Jasper’s Turkey Meatballs

A few weeks ago we celebrated my mom’s birthday and I decided to make meatballs with polenta. Half of it went according to plan.

I had never tried to cook polenta before so I didn’t know how long I was supposed to cook it for since it never seemed to thicken. This resulted in a very thick polenta cooked for over an hour with me stirring frequently. I had also never tasted polenta so I didn’t realize how tasteless it was!

The meatballs, however, where much better. My brother made them and they tasted amazing. (The sauce was able to cover the bland taste of polenta).

I also made some matcha tarts for dessert. It tasted okay, but I believe it would’ve been better if I hadn’t accidentally boiled the cashew nuts…

• Servings: 4-5
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My brother made these meatballs and they are delicious! Please look at the ingredients for the meatballs and the sauce since some come up for both of them.
Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 pound minced turkey
1/2 onion, finely diced (keep the other half for the sauce)
5 garlic cloves, minced
Handful of parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
Sauce
1 1/2 large onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cloves, smashed
2 tbsp. dried oregano
2 bay leaves, rinsed
Pepper and salt

Instructions:

1. Meatballs: Mix all the meatball ingredients together, then press them into round balls. Refrigerate.
2. Sauce: Brown the onions and garlic in a large pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cloves, oregano, bay leaves, pepper and salt. When the sauce starts to boil, add in the meatballs. Cover with a lid and then mix after a few minutes, carefully pushing the meatballs in the sauce.
3. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat with the lid on, then simmer for an hour.
4. This is best served with pasta.

Kohlrabi and Zucchini Fritters with Wasabi Mayo

I didn’t even know kohlrabi existed until a few months ago. It was my brother’s birthday, and someone decided to give him seeds to plant in the garden. I looked at the package, frowning at the foreign name, and that was my first encounter with kohlrabi. Fast forward to the present, and the seeds have transformed into lovely green bulbs with leaves on top. These fritters are the first time I used the vegetable, so I was quite surprised by how hard of an effort it took to cut into it! I also recognized a smell but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Of course, my mind needed to know, so one online search later and I came up with Martha Stewart’s definition of kohlrabi: it’s like a cross between a radish, jicama, broccoli, and collard greens. And that was it! My nose had detected the radish smell. But when the kohlrabi’s cooked, it doesn’t really taste like radish but more of a mixture between broccoli, zucchini and potato. Strange, huh?

These fritters are a wondrous combination of the strange veggie named kohlrabi, zucchini, egg, breadcrumbs and spices. It’s crunchy and soft (oxymoron point in English class!) plus the fritters smell so good when they’re cooking in the pan. It’s excellent with the wasabi mayo, which gives it an extra pop that I love.

Avocado, Spinach and Brie Sandwiches

We’re approaching finals again and I’m relieved that provincials have been removed. I still need to do a few final exams, but I think it’ll be okay. I predict that food will become my best friend during those stressful times, which is why I’m trying to eat really healthy now so I’ll be prepared for those food urges later on.

Last week, I made Style Sweet CA’s lemon mousse cake with raspberries and it was so good! There were a lot of eggs in it, but the result was mouth-watering. I changed a few things to make it healthier, and I was very pleased with the cake. Probably going to post it on Instagram soon since it looked so good.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Scones

My mom makes the best scones ever. No kidding. Every time she makes them people always ask for the recipe. Recently, we’ve had some gluten-free people ask for a modified scone, so she provided! And it tastes (well to my opinion) even better than her original scones.

There is still butter in it, but sometimes you have to embrace it. I love how these scones melt in my mouth and the cranberries give it some extra sweetness.

Breakfast Overnight Rolls

Last week, for mother’s day, I made Sweet Potato, Avocado and Eggs Hash for breakfast, and I also made bread! These rolls are really easy to make and have a bit of a crunchy crust with a soft interior.

They might just look like potatoes, but I assure you it tastes much better than a raw potato. I like how they’re single portions because it makes it so much cuter and easier to serve because you don’t need to cut out a slice from a big loaf.

Sweet Potato, Avocado and Eggs Hash

Happy Mother’s Day for all those mothers out there! Today my brother and I prepared breakfast for my mom and this dish was the star.

We actually have a video of when we were younger, making breakfast for my mom, and it’s terribly funny. My brother had to stand on a chair to reach the stove-top and he had so much trouble cooking a simple egg that he had to call me over for help (you can hear the fear in his voice). Then he tries to cut the bread, but it’s looks terrible, so I go over and try, which results in me cutting an even worse slice. In the end, we manage to plate the scrambled eggs on a really overly thick slice of bread, and I complete it by just randomly putting an unpeeled banana on top. Least to say, it was not my best dish.

Thankfully, well I think, I’ve improved from those earlier experiments in the kitchen.

Chai Infused Date and Oat Bread

This moist bread will rock your world. It has chai tea, medjool dates, almond milk and oat flour, which work so well together. I had never tried tea in baking before, but now I can tell you that I’m hooked! It tastes delicious and all those spices wafting out of the oven door is killer to the senses.

I added walnuts on the top, which give it some extra crunch and taste amidst this dense bread. I’ve not been feeling very creative lately, so this recipe is actually a slight adaptation from Feasting On Fruit’s Chai Spiced Quick Bread. It’s fairly easy to make, but wait until the bread has completely cooled down before cutting it. Trust me, or you’ll end up with broken and a bit soggy slices of bread (yeah, I might’ve been a bit impatient).

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin in a Mug

This is definitely one of the easiest and delicious things I’ve ever made. A muffin in a mug which takes about five minutes to prepare, then one minute to microwave sounds unbelievable, am I right? But it actually works.

It’s healthy, delicious and gluten-free. Plus, there’s blueberries! (Oh and just to put it out there: I love blueberries.)

Since I’m a lazy person, and I just didn’t feel like doing anything today, this is what I made as a snack and I was surprisingly awed by how good it tasted.

Healthy Winter Buddha Bowl

I finally made something other than desserts and baked goods! Since my mom usually makes dinner every night, I never make dinner, but this time, my parents were out and I had to prepare dinner myself. I have been longing to make a Buddha bowl in, like, forever, so that’s exactly what I did.

It might not look like the best dinner ever, but it certainly tasted like it. And it took me under 30 minutes to make, so I call this a successful meal.

Who knew Buddha bowls could bring so much joy to the eater? And I think the cold winter weather (it was snowing here!) might have made me appreciate a warm bowl of yummy veggies even more.

Healthier Cranberry Scones

On Saturday, I was at the Cranberry fest for volunteering and it was pouring rain! It also didn’t help that my station was right next to the performances and one of them was crazy high-pitched bagpipes. For that performance, I was crouching behind my recycling bins, trying to put a barrier in between me and that noise. Yes, I did look a little crazy but the music was loud!

Thinking back, I probably looked like a madwoman who hovered around the recycling bins for the entire day and I’m pretty sure I inadvertently photobombed most of the performers’ pictures. Hey, it’s not my fault my station was placed right beside the stage!

But wait! There is a good ending to this story.