Popcorn Pie

I've discovered a great Canadia site where you can buy farmers market goods www.canadianfarmersmarket.com direct from the farm. Whilst perusing the delectable Jones Popcorn site, I came across some rather unusual recipes.

My favourite:
Chocolate Popcorn Pie
2 quarts popcorn
Light glaze recipe (see below)
1 - 6-oz package of chocolate pie filling
Whipped cream (for garnish)

Drizzle glaze over popcorn and stir until uniformly coated. Press into 9 inch pie plate, building edges higher than pie plate edge and allow to cool. Prepare pie filling according to package directions. Spoon into popcorn pie shell. Garnish with whipped cream.

Light Popcorn Glaze
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
½ cup butter

Cook to 260 degrees (hard ball stage). Pour over popcorn and mix thoroughly.


Unusual...but strangely appealing
Chocolate Popcorn Squares
1 7-oz jar marshmallow crème
12 oz chocolate pieces
½ cup light corn syrup
6 cups unsalted popcorn

Combine marshmallow crème, chocolate pieces and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until mixture is well blended. Pour over popcorn, and mix well. Press into well buttered 9X9X2 inch pan. Cut into 1 inch squares


Something everyone likes!
Caramel Popcorn
½-lb package dairy fresh caramels (about 28)
2 Tbsp water
2 quarts popcorn (salted)

Add water to caramels and melt in top of double boiler or in the microwave. Toss mixture with popcorn until every kernel is coated. Spread and dry on greased surface. Break apart.


Popcorn Balls
2 cups sugar
¾ cup frozen fruit juice concentrate (orange, lemonade, limeade, grape)
¾ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vinegar
½ tsp salt
5 quarts unsalted popcorn

Combine all ingredients, except popcorn in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook to 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. Mixture will bubble up in pan; so watch it to keep it from boiling over. Pour slowly over hot popcorn and mix until well coated. Let stand 5 minutes or until mixture can be easily formed into balls. Butter hands and form 3 inch balls.

Good food, nuked

I spent the morning IM'ing with my friend Kristen, who's teaching English in Taiwan for a year. She's vegetarian, and that's not it. She's, mind-bogglingly, the pickiest eater I've ever (well, almost ever) met. She doesn't really like vegetables. Or rice. Or tofu. Or anything that's supposedly good for you. She shuns Chinese food in general. Give her a block of cheese and some white bagels, and she'll eat it for days. Nachos, no problem. Bean burritos? Her favourite! At least she's alright with beans! We wondered how she would ever survive.

Well it seems she's adjusted her eating habits a bit. She'll now eat yogurt and rice; however, she's still subsiding on meals from 7-11. Today she mentioned she only had a microwave to cook with (no ovens! barely any stoves!), and so, for her benefit, I am posting some easy, tasty microwave recipes that I am sure she'll love! I've always personally taken offense to any meal being entirely cooked in the microwave, but alas, for her benefit, I will give these recipes a try!

Here goes:

Basic Microwave Risotto

Yields: 4 servings
Time: 20 mins.

This received some great reviews on allrecipes.com. Ingredients (mushrooms, herbs, etc.) can be added, as desired.

INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a 3 quart, microwave-safe casserole dish combine butter, garlic and onion. Place dish in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes.

2. Place vegetable broth in a microwave safe dish. Heat on microwave until the broth is hot but not boiling (approximately 2 minutes).

3. Stir the rice and broth into the casserole dish with the onion, butter and garlic mixture. Cover the dish tightly and cook on high for 6 minutes.

4. Stir wine into the rice (I know you got plenty!!). Cook on high for 10 minutes more. Most of the liquid should boil off. Stir the cheese into the rice and serve.


Microwave Cake
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 13 members
Yields: 12 servings

"Easy fast cake that can be made in the microwave in approximately 12 minutes. My favorite combinations are: chocolate cake mix with cherry pie filling or yellow cake mix with apple pie filling ( I add a bit of cinnamon for flavor to this one.)"

INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) pkg yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 (21 oz) can apple pie filling
1/2 cup applesauce

DIRECTIONS:
1.
Mix the box of cake mix, eggs, pie filling and applesauce till moist. Use a microwave safe bundt pan or substitute a microwave safe bowl that has a microwave safe cup or cone placed in the middle of it (to mimic a bundt pan). Pour mixture into the bowl around the cup.
2.
Bake on high for 6 minutes 30 seconds, turn and bake for another 6 minutes 30 seconds on high. Remove from oven and cover bowl with a dish and let stand for 5 minutes (this finishes the cooking process).
3.
Turn cake over onto dish and remove cone (cup) for a delicious quick dessert. Good hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

Tis the season to get your crap together

Photo: Urban Outfitters Web site
Ahh, Christmas! Is it time for you already? I can't believe how fast the year can fly! Everywhere I've been in the last week spouts more Christmas. I don't mind it now, but November 1 is way too early to stomach that crap.

And so! It is time to start planning for all the holiday parties! We've been invited to four in the last couple of weeks. Again, we are too slow, and thus our preferred dates for our X-mas party is a bit limited. But hey! At least we are promised parties at other peoples' houses, which is just as good by me!!

Brian and I have been slowly getting over all the wedding hoopla. We ended up getting mainly cash so we've begun the process of going from store to store looking for the stuff we registered for way back in August/September. We went to two stores so we could complete a new set of every-day dishes, as well as some fun serving trays and a great big soup tureen. I'm still on the lookout for all the barware we registered for, but figure we'll have to drive out to the big store in the city for that. I guess we're just not ready for nice barware out in our neck of the woods quite yet! I also (finally) got some new knives. I've been struggling to not break the handle off the last remaining knives from my W--- set while waiting to buy these beauts from Kitchenaid. A complete set of stainless knives in a black wood block, and six steak knives. When you remove a knife from the block, it makes that clean whooshing sound a sword makes. Freaking fantastic! I'm glad I held out for this set.

A huge cooking tragedy happened last Sunday, after slow-cooking gumbo for about 6 hours. I went back for a second helping, balanced the lid over the side whilst picking up my plate, and heard a loud smash. The lid just obliterated into a million little pieces, some of it falling into our dinner, all over the countertop and floor. My freakish little cat ran to see what was up (he is the only cat I know that run TOWARD loud noises, not AWAY) and then I started to panic that he would step on the glass, as Brian ran from the dining room to see what the heck all the fuss was about.

I must confess, I shed a tear or two. My favourite new appliance, rendered useless, for reasons I'm still unclear about. Is there a reason why the lid would smash so violently and suddenly? What, oh what, did I do wrong?

Anyway, the prospect of spending Christmas without it, after waiting so patiently for one, was too much. I had visions of apple cider and holiday meatballs gently simmering (separately, of course) as friends dropped in for some Christmas cheer. Brian sent an email to Crockpot HQ re. a replacement lid. A week and a half later, we had still heard nothing. I won't say how we acquired a new lid, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and everything is OK again. I can use my nice new crockpot cookbook and start planning my holiday slow-cooking once again.

Cool weather, short days

I'm in the process of updating the look of Eat My Cake, to go alongside an exciting new show prospect! I'm pretty excited about it, and it promises to be mighty good (and tasty too!)

This weekend I got to test out the new crockpot I received as a shower gift a couple months ago. With cool weather approaching, everyone is in the mood for some slow-cooked comfort food. I made a pot of my turkey chili and let it cook Saturday evening while we enjoyed some spooky Halloween movies with friends (Dead & Breakfast w. yummy Jeremy Sisto -I'll rate it a 6.5-) and the new Amityville Horror (I couldn't get through it; I didn't enjoy the first one either).

We finally got to dig in at midnight, along with a hot crusty grain baguette, and also ate it for lunch and dinner on Sunday. Whew! That's a lot of chili!

I'm in the process of discovering what else I can cook up in the crockpot! I need to sort through some recipes (the book it came with isn't overly great).


The coffee gives a richness to the meat that beef-eating chili lovers might otherwise miss. I doubt anyone would notice the difference -the results are truly delish!

Turkey Chili
Yield: 6 servings

1 Tbsp olive oil
2.5 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
1.5 cups water
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1-16 oz. can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1-15.5 oz. mixed bean medley, drained & rinsed
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
1-14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained & coarsely chopped
3/4 cup light beer
1/3 cup hot brewed coffee

Heat oil in large saucepot over med.-high heat. Add chopped onion & garlic, saute 3 mins.
Add ground turkey; cook 6 mins., stirring to crumble.
Stir in water & next 6 ingredients (water through tomatoes), & bring to boil.
Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, 45 mins., stirring occasionally.
Stir in beer & coffee; simmer 10 mins., stirring occasionally.

Enjoy the beany, meaty, hot goodness with a heated baguette.