I have always loved christmas pudding…I have even gone the all day/all week route to make it. There are a few funny stories that go with that adventure. The first was my mother almost burning down the house when she used over proof Barbados rum to flambe it. And the second when my grand mother poured the turkey drippings into the rum sauce I had simmering on the stove, because she thought it was the start of the gravy.

A couple years ago, I went on a tour of this amazing chocolate shopp, and they had a chocolate cake made in a slow cooker. It was awesome! The thing I noticed was that the cake, or pudding had a very similar consistency to Christmas pudding, without the fruit. Cakes made in a slow cooker have a very dense, yet moist texture that you would never get baking. So I put my thinking cap on and tries to figure out the flavors of a Christmas pudding. The warm spice, the sweet fruit, the hint of rum. That Christmas this is what I came up with…

This is not the prettiest cake you will ever see…but it does taste wonderful. I normally scoop it into fancy bowls and top it with the sauce…

A quick note about the fruit…I have never like the candied fruit in Christmas pudding…so I changed it up a bit with more modern fare…

The Pudding

1 box spiced cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg instant butterscotch pudding
1 cup butterscotch chips
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water
1 dash (or two) angostura bitters
1 1/2 oz dark rum
1 1/2 oz calvados, or cherry brandy
1/2 cup seedless raisins (soaked in rum overnight…this is not the rum listed above…you are going to need about 2 oz more to soak)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped dried apple
1/2 chopped dried pineapple, or mango
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into lightly greased 5qt crock pot, metal coffee can or Crock Pot Cake Bake pan.

Cover.

Cook 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

The Rum Sauce

2oz butter
2oz plain flour
2 cups milk
2oz fine/caster sugar
5 tbsp dark Rum

One of my favorite drinks in winter and most definitely Christmas is mulled wine.

This recipe started out as an experiment, and later became a Robson Family Christmas staple. A few things about the recipe first.

The mulling sachet…

Make several, not only will they keep for a long time you can do all kinds of cool things with them once you have made them.

1. Give them as a gift with a bottle of wine and a nifty recipe card.

For several years I would make up a basket with a couple of heat proof glass mugs, an inexpensive bottle of red wine, a sachet, and a few oranges. Looks nice,and it is an inexpensive gift.

2. Put one in a pot with apple juice on the stove on simmer…will make your whole house smell amazing.

Leftovers…

If you have leftovers, just put it into a container in the fridge…you can heat up a cup anytime in the microwave.

So on to the recipe…

Mulled Wine Spice (one sachet)

• 3-4″ cinnamon stick (7-10cm)
• 10 cloves
• 15 allspice berries
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1tsp orange peel or mixed peel (from baking section of supermarket)

Other stuff you can add…

dried sliced ginger (get it from the Asian market)
Nutmeg (coarse ground)

I use those loose leaf silk tea bags that you can get at the Asian market to put all the spices together, but you can use a square of cheese cloth as well.

The brew…

In a crock pot…or on the stove…crock pot works bets because it keeps the temperature more consistent…

Pour in 1 bottle of inexpensive red wine…you choose the type, keep in mind the flavors will change with the spices, so don’t use your best bottle.
Add 1/2 cup sweet red vermouth.
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 sliced orange
1 Spice Sachet

Set the crock pot on low…Now just walk away!

Give it a taste now and then after the first hour…remove the sachet when you have a flavor you like.

Note: If you are doing this on the stove, check it more often…it will take less time to brew. If you find you have too strong a mull, just add a bit more wine…it will smooth out the spices.

Variations…

I have used this mulling spice to make sever different warm drinks…so experiment with flavors and juices. I have tried it with Cranberry juice, apple juice, and Mead. And enjoyed them all.

If you want a “Dryer” mulled wine, use brandy instead of vermouth.

And if you want a non alcoholic version, just use the non alcohol wine from the supermarket. Remove the vermouth, and use extra sugar.

So I recently had the honor of tweeting with Steven McMullin aka @Chef_Steve on twitter. Our discussion revolved around how to use pickled eggs. Yes you read it right “pickled eggs”. Having never been one to actually eat one willingly I sat and did the flavor profiles in my head. I have always been blessed with that ability. call it good genes I guess, my grandmother also had the talent.

My Grams was an amazing woman. She ran kitchens her entire life…and while she was never formally trained, she honed her cooking skills behind the grill old school. She and my grandfather owned a restaurant in St Boniface, the name long forgotten by me, (Gonna have to ask dad) that catered to American’s during Prohibition, where she served drinks in a bar that women where not allowed to drink in. She later owned and operated a dinner in St. B on Tache. This is where I began my culinary experience. I remember getting 5 cents for every table I cleaned when I was about 4 or 5. The house that is now the Red Lantern Restaurant belonged to my grandparents, and remember going there for dinner once and sitting down to dine in what was my father’s bedroom.

But enough about my grandmother…on to pickled eggs…

After chatting back and forth with Chef Steve, I finally came up with my next culinary masterpiece. And I think this one is gonna be a keeper.

Beer Batter Fish with Pickled Egg Salad.

As you know, I am all about keeping it simple…so here we go…first the egg salad.

We are basically going to make a basic egg salad, but substitute the regular boiled eggs for pickled eggs.

4 pickled eggs chopped coarsely
2 green onion chopped fine
2 stalks of celery chopped fine
1 tablespoon  Dill Pickle Relish
2 tablespoons REAL mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Fresh chopped dill
salt and corse black pepper to taste

Mix it all together and chill…pretty basic so far.

Okay now to the beer batter fish

First the batter…this is a very delicate process and you have to be very careful to get it right…

First you get a bowl of flour…about 3 cups.

Now…the hard part…pour in a bottle of beer and mix…okay not so difficult, but really that is it, beer and flour and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. You can experiment with different beers, dark beers light ales…they will all give a slightly different taste to the batter…but basically like with wine, cook with the beer you are gonna drink it with.

Now the fish, your choice, but I personally like cod…it is fatty enough to not dry out when you deep fry it…but again…experiment…

Dip your fish into the batter and deep fry it in HOT oil till it is golden brown…don’t make the fish too thick or it will not cook through before the batter is cooked…And since you have the oil ready some hand cut fries would be amazing to go with this.

For the best fries use white russets…cut them up into french fries and soke them in cold water for a few mins…and then drop them into the oil…the trick to crispy fries is to double fry them…so before you start the fish, pre cook your fries…they should be cooked enough to actually eat, but they are gonna be soggy. Set them aside and then cook your fish.

Just before you are ready to plate this up…drop your fries into the oil again…this will crisp them up…sprinkle some coarse salt on them while they are hot…

Okay plate it up…a piece of fish, some fries, and a good helping of pickled egg salad.

Picture to come…

Manitoba, Win a Free Website Contest

For those of you who are not in the know, we are expanding our business out to Manitoba. So we are having a contest and one lucky Manitoba business is going to win a FREE website.

So why are we doing this?

We really want to show Manitoba what we can do!

What is the prize?

• Set up WordPress CMS and application of  a Custom Template branded with your colours and logo
• Install several essential plugins, including video, SEO plugins, and Social Media integration
• Create the framework of up to 10 pages and add your supplied content and photos
• Set up your Blog
• Show you how to update your site
• 1 year free hosting if required…

Package valued at $2000

How this is going to work…

First, you need to leave a comment below letting us know about your Manitoba business and why you want to win a free website.

A winner will be chosen at random on August 30, 2011. Your business MUST be located or based in Manitoba to win.

For an additional entry, please post the following on Twitter “I entered to win a free #Manitoba Website Design Package from @acrazychameleon http://to.ly/aQgV.“

I spend a lot of time telling clients how important it is to have amazing photos on their websites. I like to tell them that “the Internet is a visual medium”, and without great images, their site just won’t have the same feel.

Photography for websites can take the form of several things. It can be great headshots of yourself and staff, along with action shots of you performing your service or selling your products. Or it can be all about your products, and this too often is often the most uninspiring part of many websites. Normally, I see  lot of homemade images taken on a white backdrop, or food plates shot with bad lighting and poor composition…trust me people, gravy does not look like gravy online…Real Estate photos also another place I see lots of bad photography.

Basically do what you do best, if you are a real estate agent, chef, restaurateur, or retailer, then you are not a photographer…get a professional to take your photos…oh and headshots taken by your husband on your last vacation to Maui are not really headshots…they are fun family photos…

So this brings me to the whole point of this Blog Post…Who is Jennifer Kirk? I recently had the opportunity to take it offline and meet Jennifer for coffee. She is a delightful woman who let me ramble on and on about missing Winnipeg, so she is already tops in my book. We discussed her industry a bit, and the fact that it was wedding season so she was booked up with new shoots all summer and into October.

sexy marshmallows product shot

Prior to our meeting, I took a moment to look at her website…it is a flash site…and groan…she let me prattle on about that too…hehe. But what stood out to me was not her beautiful wedding and baby photos, but her amazing product shots. How do you make a marshmallow sexy? You call Jennifer, and that is exactly what Tina from thepinkspatula.ca did. I have posted just one of the amazing shots here, but you can see more if you visit Jennifer’s blog…here.

This is why you hire a pro do do your web photos for you…From jewelery to cupcakes…aroma therapy to tennis shoes, having well constructed photos of your products will make your visitors take notice. It is an expense well invested in your business.

I look forward to seeing more of these shoots in Jennifer’s portfolio, and I highly recommend you give her a call to see how she can make your products sexy…

As you all know…coffee is in my opinion the elixir of life…and like bacon, there is nothing that does not go good with it…

This recipe is simple and gives a fresh change to the typical strawberry cream dressing to put over a fresh fruit salad.

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup salad oil
1 Tb lemon juice
2 tsps instant quality coffee

Blend ingredients together. Chill thoroughly. Stir and serve with salads of chilled  fresh fruit. makes one cup.

Creamy version: substitute 1/2 cup mayo for the salad oil and increase lemon juice to 2 Tb.

Since I can't be in Winnipeg to get a picture of the best burgers in the world I have linked to a foodie blogger in Winnipeg…

For years since we moved to White Rock from Winnipeg, one of the things I have missed most is the food. And one of the ones I missed most was hamburgers and fries with chili from a couple of my favorite burger joints. Junior’s, The Whip on Marion, and the Red Top on St. Mary’s Rd. are just a few of my old stomping grounds.This chili was put on hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries…and in some cases pasta. It is more like a sauce then a chili.

It took me years to find and perfect this recipe, and now I share it with you…This recipe makes a huge batch, but it freezes wonderfully!

Ingredients…

30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
2 yellow onions, finely minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 kg (2 lbs) lean ground beef
30 ml (2 tbsp) chili powder
15 ml (1 tbsp) ground cumin
15 ml (1 tbsp) dried oregano leaves
10 ml (2 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
10 ml (2 tsp) salt
5 ml (1 tsp) celery seeds
5 ml (1 tsp) turmeric
5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
2 ml (1/2 tsp) hot red pepper flakes
500 ml (2 cups) tomato juice
500 ml (2 cups) canned beef broth
60 ml (1/4 cup) cornmeal

Heat oil in Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Combine chili powder with ground cumin, oregano, cocoa, salt, celery seeds, turmeric, cinnamon and hot red pepper flakes and add to the pot!

Add ground beef. Don’t “brown’ it…

Add tomato juice and broth and mix it all up.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by 1/3, about 1 1/2 hours. Add cornmeal and stir for 2 minutes.

Can be prepared ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and freeze in airtight container up to 2 months or refrigerate up to 3 days. Warm over medium-low heat.

Okay so this has nothing to do with web development, but they make me happy and when I am happy web development is that much better.

Sex Berries are a little treat that are simple to make, and will take your basic chocolate dipped strawberries up a huge notch! They are more like a dessert then a treat. I came up with this one after having strawberry cheese cake at a favorite restaurant in Winnipeg several years ago. Back in the day you could only make them on special occasions since getting strawberries was really seasonal or expensive. Now with the great berries available all year long from California you can make them anytime…And yes the California berries actually work better for this recipe, they dare a bit denser and hold the weight.

So what do you need?

1. You will need a piping bag with a tip on it, you can use the cheap one from the dollar store if you don’t have a professional one.
2. About 12 good size strawberries, they need to be larger and hollow.
3. 1 16 oz block of cream cheese, the hard one, not the soft spread kind…You can use regular or low fat, they will both work and taste the same.
4. About 3 good tablespoons of icing sugar, has to be icing sugar.
5. A teaspoon of good vanilla extract
6. A teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, and the rind of 1 lemon (really finely grated) Zest like!
7. And oh yes, Chocolate! Good quality Dark Chocolate.

So how do we put it all together?

1. Wash and hull the strawberries and keep them cold and dry.
2. Now mix the cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon rind, vanilla and icing sugar together…taste it, it should have a tangy bite, but still be sweet…so adjust to your  taste. Whip it up really good till it is smooth.
3. Okay now the fun part, put the filling into a piping bag and put the tip in the berry and fill them up.
4. Chill…you can do this part ahead of time, as day or so.
5. A couple of hours before you are ready to eat them, just melt your chocolate…and dip the berries about 3/4 of the way up.
6. Chill again.
7. Now pour yourself a nice glass of wine that goes good with chocolate and strawberries…and enjoy!

I have been doing this web thing for a long time. But the modern internet and all it new web 2.0 stuff still amaze me.

Case in point! I am a foodie from way back, I grew up in restaurants and kitchens, it to this day remains a huge part of my life. In fact, If I had not gone into web development I would likely be running a kitchen in some restaurant somewhere. I even have the beginnings of a cookbook in a personal folder on my computer, which will at some point may just see the light of a monitor someday. I love food! But back to how twitter ramped up that passion to the next level.

Back in the day, I spent just as much time surfing the net looking for interesting recipes as I did working on web design. When my husband and I moved from Winnipeg to White Rock one of the hardest things to leave was the food. Restaurants I had grown up with and food I would never find here in BC. I searched everywhere online looking for recipes from the restaurants I missed, and for the most part to no avail. But I did happen to come across a site way back when that did copy restaurant recipes, and they have been a bookmark on every computer I have owned since.

CopyKat has been providing amazing easy to recreate recipes from some of the largest restaurant chains in the US for years, and I have to say I have used several! Recipes from Olive Garden, The Red Lobster, and even “The Soup Nazi”.

So what the heck does this post have to do with Twitter? Well let me tell you. Back in the day, I would never even have conceived of having a conversation with Stephanie Manley, the owner of CopyKat. But through the power of twitter, and a few mentions and messages I have been able to chat with the foodie maven in person on the phone. I recommend that you follow her yourself.

So how does this effect your business? Twitter allows people to get to know you, make inquires, and contact you about your business, services and products in a way that is comfortable with little or no obligation. In a word it is “Safe”. Even something as simple as a @mention…and you have a new lead, relationship, or friendship. And so you say why not just send an email? Twitter allows for real time communication, a lot can be said in 140 characters. Often enough to know if you want to take the relationship to the next level, such as email, phone, or even if possible offline to your nearest coffee house.

Basically I am saying that the power of Twitter is to build relationships. Use it wisely, use it often, and never abuse it! Twitter Abuse…now there is another post!

So where has my new Twittership with CopyKat, going…well at this point, the sky is the limit. But I do see a few Canadian Recipes ending up on my favorite recipe site in the near future…stay tuned!

I don’t know how often I happen upon business websites that have google ad words on them and it makes me a bit sad every time. Your business website is not the place to be advertising other people’s businesses, and especially with google ads.

Do you know how those ads are placed on your site or sidebar? Put quite simply, they are based on a keyword or phrases used in your content. So for example, if your business is “Snow Removal” and you have google ads on your site, and someone comes to your site to research your services, there is a very good chance that your competitors will be showing up in your sidebar. There is a place for google ads, your personal blog. That is it! No where else, unless you are running an affiliate marketing site…and well that is a whole other blog post.

When and what should I advertise on my site?

So what should you advertise on your site? Allowing others to advertise on your site is a nice way to generate revenue, but always make sure the businesses that you allow to advertise are relevant to your service or product. For example, if you sell dog products an acceptable advertising partner might be dog day cares…or vise versa. But something like snow removal would not be a great choice, unless they also offered dog poop removal…and they say that in the ad. The only time having multiple industries advertising on your site is acceptable is if you are running a news type site such as our friends at Fraser Valley Pulse. Fraser Valley Pulse is a Lifestyle directory which uses a news format to promote and spotlight local businesses in the Fraser Valley BC, and that is their business. They do advertising the way it should be, not too over the top, yet they still manage to satisfy their advertisers.

Basically, if you cannot find a way to advertise properly, then I would recommend you avoid doing it on your business site.

Affiliate Links? Yes or No?

It is perfectly okay to incorporate affiliate links on your business site, as long as it is a product or service that you endorse. Remember it is your business’s good name you are putting on the line when you put a link on your site.

When is it too much?

Some sites make me crazy! They have so much advertising on them that the page takes forever to load. Keep in mind that even though we now live in the world of high speed internet, not everyone is going to wait to have your page load. Keep advertising to a minimum on your site. The goal is after all to have the visitor hire you, not your advertising partner.