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Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

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Mexican stuffed sweet potato

Mexican stuffed sweet potato is all the flavours of a great spicy taco inside a double-baked sweet potato. An easy homemade spicy taco mix to season the meat, a few fresh tomato dice, crunchy lettuce and cheddar and a final smooth touch of sour cream. After a long winter, it’s time to call mother nature for some sun. No better way to bring the heat back than a nice spicy taco, right? What if we merge it into a lovely crunchy, Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato? The spicy taco mix goes to perfection with the sweetness of the potato, plus you get some excellent fresh and crunchy toppings and sour cream to make it taste fully like a Taco. Homemade Taco Spice-Mix No need to go buy a “Mexican spice mix” at the store; this excellent taco seasoning is often already in your pantry! A simple mix of cumin powder, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, spicy paprika, oregano…

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Desserts

Bananes flambées in Rum

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Bananes flambées rum

A nicely caramelized banana with a touch of Caribbean flair is hard to resist! You’ll go banana over these Bananes flambées! This dessert will make you “bananas”! You’ll want more and more until the explosion… ok, maybe not until the explosion, but close to it. This has been a personal favourite since I’m a kid. My dad used to make us “Bananes Flambées”; he was using “Grand Marnier” (an orange cognac) and his beautiful copper pan. He would only use his copper pan … for this particular dish. As a kid, it was always frightening to see those big flames going up, and after all that adrenaline, you would get to eat the tastiest reward! History This dish comes from New Orleans, USA, and is called Bananas Foster. The US version uses a banana liqueur before flaming it and some ice cream to accompany it. In the Caribbean, they master the…

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Main Meals

Giant MeatBall Pasta

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giant meatball pasta

This giant MeatBall is a minimalistic touch to a classic meatball sauce. This moist and filled with aromatic spices meatball will guarantee goosebumps to any carnivores! Giant MeatBall Spaghetti is a minimalistic version of the classical meatball sauce we all love. This dish will bring goosebumps to carnivores, a moist meatball with spices served in a simple onion-tomato sauce and al dente pasta. This meal is also kind of the story close to my heart. When I met my husband ten years ago back in Panama, he used to eat so much pasta that I would call him a ‘Pasta monster.’ Later on, still in contact over the internet, I gave myself this “meatball princess” nickname to make sure he wouldn’t forget me… he didn’t. Since then, I have had to bring to perfection my meatballs to reach the actual title of “meatball princess.” The Meatball Magic Yes, there is plenty of magic in this meatball. Here are…

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Appetizers

Basil & Lime Dip for Artichokes

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Dip for Artichokes

This Dip for Artichokes is an easy breezy lime, basil and butter sauce; it elevates each steamed Artichoke leaf to another level until its tender heart! The way my dad showed me how to eat artichokes when I was a kid stays my favourite. I steam them, add a citrus-basil butter sauce to dip each leaf in, and then the “piece de consistency,” the delicious and tender heart. Splendide this Basil Lime Dip for Artichokes! A Flower Veggie Artichokes are flower buds cut out just before blooming; being one of the only few comestible flowers we eat along with zucchini flowers, broccoli and cauliflower. There are about 140 varieties, from small purple ones to big massive ones. In Spain, they grow all year long, although there are high seasons which are in spring and fall. You’ll see them in many restaurants, cut simply in half and cooked directly on the grill…

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Appetizers

Sweet Potato Fries with Wasabi & Pea Dip

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Sweet Potato Fries with Wasabi & Pea Dip

Baked or Air fried Sweet Potato Fries with Wasabi & Pea Dip is a healthy and dynamic duo of colours and flavours. The sweetness of the fries balances to perfection the spicy green wasabi dip. For some, a truly odd combination of this Sweet Potato Fries with Wasabi & Pea Dip recipe, but once you get your head around it and jump in and try it out… you’ll never go back to regular fries with ketchup. Sweet potato and wasabi is a match made in heaven, like in the movie Ratatouille, the rat mixes up the mushroom and cheese, and it becomes exponentially delicious. Well, it’s also the case for this combination. At first, I was hesitant about the mix too, and I could not have been more wrong. On my first bite, I started to be obsessed with it! I’m a “savoury person,” and sweet potatoes never appealed to me until…

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Main Meals

White Asparagus Crepe

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White asparagus crepe buckwheat

Inspired by the traditional German White Asparagus with ham and hollandaise sauce meal, this version comes with a buckwheat crepe and some extra baby spinach leaves. It’s the season again for those spring veggies! Those are one of a kind; I knew they existed but never had the opportunity to try them out until I met my Bavarian in-laws. It is more tender and delicate than its green peer. Also, a bit more technical to prepare than the green type but in the end, it’s a more delicate, tender version that is too little known. So hopefully, this White Asparagus Crepe will make you switch from green to white! Eastern Europe Favourite In Germany, they have the “Spargelzeit,”, or the asparagus period from late April to early June, where they open little shacks by the road with white asparagus stands. Each is selling the freshest of these! The whiter and thicker,…

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Appetizers

Purple Phyllo Egg Rolls

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Filo Purple Egg Roll

These Purple Phyllo Egg Rolls with pork, red cabbage, ginger and garlic are wrapped into a crunchy Filo pastry. Baked or Air fried instead of deep-fried for a healthier version.  These egg rolls are a kid’s childhood must, accompanied by the usual plum sauce.  The other day, I was doing my monthly round in my favourite Asian markets and saw this “plum sauce” bottle. Suddenly, tons of memories came rushing back at me. Memories of my family visiting a Chinese restaurant as a child, back in Canada, and eating my favourite dish: egg rolls with this plum sauce! I remember dipping my egg rolls into this sweet plum sauce like it was yesterday until I couldn’t breathe anymore. What a tasty memory! This Purple Phyllo Egg Rolls recipe is my take on this old friend of mine! A Chinese American Dish These are not, per se, Chinese… even if many spring rolls resemble it.…

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drinks

Watermelon Punch with Iced Kiwis

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Watermelon punch

Great way to use your leftovers of watermelon, a quench thirst punch! Try this sunny Watermelon punch with iced kiwis for rehydrating this summer by the pool! So summer is almost here… we’ll need to rehydrate ourselves with delicious juices… This watermelon punch is unavoidable for the summer, but I’ve pimped it up with iced-up kiwis and lime. This punch is the way to go if you have a brunch, pool event, or BBQ. You can add fresh sparkling water next to it for the ones who like theirs with bubbles… In my childhood, my favourite bubblegum was those big soft rectangular watermelon and kiwi flavoured ones. Today, as a grown-up, I find healthier ways to mix those two ingredients. These fruits are a great way to fill your body with vitamin C and hydrate during those hot summer days. I’ve frozen the kiwi pieces to serve as ice cubes…

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Main Meals

Asparagus Pasta Salad

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ASPARAGUS PASTA SALAD

This is a spring pasta salad with lovely green asparagus, cherry tomatoes, small fresh mozzarella balls, basil and olive oil served with penne. Asparagus Pasta Salad is a simple and fresh vegetarian dish! Everyone loves a good Caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella with olive oil), so why not change it a bit and make it a pasta salad? Also, since it is spring, why not add a few green asparagus to celebrate that? This Asparagus Pasta Salad is such a simple idea and takes no time to make. Great to bring for lunch, at a potluck or picnic, this pasta salad will highlight the day! For Any Occasion It’s a “feeling lazy today” kind of meal… Just need to cook the pasta of your choice (healthier versions too like quinoa or kamut pasta) a bunch of juicy cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls, or the big balls of mozzarella…

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Italy

Marinara Stuffed Round Zucchini

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Marinara Stuffed Round Zucchini

A homemade Marinara Sauce served in a lightly roasted Round Zucchini topped with a smooth Bechamel and served on olive oil spaghetti to have a different twist to your next pasta dish. When the season comes again for those lovely little round zucchini/courgette, I’m the first one in line to buy them! They are fantastic; you just fill them up with any kind of fillings and set them on top of rice, quinoa or in this case pasta, so adaptable! For this Marinara Stuffed Round Zucchini, I thought it would make a nice little bomb of flavour to have the Marinara sauce hidden in the roasted zucchini. It’s a kinda ‘Ratatouille’ type of sauce in the end. The format is different, but the idea is the same, and the only difference is… I’ve added a thick béchamel on top to make it extra smooth. Homemade Marinara Sauce For this recipe, I’ve done…

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