Pumpkin pie

Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and I baked my first ever pumpkin pie for the occasion!

As a French national, pumpkin pie is a very foreign concept to me, so I had to research how to go about this. It turns out there are a gazillion recipes. Some use sweetened condensed milk, some use cream, the spice blend varies from baker to baker… I chose to use sweetened condensed milk because, well, I just LOVE the stuff! I also made it my own by adding some cloves, vanilla extract and allspice.

Here's how you can make it.



INGREDIENTS (one 9" pie)
- 1 can condensed sweetened milk
- 1 1/2 cups pumkpin puree
- 2 jumbo eggs
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- a dash of vanilla extract
- 1 single pie crust (click here for recipe)



RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 350F
- roll out the pie crust and place it in a pie dish, trim to size, line it with parchment paper, baking weights (I used rice that I keep and reuse especially for this) and blind bake crust for 30 min 350F

Note: keep the trimmings, they may come in handy to doctor the crust back into shape if the dough shrinks during blind baking!
- when the crust has baked for 30 minutes, let it cool at room temperature while you prepare the filling. - to make the filling, mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth

- pour into pre-baked crust, lower the oven to 320F and bake another 60 min

Note: the pie is ready when a toothpick comes out of the filling dry
- serve at room temperature with freshly whipped cream and enjoy!

Refreshing shrimp, grapefruit and millet salad

This very refreshing shrimp, grapefruit and millet salad is absolutely perfect for hot, sunny days.

Not much to say about it, except it is very easy to make, wallet friendly and super healthy! If you do not like shrimp, you can absolutely replace the protein source by grilled chicken, tofu or grilled tempeh, or even roasted chickpeas.

This recipe can be adapted to a vegan diet.

Here is how you can make it too!



INGREDIENTS (4-6 people):
for the salad:
- 2 cups of millet
- about 1/2 lbs frozen raw shrimp (you can also use fresh, or already cooked shrimp, I just happened to have frozen raw shrimp at hand)
- 1 pink grapefruit
- 1 bunch of scallions
- 1 heart of romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch of radishes
- 1 large carrot


for the dressing:
- 1 tbsp raw granulated sugar (you can use brown sugar)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil (plus extra olive oil if you find it too lean, but I liked mine like that)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 inch of grated fresh ginger
- 1 clove of garlic, grated
- 1 tsp sesame seeds



RECIPE:
- cook the millet according to the package instructions and let cool until ready to use

- while the cooked millet cools to room temperature, prep all your veggies and fruits: slice the radishes, chop the romaine and green onions, julienne the carrot and pare the grapefruit segments

- bring about 1-2 cups of salted water to a boil in a skillet and boil the shrimp until cooked through (about 3-4 minutes), drain and peel the shrimp until ready to use

Note: you can cool the cooked shrimp faster in a bowl of water with ice cubes
- prepare the dressing: mix all the ingredients and set aside until ready to use

- when the millet and shrimp are cooled, assemble the salad in a large bowl and drizzle the dressing on top

Note: take a good look at this serving bowl guys, because the next day I broke it into a million pieces! This is the last time you will ever see this beauty :(
- enjoy!

Mango, snap peas and grilled chicken rice salad

Now that spring is making an appearance, I find myself craving healthy, lighter meals. This mango, snap peas and grilled chicken salad is just that.

This is a perfect moderately low-carb meal, with tons of vitamins from the mango and fresh peas, protein from the lean chicken and tang from the lime, cilantro-infused oil and Sriracha hot sauce.
Fresh and crisp tasting, I make it even healthier with brown rice.

Try it and tell me what you think!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
- 4 cups of leftover cooked brown rice, at room temperature
- 1 chicken breast, sliced very fine
- fresh snap peas
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- garlic, ginger and cilantro-infused oil (to taste, click here for the recipe)
- Sriracha hot sauce
- fresh cilantro for decorating (not pictured)


RECIPE:
- blanch the snap peas in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes and stop the cooking by transferring into a bowl of iced water

Note: I like them with a nice crunch, so I only blanch them but by all means, feel free to cook them longer if you like them softer
- in a skillet, brown the chicken in a splash of cilantro oil until cooked through and golden

- deglaze the juices from the skillet with the soy sauce and reserve the liquid

Note: this is an important step. There is SO much flavor packed in these little golden nuggets you mustn't throw this out!
- dice the mango

- combine all the ingredients in a serving bowl

- add the lime juice, flavored soy sauce, cilantro oil and a few splashes of hot sauce

- enjoy!

Garlic, ginger and cilantro oil

This delicious flavored oil is amazing on top of salads (to die for on an Asian-inspired cabbage slaw), to marinate chicken or pork as well as a finishing oil over grilled shrimp and scallops.

Try it, you'll love it!

INGREDIENTS:
- a bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- a few cloves of garlic
- extra virgin olive oil


RECIPE:
- peel, slice and bruise the ginger and garlic and chop the cilantro

- put all the ingredients in a glass bottle and cover with olive oil until everything is submerged



- store in the fridge and marinate for 1 week before using
Note: this oil will keep for 3-4 weeks in the fridge