My Birthday Cake

Posted on February 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

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My Birthday was a couple of weekends ago and this is the cake my fabulous husband SurlyDwarf presented me with. I was just gazing at it remembering it’s tastiness and cuteness when I thought I would share. It had a local cream cheese frosting, white cake and raspberry filling inside. Each mouse was named some version of Archimedes (Archimedesone, Archimedesalpha, Archimedesprime, etc.). Hehe what a rocking cake…the best part though?

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Who doesn’t want to nibble on a mouse butt that cute?

Goodtimes.

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Posted in Babble

Nobu Halibut

Posted on February 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is usually made with cod but Halibut was what was locally in season at the time I made this. With that season about to begin again I figured now is a good time for other folks to give this a go. This is a new spin on a centuries old Japanese recipe usually done with black cod. The first time I tried this was in a usually reasonably priced restaurant, I was blown away by the flavours….and then the price…15.00 for a tiny piece of fish, this was an appetizer portion. Yeah. Well, you can probably figure out what happened next. I craved this fish, this tasty expensive fish. It had drawn me in with it’s full amazing flavour, I was a slave to my need to have another taste but my frugal side screamed at me that there must be another way! So here we have it. My solution to the nobu cod dilemma with local fish. Note: the miso here is key, no miso no nobu. Say that last bit out loud…it’s kinda funny. Come on, now give it the Miyagi voice. There you have it. See? Now, to the nobu!

  • 2 or 3 pieces fresh halibut (total about 1 lb)
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 5 tbl white miso paste (white only,the other colours just won’t be the same)
  • 2 tbl sugar or honey
  1. Mix the last four ingredients in a container you intend to marinate the fish in. Preferably a container with a lid.
  2. Pat the fish dry and place in the container. Spoon some of the marinade on top to get full coverage. Cover and allow to sit in your fridge overnight or for 24 hours.
  3. Lightly wipe off the excess marinade. Lightly grill or pan fry the fish on both sides to sear, just until that surface turns brown you aren’t cooking it here.
  4. Transfer the fish to an oven preheated to 400F. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Enjoy!

Oh what a tasty delight you are about to have! This is my new favourite fish dish. Loved it so much I made it for my family on christmas eve and now my fellow foodie sister wants the recipe. Sorry it took me so long to type it out for ya Laura! Each serving contains: 363 calories, 6.7 grams fat, 9.1 grams carbs, 60.5 grams protein, no fiber sadly. Have a nice high fibre side dish to compensate. I made us a tasty quinoa and edamame bean pilaf on the side. Goodtimes! A fun variation is to add 1 tsp sriracha sauce to the marinade, spicy nobu! Keep in mind you can do this recipe with pretty much any white fish you like, go nuts!

 

 

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Posted in Craving Buster, Dinner

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Vote!

Posted on December 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Hurray! I’ve been nominated in the food and drink catagory of the canadian blogger awards! Want to help show your appreciation for hungry hobbit food? Vote for me like the Voty McVoterson you know you can be!

Voting for Best Food and Drink Blog Link

Don’t worry the link shouldn’t take you away from the nummy recipes, it gets it’s own window. Thanks in advance for those who took the time to indulge my moment of self promotion. Hehe.

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Posted in Babble

Almond Cupcakes with Orange Glaze

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 2 Comments

How about a tasty somewhat naughty festive treat? I was making cupcakes for a potluck that my yoga teacher training group decided to put on. I made these vegan friendly and oh my, they were tasty! The recipe below is the healthier way I would make them but I will include the recipe variation to make them vegan friendly too. They were originally going to be gluten free and vegan friendly but that challenge is going to be saved for another day. These were so tasty even my meatatarien husband has been enjoying them. For those who are curious I’m an omnomnomivore. Food is tasty.

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 12 tbl low fat cooking margarine
  • 1 1/2 cup splenda
  • 10 tbl egg substitute (like egg beaters)
  • 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened original
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 2 tbl orange zest, grated fine
  • Juice of 1 orange (usually about 2 ounces)
  • 2 1/2 cup icing sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a bowl cream together the margarine, egg, almond extract and splenda.
  3. In another bowl combine the baking powder and flour. (yes, sometimes I’m lazy and skip this step too…it’s o.k.)
  4. Slowly alternate between adding the flour and the almond milk while beating the creamed mixture on low. Continue until all combined.
  5. Spoon batter into cup pan and bake for 20 minutes. You can tell they are done when they spring back when you touch them and are golden.
  6. While the cupcakes bake, combine the zest and icing sugar in a bowl.
  7. Slowly add the orange juice to the sugar mixture while beating on low. Once it is all combined at the desired consistency (you do not have to use all of the juice) beat for 2 minutes on high. Chill the glaze for 1 hour.
  8. Glaze the cupcakes when they have cooled.

Makes 16 cupcakes, each cupcake with glaze contains approximately 176 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 39 grams carbs, .9 gram fiber, and 2.2 grams protein.

To make this vegan friendly I used powdered egg substitute ( a local brand from the health store), vegan butter (earth balance buttery spread), and brown sugar instead of splenda. The nutritional info for this version is much higher of course. To make the cupcakes you just add the extra step before you cream of adding the required amount of water to the powdered egg substitute and stir. Other than that it is straight forward and the baking time is the same.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Hardcore Hobbit: Roast Beef

Posted on November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

As LOTRO says, “nothing can beat this savory pot roast”. So delicious! I don’t make roast very often because of the expense of buying one, what I keep forgetting though is each time I buy one it makes a few meals, not just one. With that consideration it’s actually a bargain when you pick one up on sale and oh so tasty. In the game roast beef is made with salt, cauliflower, and marinated beef (beef, green onion, salt). I highly recommend doing a roast in the crockpot, I find I get the most tender meat this way with very little fuss. I also always cook my roast from frozen, again omg tender! It will also make it’s own gravy this way. My mouth is watering just thinking about this roast again. Time to get to pictures and recipes before I raid the fridge.

  • 1 roast of choice, frozen
  • 2 tbl cornstarch
  • 2 pouches beef low salt oxo
  • 1 tsp herbs de provence
  • 4 tbl white wine
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tsp dry mustard powder
  • pinch salt and pepper
  • 2 cup cauliflower
  • 2 tbl margarine
  • 1 tsp steak spice
  • green onion, sliced
  1. Place the roast in a crockpot, top and surrounding with the next nine ingredients on the list.
  2. Cover and cook for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low.
  3. Before serving, boil a pot of water. Add the cauliflower and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes or less. Drain. Add the margarine and steak spice. Mash. Season to taste.
  4. Serve and top with gravy from the crockpot and green onions.

There are so many variables in this recipe, cut of meat, size of cut, etc. So sadly I cannot give nutritional values for this one. The picture above is from my husband’s plate, it is a surly dwarf portion for sure. A hobbit trying to watch their figure should probably aim for a portion that looks more like this:and go easy on the gravy…I know…it’s hard. So nummy!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Crockpot Creations, Dinner, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Nominate?

Posted on November 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

Just a quick post to remind folks that it’s that time of year again! The Canadian bloggie awards! If you have been enjoying my recipes and other such babble, why put in a nomination for hungry hobbit food blog in the food and drink catagory….come on, you know you want to….all the cool hobbits are doing it.

Just fill out the form on the other side of this link:

Canadian Blog Award Form

Thanks in advance for those who take the time to fill out the form. You guys rock! If I place again this year maybe we can celebrate with a special recipe? Hmmmm….something tasty and super geeky would definitely be in order.

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Posted in Babble

Hardcore Hobbit: Wild Mushroom Soup

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 3 Comments

To make up for not posting for so long I have made it a double hardcore hobbit recipe week. Am I forgiven? How about after you taste this soup? It is delicious! It is exactly what I needed after a busy day. I paired it with some light havarti stuffed buns. Omnomnom! In Lotro this soup is made using mushrooms, mixed herbs, and leek stock. Fantastic! The soup was nummy nutritious velvet in a bowl. With the large serving size it was incredibly filling, a great dinner course all on it’s own. What hobbit would protest a dinner with mushrooms as the star? Shall we?

  • 5 cups Hardcore Hobbit Leek Stock
  • 4-5 cups various mushrooms, sliced (I used shiitake, portobello, and crimini)
  • 2 tbl soy sauce
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 fl. ounce dry sherry
  1. Combine the ingredients in a crockpot. Do not worry if the mushrooms seem to over power the amount of stock, they will cook down and provide their own liquid.
  2. Cook for 8 hours on low (or stovetop simmer 30- 60 minutes)
  3. Using a handblender or blending in batches process the soup until it is blended. I went with a texture that was blended but not smooth. I liked the variations in colour and texture. That is personal taste, go with what you like! Season with extra salt or pepper as needed. Serve.
  4. Want a tasty variation? My husband topped his soup with fat free sour cream. He even made a ghost on top to celebrate the season. Isn’t it cute? I tasted his variation and it is indeed nummy!!

Makes 5 generous and filling servings. Each serving contains 205 calories, 5 grams fat, 35 grams carbs, 4.7 grams fibre, and 5.9 grams protein. A great fall day treat. Using local mushrooms makes the flavour of those mushrooms sing! When selecting your variety of mushrooms you might want to check out what is local to your particular shire and in season. Every hobbit deserves the best mushrooms they can find.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Crockpot Creations, Dinner, Lunch, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Hardcore Hobbit: Leek Stock

Posted on October 24, 2011 | 6 Comments

My first weekend at yoga teacher training was a crazy one but a great one! I met a whole bunch of awesome new people AND I worked a couple of really tasty recipes on the side. Epic win! I made this mostly in the crockpot while I was away at training, so it’s perfect for you other busy hobbits out there. In LOTRO leek stock is made with leeks, water and shire taters. I love the smell of this stock, it certainly picked up my spirit when I walked in the door. Look at all those beautiful leeks!

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 tbl butter
  • 3 medium leeks, thinly sliced, white/light coloured parts only
  • 4 small potatoes, cubed
  • 5 cups water
  • salt and pepper
  1. Heat a pan to medium high. Add the butter, swirling it around to coat the pan.
  2. Add garlic and onion. Cook until onions begin to caramelize.
  3. Add the leeks, cook for about 1 or two minutes. Stirring constantly.
  4. Pour into a crockpot.
  5. Add the potatoes and water. Heat the crockpot for 8 hours on low. You can do this faster by just adding the ingredients to a stock pot and heating over the stove for 30-45 minutes on medium high. Make sure the potatoes are tender before serving.

Makes 5 super generous servings. Each serving contains 180 calories, 4.9 grams fat, 32 grams carbs, 4 grams fibre, and 3.7 grams protein. This is a great soup base! A great departure from the same old veggie soup base that most vegetarians can get stuck with. You can use lighter butter substitutes for this soup but I found that full fat butter really helped those leeks along flavour wise.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Crockpot Creations, Dinner, Ingredient, Lunch, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Hardcore Hobbit: Fruit Roll

Posted on September 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

What an exciting week! I was successful at completing the first phase of my training, so I am now a certified pilates instructor. Boldly going where no geek has gone before. Now Isengard is live on LOTRO!! Woot! I myself don’t get to play yet because all this schooling means very little gaming money right now. Can’t go running off and buying it yet. Still all this exciting stuff deserves cake…it deserves hardcore hobbit cake. In the game the fruit roll is made of honey, blackberries, and barley flour. ! It also gives that boost of will power that we all need. This to me says lemon cake with a blackberry cream cheese filling. Shall we?

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup honey or splenda
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
  • 1 tbl fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 blackberries, fresh or thawed
  • 2 tbl light strawberry cream cheese
  1. Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
  2. In another bowl combine the eggs, water, lemon rind, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix until all one colour. Add the honey or splenda and mix until smooth.
  3. Add the liquids to the well in the flour. Add the dry around the sides of the well to the liquids until smooth.
  4. Grease a jelly roll pan very well, for extra care line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out evenly.
  5. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure it is done. Immediately loosen the cake from the pan and upend onto a clean tea towel. Roll the cake gently like a jelly roll using the towel. Allow to cool.
  6. Combine the blackberries and cream cheese. I don’t get to worried about a smooth texture. I think its more fun to have little pockets of cream cheese and berry. Unroll the cake. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the cake giving about an inch of space from the edges.
  7. Roll the cake back up carefully. Slice into 16 pieces and serve!

Each slice contains (with honey) 91 calories, 1 gram fat, 19.8 gram carbs, .4 gram fibre, and 1.8 grams protein. With splenda each slice contains 43 calories, 1 gram fat, 8 grams carbs, .3 gram fibre, and 1.8 grams protein. Sure you can frost this cake but with the way that cream cheese berry filling is you really don’t need the extra calories and fat to enjoy.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, The Hardcore Hobbit

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OMG busy!

Posted on September 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

So I’m sure some of you may have noticed how erratic posting has been lately. I am so sorry about that! Life has gotten so busy and is getting busier. It will definitely pay off though! I have started training to be a pilates teacher and in October I will be starting training to become a yoga teacher as well! I know! Crazy isn’t it? To think that at the beginning of all this I was 80 pounds heavier and not much of an exerciser at all. Now, I am lighter, eating healthy, still eating like a hobbit, and going to be a certified pilates and yoga instructor!

To me it just seems like a logical step. During my weight loss I found that walking, yoga and later pilates really helped me out. I didn’t have to work really hard, especially with my tasty recipes. What I’m hoping to do is then come up with a program to help folks just like me. I have to say the funniest thing about being in these training programs is that even though most of these folks are athletics types, they are so accepting of a little geek like me. They even find it cute when I say stuff like “Aww I can’t come workout with you guys that night, I’m playing with my dungeons and dragons group those nights.” It’s true, us geeky chunky folks had nothing to fear from the right breed of athletic folks. There are always jerks in every group of folks…I’m sure everyone knows a geeky jerk…but we always forget that the majority of folks in every group of people are really nice and accepting. That knowledge would probably have helped me fear gyms and workout studios less, hope it helps some of you other folks too!

So, anyways as a result my posting will be erratic for the next few months. My concentration is going to be on trying to get hardcore hobbit recipes out. If I have time then I will post the other delicious foods I have been working on. To me getting those hardcore hobbit foods out is important so we can get to planning our hobbits feasts for when the movie comes out.

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Posted in Babble, Exercise, Obstacle