This blog is in honour of my Nana and back in July I was really happy to share my first recipe of her’s, Nana’s Date Squares. When I eat at restaurants, bakeries, friends, or even other members of my family’s, I always love to see people serving their family recipes. I feel that it’s a great way of keeping our loved ones with us, and brings out a sense of pride about oneself and the dish. This recipe comes from my family friend Sharon’s mother and it’s delicious, hope you enjoy! Continue reading
Relationships
Nana’s Date Squares
This is a special recipe, it is the first recipe of my Nana’s that I am posting on My Nana’s Kitchen. Since I had been baking with her for so long, at one point she wrote down a bunch of her recipes for me, some from even her grandmother. As you can see in the image below, it’s hand written on a cue card in her unique handwriting, and is a recipe that I will always cherish. Continue reading
Serge’s Famous Oatmeal Cookies
There is a big age difference between my sister and I, but every summer for the past six years I dutifully pile into the car with my parents and share the backseat with my 60 lbs dog to visit her at overnight camp on Visitor’s Day. She is the type of kid that lives for camp and everything related to it, so when I got my hands on her camp’s head chef’s secret recipe for his famous cookies she freaked out to say the least and they are now a staple in our house. Hope you enjoy! Continue reading
Wicked Whoopie Pies
I was house/offspring sitting again and since I had the help, decided to tackle a recipe I’ve always wanted to try – whoopie pies! Traditional recipes have a marshmallow filling, but we used cream cheese icing because my ‘baking assistant’ loves it and we didn’t feel like going out to buy Fluff. We made them and even though we both bake a lot, we were shocked at how good they were. The only downside is that because you put two together, it only makes 12 servings and you’re going to want more! Continue reading
Stripped Screw Trick
I love puzzles, especially the jigsaw type – they’re one of my favourite things to do with my mom (other than baking!). It seems that my puzzle skills have lent themselves to a strange skill…I am an Ikea master. Seriously, my ability to assemble Ikea furniture isn’t normal. And I like it! It’s like a big puzzle, and I feel handy, so I’m always happy to put stuff together. Continue reading
Chewy Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Apparently I’m on a caramel-y kick, which is fine with me because my Nana loved the stuff (as I mentioned in the Werther’s cookies recipe) so it’s got a special place in my heart/stomach. This is a great simple recipe which spreads out during baking creating a chewy yet thin, chocolatey, toffee-y, cookie goodness. Continue reading
Wonderful Werther’s Caramel Cookies
My Papa (grandfather) was given a package of Werther’s Original Hard Candies as a gift from his neighbour, but he gave them to me because it was his wife, my Nana, who loved the decadent candies – a taste she passed on to my mother, who has in turn (fortunately, and unfortunately) passed on to me. Since I had this big package, I decided to get creative Continue reading
Enticing Cauliflower with Mustard-Lemon Butter
I’m always open to trying new foods, and my ever-present curiosity often results in interesting ‘I do not like this’ faces. Recently, my mom made a cauliflower side dish and the dressing smelt so good that I decided to brave the strange vegetable again…and I liked it! While my feelings towards the undressed version of the colourless cousin of broccoli haven’t changed, Continue reading
Blissful Butterscotch Bars
Warning: these are dangerously good. I’m house/offspring sitting family friends and Georgia (from Georgia’s Blueberry Cake) and I went through 5 cookbooks before we chose this recipe. They take a while to make, and need tons of time to cool (like 3+ hours), but they are completely worth it…just don’t do what I did and listen to Georgia’s impatient 15 year old brother and cut them too soon! Continue reading
Steak ‘Doneness’ Trick
My stepdad does all the meat cooking in my house, so I loved this image when I found it online because I have no idea when steak is done cooking. I’ve tried cooking it on my own, but I end up with a steak with multiple stab wounds from my continuous attempts to peek inside and check its’ ‘doneness’ (yes, that is now a word). I know I can’t be the only carnivore who is steak cooking clueless, so I hope this helps you as much as it will help me! Continue reading
My Nana's Kitchen 