Grilled Vegetable Salsa

This corn salsa is a nice addition to fish tacos. It's very fresh tasting so it doesn't over power a light fish and the charred BBQ flavour really adds some depth. It would be prettier if you use a red pepper rather than orange.

Grilled Vegetable Salsa

2 large Cobs of Sweet Corn
1 Tbsp butter
1 pepper
1 avocado
1 onion ( I used yellow, but red would be prettier)
Juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 large handful of fresh cilantro chopped




1. Husk the corn, and spread with butter to prevent it sticking to the grill.
2. Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. I didn't remove the seed, and it began to crack in the heat.
3. Slice the onion.
4. Preheat the grill and place the pepper and corn directly on the grill.
5. Put the onions and avocado in a tin pie plate or on some aluminum foil and place on the grill.
6. Grill the vegetables until they have a nice charred look, turning every few minutes. Remove each vegetable as it is done.
7. Remove corn kernels from the cob, and chop all the vegetables. Place all vegetables in a bowl and stir in juice, cilantro and salt and pepper. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes to absorb flavors.
8. Serve as a side dish, as an appetizer with chips, or as a topping for fajitas/tacos.



Approximate Nutritional Information per serving for 4 servings:

calories: 216
fat: 13g
saturated fat: 4g
carbs: 26g
fiber: 7g
protein: 3g

Happy First Birthday!

Today is a day to celebrate.  It's the first birthday of my blog - The Scarlet Spoon. For a birthday present to myself, I hired my awesome friend to design me a logo which you see on my homepage and right here:

I'm so impressed. I've also decided to get a Facebook page for my blog, so if you'd like to follow me that way, like me on Facebook today and tell all of your friends.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Honey Boiled Icing
inspired by my Mom and Grammie

Cake:

1/4 C cocoa, plus extra for dusting
1 C whole spelt flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/4 C maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3/8 C butter
0.5 C milk of choice

1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. Butter 2 small round pans ( I used a 6 inch and a 7 inch), line with parchment paper, and lightly dust with cocoa powder
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. 
3. Stir together wet ingredients. 
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. 
5. Pour in prepared pans and cook for 40 minutes. 
6. Remove from oven allow to cool completely. This can be done ahead of time. I wrapped mine and froze them for a few days, and took them out of the freezer this morning. 

Ganache
100g 70% chocolate
50g full fat coconut milk

1. Mix together chocolate and coconut milk in a sauce pan. Heat over low heat while stirring until completely melted and luscious. 
2. Use as a filling between the two layers of cake




Honey boiled icing
2 egg whites
1/2 C honey
1 tsp vanilla

1. Add all ingredients to the top of a double boiler. 
2. Heat water and mix ingredients with a hand held mixer until light a fluffy. 
3. Top cake with icing. 

Garnish cake with shaved dark chocolate.

Enjoy in the company of great friends. 

Frittata with green vegetables

This is an awesome frittata recipe that is heavy on the vegetables. Once again, its based off of Teresa Cutter's recipe. I want to thank her for all of her wonderful recipes, and encourage you to check out her site. As you may have noticed, I been basing a lot of my recipes on hers because they are fantastic. She has a knack for making really good food that's packed with nutrients, and we like similar things.  I wanted to make sure to give her all of the credit she deserves!

Frittata with green vegetables
adapted from this recipe by Teresa Cutter 

1 leek, thinly sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 C chives, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 large handfuls of spinach
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
5 eggs
2 oz crumbled feta cheese



1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Saute leek in some olive oil until it begins to soften. Add the zucchini and chives, and saute for a few more minutes. Then add spinach and parsley and heat just until spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Pour vegetables into a pie plate.
4. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetables. 
5. Top with feta. 
6. Bake for about 25 minutes ( until firm in the center).