crack eggs into pan, stir with kale and prosciutto.

When eggs begin cooking (layer of cooked egg on bottom of pan) add in cheddar cheese. Scramble until fully cooked and cheese has melted.

Serve with lots of hot sauce.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto is a simple breakfast made with 5 ingredients and the recipe can easily be reduced or doubled,

- Lou

Baked Lentils on Toast

May is Love Your Lentils Month and because of that I was planning on posting this recipe for Baked Lentils on Toast a few weeks ago, but then May just happened. In a good way. It’s like you blink and suddenly there are leaves on the trees and flowers blooming everywhere. It’s not quite summer yet, but finally that cold spring breeze is gone and you can almost feel summer. I love May.

My mom is from England, and while I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eat baked beans on toast, or enjoy tea and crumpets on a daily basis, we do love the Royal Family. The last time I was in England, a couple of years ago, I remember out hotel would serve baked beans on toast with every breakfast. I thought it was such an odd combination, but I obviously became obsessed. When I saw Lentils Canada was hosting a recipe contest for Love Your Lentils Month I knew I would participate, the question was what to make. I don’t cook with lentils too often, and when I do it’s always Lentil Soup but one day I had a brain wave. What about a take on baked beans on toast, using lentils instead? And voila, an hour or so later I had my first version of Baked Lentils on Toast. Which was much too onion-y. I finally got it right though, and this recipe is a great alternative to a classic.

Baked Lentils on Toast (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

6 rashers/slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups dried green lentils
4 cups water
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

In an oven safe large pot, cook bacon and yellow onion over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for another minute.

Remove bacon, onion and garlic from pot and set aside.

Add lentils and water to pot. Bring to a boil, partly cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in bacon, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, molasses, Dijon and salt. Cover with lid.

Cook for 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Once finished, stir in lemon juice and serve.

This recipe for Baked Lentils on Toast will be sure to impress even your most British of house guests.

- Lou

Living Lou

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Homemade Fresh Pasta

Easy Breakfast For One

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto

Baked Lentils on Toast