Coconut Pecan Pound Cake

I made this cake for Christmas........I normally don't make pound cakes for Christmas but when I was watching The Chew (my favourite daytime show) I knew I had to bake this cake. They were gobbling it down and saying how absolutely delicious this was....and trust me it is.

It is crusty on the outside with the syrup that gets carmelized and crunchy and soft inside. You can really taste the coconut and then sometimes in a bite a piece of pecan.....yummm.

Coconut Pecan Pound Cake

(Source; Daphne Oz of The Chew)

Batter: 

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
1 cup flaked coconut, unsweetened
1 cup pecan pieces (or chopped)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:

1/2 c water
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Prehat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour bundt or other pan. 
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and butter and beat with an electrical mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.  
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. 
Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in three parts to batter, mix gently until just moistened. 
Stir in coconut and pecans.
 Pour batter into cake pan, bake for 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Five minutes before cake is finished baking, make the glaze. 


Combine water, butter and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, stir well and cook for 5 additional minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. 
Slowly pour half of the syrup over the cake,  invert cake onto serving plate.
Pour remaining syrup over the top and sides. 
Can dust top with confectioner's sugar or serve as is - let it sit for at least 10 minutes, serve warm!!


Thanks for stopping by.........

Rainbow Cupcakes

 These cupcakes I made for my daughter's 22nd Birthday......cupcakes are her favourite.

After flipping around some cookbooks and clicking around a couple of Web sites......I decided to do a rainbow effect after remembering that I made her a cake something like this when she was a lil' kid.

We were out of town for her birthday for a few days......well it was only to Niagara Falls, NY. The shopping there is great with all those bargains........we are only 1 hour away so why not? We treated her to whatever she wanted to buy........and had her birthday dinner at her favourite places like The Cheesecake Factory and Chipolte (which this place we have here in Toronto).

 The next day being extremely tired and exhausted form a '3' day shopping marathon we were having her family birthday dinner so I didn't have too much time to prepare......... I know I should have been better prepared before we left so I whipped these up for her. Well they were the hit of the party for dessert. I guess some of them don't bake but they couldn't figure out how I got the colours in there.

...........This was a very easy dessert I bought store bought (Betty Crocker) cake mix for the cupcakes. (Duncan Hines) whipped  frosting and Wilton's Gel's for food colouring. Divided the batter up and then layered it back onto the cupcake batter...and we have the cupcakes. Baked whatever the instructions were on the box and my daughter wanted to decorate these herself......of course she put an unwrapped Hershey Kiss on top. This was an easy peasy cupcake to make.

Thanks for stopping by.......and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Linking to Foodie Fridays

Cabbage Rolls

 CABBAGE ROLLS..........

Thanks for stopping by.

Today Im linking to;

designsbygollum.blogspot.com

Roasted Butternut Squash

    

The other day it was a beautiful sunny cool and crisp Saturday so my husband and I ventured to the Farmer's Market. It was the second last week before it closes for the winter........I will sadly miss it. Now I'll have to get veggies  and fruit from the large supermarket chains....and their 'stuff' tastse like plastic and has no taste. But what can we do, winter is settling in.

      They had the most beautiful 'Butternut Squash" at this lil' farmer's table........you get 2 large ones for 2 bucks........so I got some. Now I can do a roasted butternut squash and a soup for later.

This recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash is one of the easiest to do...have never met anyone who din't like it.
I often hear people say these are very hard to cut........well firstly you need a good sharp knife and keep the blade not pointing at you....and a good peeler. Usually my husband does the cutting and peeling but he was out so I did it myself....and let me tell you it was a workout, but I kept that blade not pointing at me.

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash 

1 butternut squash (about 2 - 21/2 lbs)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter (or more)
olive oil to grease baking sheet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

With Olive oil lightly brush a baking sheet.

Peel and seed the squash and cut it up into 3/4 - 1" cubes.
Put the cubed butternut squash on the baking sheet and drizzle on the pure maple syrup.

  Sprinkle on the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Toss it all together and lay out the butternut squash cubes so they're in one layer and dot with butter.

Bake for about 30 mins. or til' the butternut squash becomes tender and golden brown, tossing once during baking...........being careful not too mush them up.
 

ENJOY!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.........

Pumpkins

I'm linking to;

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Hershey Chocolate.......

I love chocolate......so today I thought I would show my most favourite spot in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The Hershey Chocolate store, with the biggest Chocolate Bar and Hershey Kisses around.

Today I'm linking to;

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Black Bean Cakes

I got this Black Bean Cake recipe from one of my foodie friends Diane on a foodie board. She always had amazing recipes.

Sometimes we just don't want to eat meat...meat all the time so this is one way of getting some good protein.

I've served these for appetizer's before but had to make them smaller and then had salsa and or guacamole on the side. They have always been a hit and the platter is left clean. For ourselves we just like to have some buttered rice on the side with some veggies for a dinner....or we have even made burgers with them and just use your imagination for fixin's. this is one of my daughter jackie's favourite.......which surprised me because she's a straight chicken and rice eater.



We love Black Bean Cakes at my house..........I usually make a double batch and then freeze some for later. They are packed with tons of protein so if in a hurry and no time to cook they are great defrosted out of the freezer for a nice dinner or lunch. My favourite is that for a party they can be made ahead and then I flash freeze them for the day of the party.

 I use an ice cream scoop..........I have three sizes and it depends on what I need them for I use that size of scoop. It's a lot faster and I might add neater.

 Being crumbed,........sometimes I use Panko Breadcrumbs for a more crispy texture or Italian breadcrumbs. Depends what I have hanging around in my pantry. I've even done a mixture of both which works out well............

 Sauteeing  in canola oil and ready to eat. :-)

Black Bean Cakes

Source; Charlotte street Grill and Pub, Asheville, NC.

3-15 oz. cans Black Beans (divided)

2 large eggs

3 cups Breadcrumbs (divided)

1 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped green onions (4)

1/2 cup cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cayenne or to taste

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. ground pepper 

4TBSP. veggie oil

Puree 2 cups of the Black Beans with eggs in food processor til' smooth.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in the remaining beans, 1-1/4 cups breadcrumbs, and the next 10 ingredients.

Shape the mixture into patties.
Coat the patties into the remaining breadcrumbs.
Heat 4 TBSP. of oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add the cakes and cook on either side til' golden brown....(about 3 minutes on each side).
Transfer to a plate.

Serve with salsa or guacamole........or your choice of fixin's.

Note*****These can be put on a greased lightly cookie sheet with Olive oil and drizzled......then popped into the oven at 400 deg. F.for 15 minutes til' golden. Can turn them halfway of you want.

Enjoy!!!!!


Today I'm linking to;

deisgnsbygollum.bogspot.com

www.aroundmyfamilytable.com

www.everydaytastes.com

Canadian Thanksgiving

These scarecrow buddies come out every year for Thanksgiving.

My Thanksgiving Table for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Killer bars........they are so addictive.

Some of Thanksgiving foods at the farmer's market........love when this time of seasons comes around.

Thanks for stopping by.

"Happy Thanksgiving" in Canada!

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING"

To All My Friends and Family.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Last week I bought a package of skinless boneless chicken thighs and thought what to do with them......had to try something new instead of the old standby recipes that I have. My daughter requested something 'teriyaki' and the first thing I googled I came up wih this on allrecipes.com and decided not to lurk around websites as this looked very delicious. Also I had all the ingredients in my pantry......not something I had to go to Chinatown in Toronto to look for some ingredient that the local supermarkets don't carry. The parking there in Chinatown is horrendous.......very crowded and extremely busy.

Well this recipe is going to be a keeper, it was very tasty and even my husband said it was ....gooood, for someone who doesn't really like chicken.

Teriyaki Chicken

(source; allrecipes)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 skinless chicken thighs

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.            

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

****I just used plain old white vinegar and it turned out fine.

Marinating in the sauce......

Thanks for stopping by!


Today I'm linking to;

www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com

www.itsablogparty.com