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Whole Wheat Rhubarb & Spice Muffins

March 28, 2020 By Korena in the Kitchen Leave a Comment

If the empty shelves in the baking aisle of the otherwise fairly well-stocked grocery store are anything to go by right now, there are lots of people dealing with the current global pandemic in same way I am: with lots of baking therapy. These whole wheat muffins stuffed with tart rhubarb, spiced with cinnamon, and topped with crunchy sugar are an extremely comforting thing to bake and eat, so they were the first thing I made when sh*t started to get real a few weeks ago. They are quick and easy to mix up, don’t require any special pantry ingredients, and unlike most muffins, which are best eaten the day they are baked and then decline from there, these are excellent two, three, even four days after baking, thanks to their nubbly whole grain ingredients which help keep them moist and fresh. They are also a great way to use up that bag of slightly freezer burned rhubarb from last summer that you discovered at the back of the freezer when doing a pandemic inventory of all the edible things in your kitchen.

Whole Wheat Rhubarb & Spice Muffins | Korena in the Kitchen

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: baking, breakfast, cinnamon, muffins, recipe, rhubarb, whole wheat

Mendiants {How to Temper Chocolate}

February 3, 2020 By Korena in the Kitchen 4 Comments

Mendiants are a French confection of chocolate topped with dried fruit and nuts, the name being derived from the Latin word for “begging” in reference to begging for alms by monks or friars of religious orders who have taken vows of poverty. The fruit and nut toppings are supposed to represent the four Roman Catholic monastic orders who partook in this activity. But beyond the history lesson, mendiants are a delicious and easy way to make chocolate candies – the only challenge is that you have to temper chocolate, which, if you’ve ever watched an episode of Bon Appetit’s Gourmet Makes when Claire has to temper chocolate, you might assume is an impossible task. Every time she hauls out the vacuum sealer and sous vide immersion circulator thing I cringe, because tempering chocolate is NOT THAT HARD, I swear!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: chocolate, dessert, dried fruit, mendiants, nuts, recipe, technique, tempering chocolate

Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns

January 31, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

I’ve been feeling a little bereft after the disbanding of the Daring Kitchen last month – those challenges have been a constant in my life and on this blog for the past six (!!) years, and they always provided me with that nudge to get in the kitchen, make something, and post about it, no matter how busy or unmotivated I might otherwise be. So, I’m pleased to have found a new monthly challenge to take part in, hosted by Gabby, aka The Food Girl in Town. Myself and eight other bloggers will be cooking, baking, and eating our way “Around the World in 12 Plates” (or ATW12P), expanding our horizons and learning about other cultures through my favourite medium: food! Each month will feature the cuisine of a different country and our task is to do some research, choose a recipe (or several), and make something we haven’t made before. I am all about baking, so that’s how I’ll (most likely) be participating.

Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns | Korena in the Kitchen

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Filed Under: Around the World in 12 Plates, Bread, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Asian milk bread, ATW12P, baking, bread, China, Chinese baking, Chinese cuisine, Hong Kong, pineapple bun, recipe, yeast

Chocolate-Bottomed Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie

November 14, 2015 By Korena in the Kitchen 6 Comments

Chocolate-Bottomed Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie | Korena in the Kitchen

I made this chocolate, bourbon and maple syrup-laced pecan pie about a month ago for Canadian Thanksgiving after finally admitting that I don’t like pumpkin pie all that much – I mean, it’s OK, but I can think of probably a dozen other desserts I’d rather eat. And after tasting this pie, all I can ask myself is, “why was I holding on to pumpkin for so long?!” Gooey maple custard, crunchy pecans, a good dose of bourbon, and some dark chocolate to cut through the sweetness: now THAT is a pie worth making every year. It sounds like a lot of things going on in one pie, but they are all the perfect complement to one another. The only thing that could have used some work was my pie crust, which – to be honest – has never been the tender, flaky masterpiece I’ve always wanted it to be.

Chocolate-Bottomed Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie | Korena in the Kitchen

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: baking, bourbon, chocolate, dessert, maple syrup, pecan, pie, pie crust, recipe, Thanksgiving

Christmas Cookies 2013: The Round-Up

December 29, 2013 By Korena in the Kitchen 14 Comments

As promised, I’m back with cookies. Or more accurately, pictures of cookies, links to recipes, and more promises. I have recipe posts in the works for two of the following goodies, so stay tuned and bookmark this post as inspiration for next Christmas!

Christmas cookie sweatshop

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Uncategorized Tagged With: baking, Christmas baking, Christmas cookies

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies and my new grain mill!

November 9, 2013 By Korena in the Kitchen 13 Comments

Back in the summer when I wasn’t working full time and was actively looking for ways to fill my time, I applied to join the Grain Mill Wagon challenge. Basically, the WonderMill Grain Mill company sends you a grain mill (for free!) and in return you write three recipe posts for their blog within two months, and the grain mill is yours to keep. This is a pretty sweet deal and I was definitely interested in getting my hands on a grain mill ever since reading about Kate of Venison for Dinner milling her own flour. Talk about “from scratch”!

I didn’t hear back from the company for a few months and figured that I didn’t get chosen – but after I’d gone back to work in September, I got an email inviting me to the challenge. I was no longer in the market for a new hobby, but I also wasn’t going to turn down a free appliance! I got the grain mill at the beginning of October, and since then it’s been sitting in its box in a corner of the dining room, waiting for me to get around to reading the instructions. Seeing as it’s now November and I’m half-way to my two-month deadline, I figured I should get my butt in gear. So I made cookies. Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies made with freshly milled flour, to be exact. Head over to my post on the Grain Mill Wagon blog to hear all about them. 🙂

Full disclosure: I was compensated for my time and provided with a WonderMill Grain Mill free of charge in exchange for this post, but my thoughts and opinions are my own. 🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: chocolate, cookies, grain mill, Grain Mill Wagon, whole wheat flour, WonderMIll grain mill

Homemade Almond Butter and Cocoa-Cranberry Power Truffles

January 24, 2013 By Korena in the Kitchen 12 Comments

Cocoa-Cranberry Power TrufflesI can now officially cross an item off my list: homemade nut butter! It literally is as simple as roasting some nuts (in this case, almonds) and grinding them in a food processor until they turn into nut butter. The only reason it’s taken me this long to make it is because my former food processor was such a disappointment: it could barely purée cooked squash, let alone pulverize whole nuts. BUT, I now have a powerful new Cuisinart food processor and nut butter is fully within my realm of possibility. Yay!

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Filed Under: Chocolate, Cookies & Squares, Drinks & Condiments, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: almond butter, cocoa powder, energy snacks, food, no-bake cookies, recipe

Merry Christmas (cookies)!

December 25, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 9 Comments

Christmas CookiesI hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas with family and friends, and if you aren’t celebrating Christmas today, that you are having a great day and that somebody made you cookies. 🙂

From top left: Plain and Chocolate Cherry Shortbread, Salted Caramel Macarons and Mexican Chocolate Macarons (recipes coming soon), Chocolate Hazelnut Sourdough Biscotti with Orange and Cinnamon, White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Biscotti, Speculaas (recipe also to come) and Seven Layer Cookies.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Black Bean Burritos

September 15, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 23 Comments

Remember my resolution to use my cookbooks more? Yeah, it hasn’t been going so well (maybe that’s why I usually avoid making resolutions), unless you count the fact that I’ve been making these black bean burritos pretty much on a weekly basis since I got the Dinner: A Love Story cookbook. (And yes, I needed another cookbook like I need a hole in the head. It’s a problem hobby!)…

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Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables Tagged With: black bean burritos, cooking, dinner, Dinner: A Love Story cookbook, Mexican food, recipe, vegetarian entree, weeknight dinner

Resolution

February 2, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 10 Comments

I know I’m a month late for resolutions, but it’s the thought that counts, right? This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, so it seems like a good idea to put it out there and actually commit to it. Here it is: I have a gazillion cookbooks, but I’ve only actually cooked anything out of a handful of them, and even then, only one or two recipes from each. I tend to browse through them and oogle the pictures more than anything. Therefore, I resolve to actually cook things out of my cookbooks. I’m going to aim for one recipe a week, which will also require some planning, but really, I should be better about that anyway.

Here are just a few cookbooks from my collection that I’ve been perusing lately. I’m sure I’ll be posting about some of these recipes!

Barefoot Contessa At Home by Ina GartenNate’s mum gave me this one, and the only thing I’ve made so far is the chocolate cake (which was really good!). I like Ina’s recipes because they use simple, everyday ingredients but still somehow feel kind of fancy, in that “brunch in the Hamptons” sort of way.

These Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing have me salivating, and I don’t even like raw tomatoes that much. I know it’s totally out of season for February, but come August…Chicken Piccata. Kind of retro, but I can imagine some great variations.This Summer Fruit Crostata will be an excellent way to use up the rhubarb in my freezer from this past summer.

Vij’s Elegant & Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala

Vij’s is a highly-esteemed Indian restaurant in Vancouver, and the meal I had there with my aunt quite a few years ago is one of the most memorable dining experiences I’ve had. The food and atmosphere were both incredible. Since my mum passed this cookbook on to me, I’ve been wanting to make lots of things out of it…

Sautéed Arugula and Spinach with Paneer and Roasted Cashews, because it includes a recipe for paneer, which I also want to make. My aunt had these Marinated Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry when we ate at the restaurant, and I still think about how good they were. In addition to the more complicated curry recipes, there are also basic dal, rice pudding, and chai recipes I want to try.

Cook with Jamie by Jamie OliverLike approximately half of the females on the planet, I have the most gigantic crush on Jamie Oliver. Not only does he have a cute British lisp, but he is also incredibly passionate and is quite literally changing the world through food. I love his casual, seemingly haphazard approach to cooking (a bit of this, a handful of that, bash it around, get in there with your hands, etc), and his recipes seem like such great jumping-off points.

Such as these four ways to roast a chicken breast. My favorite section of this cookbook has to be the pasta. I WILL make fresh pasta, pasta machine or not! Because just see how delicious this Papardelle with Wild Rabbit, Olives and Marjoram looks! This Whole Baked Cauliflower with Tomato and Olive Sauce has intrigued me since I first flipped through the book. And that’s not including any of the fantastic custardy, puddingy British desserts. Yum.

Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

I love baking, but I don’t love relying so much on white wheat flour. I’ve written about this cookbook before (remember these cookies?), and what’s great about it is that Boyce doesn’t just throw some whole wheat into a recipe to make it healthier. Instead, she recognizes that different grains have their own flavours and characteristics, and she has created recipes that compliment them. Also, she introduces each grain with a little history lesson, which is very pleasing to my inner foodie nerd.

Strawberry Barley Scones, with the strawberry jam baked right in. I will always be up for making scones. This is an Apricot Boysenberry Tart with a rye crust – the crust has me intrigued! And there are tons of muffins, pancakes, and cookies to be made with all kinds of different grains.

And finally, Modern Classics I by Donna HayDonna Hay’s cookbooks are some of my favorites. When I first started “collecting”, hers were some of the first that I acquired. The cookbooks I like best always have a ton of photos, and in Hay’s books, there is a photo for every single recipe. And the photos are gorgeous – seriously drool-worthy. The recipes are quite simple, but very flavourful and eclectic – everything from roast chicken to Thai curries to ratatouille.

I’ve had my eye on this Thai Beef Salad for some time. More inspiring, delicious-looking salads. I love a good savoury pie and/or tart!

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So now I just have to choose what I’m going to make! This is probably going to be the hardest part ;).

What cookbooks do you love?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cookbooks, resolutions

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I'm Korena: cook, baker, dirty-dishes-maker. My favourite things include flour, butter, sugar, and chocolate. Read More…

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All content © Korena Vezerian and Korena in the Kitchen, 2011 – 2021. Please contact me before duplicating any content, including pictures. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Korena Vezerian and Korena in the Kitchen with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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