The 'How to Cook' Blog

I seem to bake a lot of banana bread in our house. It’s tasty, it’s easy, it’s easy to switch up with different flavors, perfect for a snack, dessert or a breakfast item. I get a ton of requests for different banana breads through my Neighbourhood Chef menu, and this is one of them… Enjoy this bread with seasonal berries, or use frozen berries, if desired or necessary. Type: Bread  [ Read More ]

Today, I’m making a soon-to-be favourite in our household… Sweet Jalapeno Mozzarella Cornbread Muffins from scratch, and they are going to a fellow gymnastics coach of mine, Sarah Morin at Gymnastics Energy, for doing me a great favour. Thanks, Sarah! When I make cornbread, I like it sweet, so today, I’m using the basic recipe for my Kickin’ Sweet Southern Cornbread and kicking that up with some “jalapeno popper” flavor.  [ Read More ]

One of my very favorite desserts or treats, since I was a little girl, is butter tarts. Now, I don’t prefer them with nuts at all, and love them with raisins, but want to give you a great option, especially wonderful for Holiday Cooking. Something you may not know, or may take for granted, is that butter tarts are thought of as a typically Canadian dessert. You never know who  [ Read More ]

Have you checked out my Neighbourhood Chef Menu, if you live in Niagara? Tonight, I have a client who has ordered banana bread, but not just ANY banana bread…he wanted a peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread… …And that’s what he will receive! I must say, it smells unbelievable in my kitchen right now as the banana bread is baking, and it looks unbelievable too. Wish I would have made  [ Read More ]

Today, I’m making a recipe for banana bread I would like to share with you. It’s my Damson Plum Banana Quick Bread! I have been making banana breads quite a bit, as people have been ordering from the Neighbourhood Chef Menu locally in Niagara. So, I’m sharing this new recipe with you all, which, by the way, had rave reviews already! FABULOUS…the lasagna and banana bread is fabulous! ~ Roman  [ Read More ]

I want to share with you my amazing new recipe for Raspberry Banana Quick Bread. Raspberry is one of my favorite flavors on the planet, and it goes so well with banana bread too. This recipe will showcase both flavors in a magnificent way. I have Banana Bread on the Neighbourhood Chef menu, and tonight, one of my good friends, Jenny D from DV8 Hair Salon in Niagara Falls made  [ Read More ]

What sounds better than homemade apple pie? Not much, right? Well, today, I’m sharing with you my specially created recipe for my friends at Alpha Beta Pie (shout out to Jewlz Bailey), for Apple Pie Quickbread. This recipe is reminiscent of that wholesome, favorite, grandma-used-to-make pie flavors just about everyone LOVES, apple & cinnamon…what a combination. My Apple Pie Quickbread Recipe is infused with those flavors and a few twists  [ Read More ]

Again, I was in the mood for banana bread when I saw some nice, ripe bananas on my counter top. Instead of the usual, I wanted to kick it up even more with some great flavor and while looking in my pantry, noticed my jar of candied ginger and immediately knew, this was my `piece de resistance`for today`s banana bread recipe. Type: Bread Recipe Serve With: Milk & Enjoy! Prep  [ Read More ]

As I was grocery shopping yesterday afternoon, I was about to purchase some hamburger and hot dog buns for the BBQ I intended on doing that evening. Each bag was easily over $3.00 for 6 hamburger buns, and 8 hot dog buns. It then hit me…Why haven’t I ever tried to make my own hamburger and hot dog buns for not only a fraction of the cost, but with no  [ Read More ]

Who doesn’t like cobbler, right? The only thing I like better than cobbler is a cobbler that’s super easy, super quick to make! Well, here’s your prayers answered…This easy cobbler is made with bread. That’s right, bread. Check out how simple this recipe is to create, and how fast you can prepare it. Then, you just wait for the baked goodness to come out of your oven. Amazing! Try it  [ Read More ]

It is my pleasure to present to you today my very 1st special guest on my show, my mother – Ingrid Turner from IngridTurnerToday.com to show you how to bake a coveted family recipe that’s been passed down many generations to make it to your screen today, and hopefully, into your home & heart. This is a Russian or German Mennonite recipe called Pirozhki. Now, today, we will be filling  [ Read More ]

I’ve been looking at this bag of bulk dark rye flour in my pantry for a few weeks and today, it vexed me that I hadn’t made rye bread yet with it. In fact, I haven’t made rye bread in a while, probably because a combination is what I was looking for, but nothing sparked my interest in my head, until I saw a bottle of flat cola in my  [ Read More ]

Bread crumbs…something you’ll need to cook in your kitchen at some point… …what a pain in the booty to have to run to the store and buy a container of bread crumbs. Especially when you can easily make them in your own kitchen from scratch in less time than running to the store and back to buy them. You may use whatever type of bread you prefer or whatever you  [ Read More ]

One of my favorite ways to use extra bread is to make bread pudding. Not only is it super easy, but it’s inexpensive and really tasty as well. Being that I lived in Texas & Louisiana for University, I learned a lot about Soul Food Recipes & Southern food in general. This is a real All-American dish, not just because it’s bread pudding, but because Smores is a very Americana  [ Read More ]

Today, I went into the kitchen to see that ripened banana staring back at me on my counter-top. What did I think of immediately? Banana bread, of course! I’m letting you in on how my brain works to creatively make up recipes in your kitchen, as I tell you how I like to substitute ingredients, how to, and why I do what I do. This recipe was winged on camera  [ Read More ]

Ahhh…Zwieback!!! What could represent a soul food for German & Russian families better than Zwieback buns… I can remember the smell of zwieback baking in my grandmother’s farmhouse kitchen, my mother’s kitchen, as well as all of my aunts’ kitchens… …It is an ultimate goal of just about every extended-Kasper female in our family to have this recipe on hand, and hopefully learn to bake them well for ourselves…One day,  [ Read More ]

I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to use those over-ripe bananas in the kitchen. My first thought always leans towards banana bread, but that can get boring, right? WRONG! Try experimenting with delicious flavors that will kick your mouth into gear with your new recipe! Try making peanut butter banana bread, chocolate banana bread, or a tropical twist banana bread like I’ve done here. Now, I’ve made Tropical  [ Read More ]

Healthier and more nutritious is always the best way to go. With this whole wheat bread, you eliminate all the refined white flour, and replace it with an ingredient more substantial. Adding peanuts, other nuts or seeds gives this bread more texture, flavor, and nutrition. Type: Bread Recipe Serve With: Milk & Enjoy! Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 40-50 min Yield: 1 loaf Ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour  [ Read More ]

Today is Day 4 of our One Month Grocery Shopping Strike. There is nothing like eating fresh, crusty Italian bread with soups, stews or pasta dishes. I made a beautiful Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli tonight and wanted this fabulous crusty bread to accompany our meal. We served with an olive oil, balsamic & Italian herb mixture to dip the warm bread into…It was delicious! Type: Bread Recipe Serve With: Softened  [ Read More ]

Want to learn something new? Learn how to bake Moroccan Spice Bread for the bread machine! This bread is a delicious, spiced homemade bread as an accompaniment to soups and stews. Try this bread recipe with my Moroccan Chickpea Soup – it’s perfect! Type: Bread Recipe Serve With: Softened butter or olive oil, and Moroccan Chickpea Soup Prep Time: 7 min Cook Time: 2 hrs 35 min Yield: 1 loaf  [ Read More ]