Apple Cheddar Lasagna with Spinach & Ricotta

Lasagna is one of those universally loved comfort foods. The classic Bolognese and bechamel pasta tower is a culinary force to be reckoned with. But I chose to reckon, I chose to play, and I chose to put apples in this classic. Some would call today’s Apple Cheddar Lasagna quirky, others would call it blasphemy, but I just call it a salty/sweet delight. So what are you looking at? Well, this lasagna features a mushroom and cheddar bechamel, shingles of Ontario-grown Honeycrisp apples, spinach mixed with ricotta, and a gooey melted mozzarella top. This lasagna is as delicious as it is offbeat. So let’s dig in.
Black Coffee Cake with Cappuccino Mousse

Happy Saturday, friends! It’s a long weekend here in Canada, so I thought this would be the ideal time to trot out a cake, and what a cake it is. This Black Coffee Cake with Cappuccino Mousse certainly puts the “coffee” in the term coffee cake. The cake is dense, chocolaty, and packed with coffee-soaked prunes resulting in a deep almost molasses-esque flavor. The cake is topped with a mountain of airy cream cheese and white chocolate mousse accented with yet more coffee and finished with chocolate-covered espresso beans. It’s an eye-opener and show-stopper all rolled into one. So let’s get into it.
Oven-Fried Tofu Bowls with Gochujang Sauce

After the decadence of my previous post, I felt like we could do with a big bowl of veggies and some faux-fried bit of protein. After all, one cannot subsist on fried burrata alone. But although my brain is happy to load up on some vitamin D and C via bright and fresh produce, my palette is not always down with this plan. I’ve been craving fried food hard. And it’s not that surprising. It’s a well-established pattern. Once I reach the middle of February, my mind turns to chocolate, candy, and fried foods. I think it’s all Valentine’s Day’s doing, personally. But I consider today’s Oven-Fried Tofu Bowls to be an antidote to these less-than-virtuous cravings. It’s a compromise in a bowl, but I promise it tastes a lot better than that sounds.
Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

I am completely aware of how uncalled for this Fried Burrata Salad is. Burrata is a decadent treat all on its own. So to roll it in potato starch, egg, and panko before deep-frying it is a, um, little much. But we are in the middle of February and Valentine’s Day adjacent, so I’d say a little indulgence is allowed, advisable even. So rather than question the virtuousness of this dish, let’s just make it, enjoy it, and move on with our lives.