Taco Spaghetti

Who doesn't love tacos or spaghetti. This one-pot dish combines both. This is a great week night meal with hardly any clean-up afterward.

Cold Brew Coffee

 

It is that time of year I start to crave cold brew. I have tried many recipes and contraptions and I have found that this is the easiest and tastiest. All you do is steep ground coffee in cold water for 24 hours and voila you have cold brew. You will need a fine mesh strainer, cheese cloth and a jug to store the brew in. Then add ice and cream and you are good to go. Much more affordable than buying it from the coffee shops. The process of steeping the coffee for 24 hours creates a sweeter less acidic drink than  "iced coffee". You can scale up or down the recipe to suit your needs. Store cold brew in a sealed jug for up to 2 weeks. 

 

 I don't particularly like bagels from the grocery store or from the various fast food outlets. They are dense and gummy, fills the void but nothing else. My first introduction to bagels was back in the 80's at a little bakery on the west side of Edmonton called the Bagel Bin. These bagels were freshly baked daily right in the bakery.  Oh those were the days my friend. Sadly, little mom and pop bakeries such as the Bagel Bin are very few and far between. I probably would have to go to New York or Montreal to get a good bagel now. 

So I went on a little quest and I think I found a winner from Sally's Baking Addiction.  These bagels are a little crispy on the outside but very tender and chewy on the inside. What I love about this recipe is that you have the option of making the bagels on the same day or you can make the dough the night before and then store it away in the fridge overnight. Then, in the morning you have fresh bagels for breakfast. Toppings and flavours are endless. My favourite bagels are "everything" and jalapeno cheddar. 

One recipe yields 8 bagels. These bagels freeze well.

 I love garlic but hate mincing it, but I don't like to buy pre-minced garlic as it contains unwanted preservatives and stabilizers. I like to buy a bunch of bulbs of garlic and mince my own and then store in freezer to have at my fingertips. The hardest part is peeling the garlic but put on a good podcast or some great music and the job is much more enjoyable. Once all the garlic is peeled it is minced in the food processor. I add a little olive oil to the garlic and pack into little plastic containers and store in the freezer. I keep one container in my fridge and when I am out I know I have a good supply in my freezer. My future self is always so grateful.