Mushroom and Sauerkraut Pierogies from the Warsaw Polish Deli

Best pierogies ever!

Thanks so much Brittany for recommending this place. I tried to get the meat and sauerkraut but they only had mushroom and sauerkraut. If the meat ones are any better I may overdose on these tasty treats.

Anytime you buy pierogies in the supermarket they're filled with stuff that's so ground up it's hard to really know what you're eating. You could see, and taste, every single strand of sauerkraut in these, and even separate the mushroom flavour. I've seriously never had a better pierogie. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

My husband fried these up with some onions and spinach and served with a side of broccoli. YUM!

Warsaw Polish Deli

The Urban Element Anniversary Celebration

This afternoon we stopped by the Urban Element to celebrate their fourth year in business. What a wonderful thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. I brought a few friends with me for the experience in the hopes that they too would fall in love with the space and join me at one of their events (I think it worked!). I even got to meet some other foodies who blog about their adventures – foodiePrints and After the Harvest.

As I expected, the finger foods were outstanding. I tried to snap some quick photos of everything. I think I just missed the candied nuts and spread of cheeses. Oh, and the mint chocolate squares that melted in your mouth. But I did get these as souvenirs!


Minced meat and blue cheese tartlets.


My favourite of all – savory spice chicken pot pies.


Cute pattypan squash topped with pureed butternut squash and garlic.


Shots of curried butternut squash soup – now THIS is how you get rid of a cold!


Mini pulled pork sandwiches.


Beau's brewery was even there! I had the Oktoberfest beer – yum!

We even got to have a sneak peak at the new calendar for the new year, which I'm sure will be posted online soon. Artisan Sausage Making with Dave Neil from the Piggy Market, an evening with chef René Rodriguez, More Oodles of Noodles (I love noodles!) with chef Tanya Skeates from Soupcon, an evening with Michael Moffat of Beckta and Play, ongoing classes with their resident chef Candice Butler or chef Jenna Durling from the Whalesbone. Oh the choices!

http://www.theurbanelement.ca/#/home

Maple Bison Sausage Bread with Eggs and Fried Garlic Mash

When I saw “Bison Sausage Bread” in the title of a post on my google reader I couldn't help but follow the link to tastespotting.com. That link then brought me to the Tangled Noodle blog post with the recipe. This looked absolutely amazing. Often I will skim a recipe and decide either A. I can do that, or B. I have to get my husband to do that. I felt I could pull this one off.

The recipe originated from the Damn Good Food, Hell's Kitchen recipe book. It combines both savory and sweet flavours which I have learned is not for everyone. For example, whenever my husband makes bird's nests (an egg cooked in the center of a piece of bread), I insist on eating it with maple syrup. My husband thinks that's gross. This bread combines a bison sausage made with herbs, onion and maple with currants, walnuts, sugar and flour. In my mind, the perfect breakfast food when paired with an egg. We also added fried garlic mashed potatoes. Seriously, I was in heaven. Although my husband enjoyed it, I doubt he'd rush to eat it again.


I mixed all the ingredients together last night and then woke up early to pop it in the oven. Went back to bed and woke up to the yummiest smelling house!


I even whipped together some cookies (I called them breakfast cookies), to snack on before the big meal. I used my original spelt cookie recipe but replaced the oil with a can of pumpkin. So much healthier!

Beef Roast

Inspired by Marysol's blog, my husband decided to make a beef roast tonight. He cut up some parsnip, carrots, turnip, onion and potatoes and set them in a pool of beef stock and port. A garlic and rosemary covered piece of meat sat neatly in the center for a long 2 hours in the oven.


The smell that filled the house during this time had my stomach in gnawing hunger pangs. So it's no surprise that I filled my plate way more than I needed to when it was finally time to eat. Along with this tender, juicy piece of meat and tasty veggies was some kale that my husband sauteed with green onion and garlic. He also sprinkled some red wine vinegar over it. I swear this is the best way to eat greens – delicious. It was literally the perfect fall dinner, so comforting.


My friend Dino also brought a yummy wine that went beautifully with this dish – 2001 Barolo.

Ribollita

Ribollita is a Tuscan soup that can come in many variations. The main ingredients however, always include leftover bread, cannellini beans and vegetables. The name means reboiled and was originally made be reheating the leftovers from the previous day. When my husband lived in Paris, his Italian roommate used to make this all the time. He'd leave it in a pot on the stove for a week and just turn it on when he felt like having some.

When you look at it, it's a bit deceiving, it doesn't look even close to how amazing it tastes. I would have eaten the entire pot. So healthy, the tomatoes, kale and carrots are sure to fend off any lingering cold. And instead of using regular pancetta, my husband picked an Italian spiced variation which added a flavourful kick to the dish.

What you’ll need
Pancetta – cubed
1 carrot – chopped
1 onion – chopped
1 celery stalk – chopped
3 cloves garlic – chopped
2 cups of chicken broth
1 can peeled tomatoes
2 cans of white beans
Rosemary
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
Big bunch of kale

What to do
Start by frying the first 5 ingredients for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, rosemary and beans. Cook for 1 hour. Dump in the bread crumbs and kale and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve in a bowl sprinkled with red wine vinegar, olive oil, parm and more day old toasted bread crumbs.

Navarra

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A group of business friends from out of town treated us to dinner last night. You know you're bound for a fun evening when in the company wonderful people. Spend that time at your favourite restaurant and the evening quickly jumps from great to exceptional.


As usual, I had a terrible time deciding what to order. In the end I believe my choices couldn't have been any better. I started off with the Confit of Octopus – Spanish Chorizo, smooth parsnip silk, organic mushrooms, chimichurri sauce, smoked paprika and chili oil, yummm.

My main, the Crispy Pig Cheeks and Garlic Prawn was rich and satisfying. Parsnip silk piled with layers of heaven – crisp, buttery pig cheeks that melted in your mouth, baby fennel, fried artichoke and a firm garlic prawn topped with delicious aioli. Piquillo emulsion and dried olives decorated the plate. Even today, I still can't get the rich moistness of the pig cheeks out of my mind!

We shared a heavy 2007 Spanish wine – Petalos, the perfect accompaniment. And ended the evening with a 10 year tawny port and espresso.

I love everything about this place. The soft atmosphere, the mouthwatering food, and the amazing service that is some of the best in Ottawa. Last night was particularly special. A year and a half ago I started this blog because of the experience I had there. I was in love with the food and in awe by our server – Deanna. When I heard her name last night I couldn't believe it. She had just returned from maternity leave. It was great to have her back there again.

Thanks so much to everyone who made this evening so great!

www.navarrarestaurant.com

The Urban Element

This coming Sunday, I will be indulging in drinks and finger foods in the beautiful kitchen at the Urban Element. And if the experience is anything like some of the others I've had in that space, there's no doubt this is going to be a fantastic afternoon. This coming Sunday, from 2 until 4pm, the Urban Element is celebrating their 4th anniversary. This is a free event that simply requires an RSVP: http://www.theurbanelement.ca/#/calendar.

I thought I'd use this opportunity to reminisce in some of the previous events I've been to.

California Wines

Gourmet Supper Club: The 60’s

Raw Cooking

The Secrets of Smoking

Sophisticated Comfort Food

I wonder what next year will bring!?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Crete

My brother and his new wife recently had their honeymoon in Greece. They visited Santorini, Athens and the beautiful island of Crete. Olive oil is one of the most important elements of the Cretan civilization and is considered to be of the utmost quality. So when they brought us back a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, we were psyched. In Crete you can buy olive oil with an acidity level anywhere from 0,1 to 1%. In North America we're used to the higher acidic levels and finding something on the lower end is near impossible. 0,3 was the lowest they could find when they were there, and that's what we got.

My husband and I did a taste test with our current olive oil, imported from Italy. The flavour of ours was quite robust in comparison. The Cretan oil was much lighter and more smooth. This oil is ideal for raw consumption in salads, which is what we'll be saving it for. My sister-in-law stressed that we shouldn't heat or cook with it. This liquid gold is a delicacy that's meant to be enjoyed as is.

If you ever take a trip somewhere and need to bring back a souvenir for someone, you can't go wrong with whatever the local food specialty is. It beats knick-knacks any day! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to receive this! Thanks guys!

Lime Marinated Chicken

My husband barbecued some chicken for me to take for my lunch tomorrow. We had some leftover Mexican rice (taco seasoning mixed with wild rice), so a Mexican inspired accompaniment was in order.

Start off by making diagonal slits up the chicken and then fill the openings with chopped garlic and a lot of lime juice. Sprinkle heavily with chili powder and allow to marinate for a few hours before cooking. As soon as you pull it off the barbecue, splash with a little more lime juice.

So juicy, and a wonderful change to regular, everyday chicken.

Pulled Pork Burrito

Quite possibly the best burrito you'll ever have! If I ever saw this on a menu I'd order it in a second. What an awesome twist on the traditional meat filling in a flour tortilla. And if you've got a slowcooker, it's a breeze to do.

My husband put a pork shoulder in the slowcooker and then dumped a jar of green salsa in with it. He cooked it for 8 hours – the meat literally fell off the bone. After removing the fat and bones he stirred it up. It would have been fine as is, but my husband chopped up some cucumber and cilantro to go with it. Heat the tortillas and top with the pulled pork, cucumber, cilantro, shredded cheddar and sour cream. A fresh green salad, refried beans and tortilla chips were served alongside. Amazing.

T & T Supermarket

When I first heard T&T was coming to town I didn't really think much of it. Then the hype got to me. I figured a few weeks after the opening the traffic would be somewhat bearable, so I made my way over there this afternoon. As someone who doesn't enjoy shopping in large supermarkets to begin with, I'm surprised I actually had the urge to go there. I guess my love of Asian dishes had the final say in my brain. Until I got there. So crowded, as I expected, and except for a few unique plus', wasn't really that exciting. Remove the people and give me an Asian chef to explain to me what to do with everything and I may not have left in such a hurry. My total bill was less than $20.

My plate pretty much says it all – we've got some Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese going on here. My husband whipped this plate together in minutes. The best thing we picked up was the fresh cabbage bun. Unfortunately, the frozen gyoza weren't great. They had somewhat of a band-aid aftertaste to them if you can imagine what that would be like. I will never buy another dumpling from anywhere except Dong Ling. The kimchi was good and helped to mask the flavour of the gyoza. Shrimp spring rolls were so-so, but like everything else, cooked to perfection, thanks to my husband. I also made a side (yes, me!!) – peanut vermicelli, taken from the Whisk: a food blog site. It was great but I have to work on learning to cook vermicelli better. It always ends up mushy. After the fact I decided to look it up in my Vietnamese cookbook – pour cold water over the noodles for a few minutes after cooking. I should have looked it up sooner.

All-in-all, not a bad meal. I know this grocery store has a lot to offer and probably a lot of things Ottawa has been missing. But for someone like me, the little specialty shops on Somerset are all I need, and they're much more fun to shop.

Salade Niçoise

The tuna we had last night was a bigger piece than we could handle in one sitting. That could only mean one thing, another night of glorious tuna!

My husband didn't want to make the same thing twice. He searched recipe after recipe. All the tuna recipes were asian inspired with sesame. Just like what we had last night. Then he found it, the answer to tonight's dinner, a delicious salade niçoise. You can find the recipe here on chow.com.

I could eat the mayonnaise mixture alone and be satisfied – finely chopped cornichons and brined capers. The salad has a great medley of ingredients that work so well together – arugula (you can use mixed greens), chopped kalamata olives and thinly sliced red onion in olive oil and red wine vinegar, served over toasted, organic, white batard bread and topped with perfectly seared tuna and a hard boiled egg.

My husband picked up the batard bread from Hartman's. It's an Ace bakery creation that's worth hunting for. The bread itself looked heavy and like it may be tough to eat. Surprisingly, although visually dense, it was very light, airy and extremely easy to bite into. Thank god because the sandwich itself is not the easiest to eat. Make sure you have a napkin handy. Or if you're like me and can't miss a drop, make sure your hands are clean for all the finger licking that comes with it.

Alongside the main was 2 jumbo capers, a cornichon and thinly cut sweet potato chips – love sweet potato! Another magical meal. Yummm.

Seared Tuna with Snap Peas and Bok Choy

This dish is right out of a 5 star restaurant, only better. I knew when I bought this tuna from the Whalesbone Fish Supply shop back in the summer, amazing things would come of it. Put any kind of food in my husband's hands and it immediately turns to gold.

Each morsel of this firm, fleshy tuna melted like butter in my mouth. To accompany the fish, my husband made a wasabi dip, spicy and flavourful but without any upfront harshness to the sinuses. Sesame flavoured egg noodles lay alongside, garnished with stir fried, crispy snap peas, bok choy and green onion. As the food on my plate began to disappear, I dramatically slowed my eating down. I wanted every bite to last forever.

My husband coated the tuna in sesame seeds before searing it in a mixture of grapeseed and sesame oil. He used the grapeseed to lessen the smoke during the cooking process. Boil the egg noodles and then lightly sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Stir fry the bok choy and snap peas until al dente then add some chopped green onion.

For the dipping sauce, mix together some sour cream, soy sauce, wasabi powder, horseradish and sesame oil. Yummm.

Ossobuco

Have I told you lately how much I love crock pots? These fantastic little slowcookers are making a huge comeback in my house right now. I personally don't know of any easier way to make a more moist and tender piece of meat. This rich sauce, succulent meat and healthy, veggie mixture was to die for. Sprinkle on some gremolata and you've literally died and gone to heaven. And since this dish didn't eat up too much time, a lot more could be spent on the side, a super tasty, al dente risotto with wild mushrooms. One word – amazing!

My husband put 2 cups of vermouth (usually white wine but vermouth is a fine substitute), 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 can of stewed tomatoes, 1 can of tomato paste, garlic, 2 bay leaves, 2 to 3 sprigs of rosemary and thyme and 4 veal shanks into the slowcooker. 5 hours later, he added chopped celery, carrots and onion and cooked for another 3 hours.

For the gremolata, simply mix together chopped garlic, lemon zest and parsley (my husband actually used cilantro since that's all we had).

Serve with a wild mushroom risotto – cut up an onion, fry with butter, add 1.5 cups of arborio rice, stir for a few minutes, add thyme. Heat 4 cups of chicken broth, ladle into rice slowly, stirring. Add dried, wild mushrooms. Continue to ladle chicken broth. Cook until al dente. Add parmesan cheese at the end and stir.

Mac & Cheesy Comfort

A culinary classic and quite possibly the world's favourite comfort food – and labeled as such in my husband's “Nana's Recipes” book. Quite a few years ago when his grandmother passed away, my husband's aunt put together a cookbook of Nana's best and most savoured recipes. Each grandkid got one for Christmas that year. This book has been a default of ours whenever we feel like a simple and familiar home cooked meal.

A generous spoonful of this gooey creation was all I needed to feel warm and fuzzy inside. I felt like a kid again with every bite. I think I even held my fork the way I would have at say, 5 years old.


What I love most about this recipe is that, although very cheesy, it's not too rich. The addition of sautéed onions and golden, crispy bits of bread make this dish perfect.

What you’ll need
2 cups elbow macaroni
6 tbs butter
1/4 onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
3 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3 cups cheddar, grated
1 slice buttered bread, chopped fine
2 tbs parmesan cheese

What to do
Preheat oven to 375. Cook macaroni, drain.
In Pyrex casserole over med heat, melt butter and saute onion until limp. Add thyme and flour, stir. Add milk slowly, whisking. Add bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, pepper. Salt to taste while mixture comes to a boil, stirring.
Cook until thickened. Remove bay leaf, add cheese. Add macaroni. Stir. Remove from heat and spread buttered bread crumbs on top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Paul Bowl

There are a couple of events that my friends organize annually that I look so forward to. Some of you may remember Tony and Cathy's St Patrick's day party, that would be one. This is the other. As Paul Bowl approaches, I literally find my mouth watering at the anticipation of Sue's renowned pulled pork.

Let me start by explaining what Paul Bowl is. For the past 9 years now, we have celebrated my friend Paul's birthday with an afternoon of amateur touch football, followed by an amazing Super Bowl inspired feast put together by his wife Sue. The highlight? Her pulled pork.

When we arrive a spread of veggies and dips, chips, cheese and yummy sausages in a light, flaky pastry are staring us down. It's so hard not to start the eating frenzy then and there. But in the back of my mind, I know what's coming, I know what I have to save room for.

Then it arrives. All of the appetizers get pushed aside to make room for the king of dishes – BBQ soaked, succulent, pulled pork. I have taken so much you can't even see my bun anymore. Alongside this magical creation are some chicken wings, and a crisp coleslaw.

Honestly, what better way to celebrate someone's birthday. Thanks guys! Another successful evening. I now have to start counting down the days until we do it again next year.

Lemon and Dill Roasted Chicken

All you need is love... Oh, and a husband who can cook. Seriously, if you look at all the feel-good things that revolve around food, a first date, a family get-together, old friends reuniting. Even when someone passes away, what do people do? They bring the family food. If you have food like this on a regular basis, life is just better. There are people who love to cook, and people who love to eat. When you match the two together, it's magical.

I say this because (and I'm embarrassed by my laziness when it comes to cooking), my husband is not here this evening. He's at the hockey game. I got home after he had already left and in the oven was this beautiful, mouthwatering chicken. He even made the wild rice to go with it. I heated up a bit of leftover squash soup to complete the meal. It was delicious.

To all you chefs out there, a very big thank you, you have no idea how happy you make us foodies!

Newport Restaurant

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There's something I just love about being called “hun” in a restaurant. But it has to come from the waitress (ok really, who else would it come from), she has to be over a certain age, and the restaurant has to serve diner food. That combination is a recipe for extreme comfort. It's almost like being at your great aunt's house. Or one of those morning's when you wake up at your mom's place to a greasy breakfast after a night of drinking. It just feels awesome.

It was my friend Phil's birthday and I'd have to say that this was a great choice for a casual and enjoyable celebration. The service was great, our waitress was fun and totally laid back, and the food did not disappoint.

Everyone at our table ordered pizza. Except me. I started off with a small ceasar salad – honestly the size of this thing could have fed 5 people. Oh and the bacon bits! Made with real bacon. Yum.

Then a hot dog for my main. Yes, a yummy hot dog, dressed with tomatoes, onions, mustard and relish all on a toasted bun. Not Forum dog toasted mind you, but still good nonetheless.

And who could pass up lemon meringue pie at a place like this? Not I! I made room. Even after having a bite of Phil's complimentary birthday cake.

Apps range between $6 and $10, pizzas between $10 and $23, mains between $5 and $14. They also do catering and online ordering.

www.newportrestaurant.com

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks

Today was a nice fall day. The sun was shining for the most part. Then I got off work to a cold, windy and dark evening. I rode my bike home, pushing hard against the wind and blowing on my cold fingers (yes even with my gloves on). I was warmer by the time I got home. But not as warm as I felt the minute I walked in the door.

The house was filled with warmth from the heat of the crock pot, to the dim lighting, and the smell of comfort food. I was immediately handed a glass of wine, 2006 Vina Carmen Cab Sauvignon Classic, a recommendation from the Best Value Wines of 2009 article in Ottawa Magazine (have I mentioned before how much I love this magazine? – and this month is the Best Restaurants 2009 edition!). As I sipped the wine, a spoonful of rich, velvety sauce hovered in front of me. “Try this” my husband said. Enamoured with this full-flavoured concoction, I almost fell to the floor when I found out that lamb shanks had been slowly cooking in it since 11am this morning.

My husband placed two browned lamb shanks in the crock pot along with some port (roughly 2 cups), chopped onions that were almost caramelized by this point, celery, beef bouillon (roughly 3 squirts), 4 garlic cloves and a bunch of sprigs of thyme. I need to remind everyone that my husband does not measure anything. For me to get even these rough estimates is like pulling teeth. But at least they can give somewhat of a guideline.

A dense wad of potato mash was thrown onto my plate before smothering it with the lamb and sauce. As you can imagine, the lamb was so moist it almost didn't even require chewing. Fresh cilantro for the garnish added a nice, crisp contrast.

Ahhh, have I mentioned how awesome my husband is!? This was a truly fantastic meal.

Sweet Potato Spelt Pierogies

Ok, here they are cooked! Was it worth all the effort you ask? No, it was not. Although every little thing my husband cooked with them made the dish absolutely fantastic. If it weren't for his efforts I probably would have cried about the results. You know, they really weren't bad at all, it's just that all I could taste was the spelt. I love spelt and the nutty flavour it has, but I don't love it in a pierogi. The filling was great but the pocket just overpowered it. Ah well, live and learn, that's 6 hours I'll never spend making homemade pierogies again.

My husband boiled them and then fried them. He then fried some chopped onions, garlic, pancetta, savoy cabbage and dill, making the most amazing and delicious side ever. I think I enjoyed that more than the pierogies. Serve with sour cream.

On a side note, at least the spelt cookies turned out very yummy!

Butternut Squash and Leek Soup, and Curried Cauliflower Soup

My husband made the best soups this past week. I'd been eating them every day at work. I finally finished off the cauliflower one today. But we still have some squash left for this week! Can't get bored of good soup – it's just impossible. They're so tasty and warm you inside and out!

Spelt and Carob Chip Cookies

I love cookies. It's my weakness. I never keep them in the house though because I'm the only one who eats them. Occasionally I'll make some and then freeze a bunch, grabbing a couple each day for a snack at work. I've experimented many times, trying the make them healthy but still tasty. I'd have to say that these ones turned out pretty darn good!

What you’ll need

- 2 cups spelt flour (I only had one cup left so I used a cup of rice flour)

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 2 tbs molasses

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 2 packets of stevia

- 3 cups rolled spelt

- 1 can of pumpkin

- 2 eggs

- 4 tbs water

- 2 tsp vanilla

- 1 cup carob chips

What to do

Mix all the dry ingredients together (except the rolled spelt), add the brown sugar and then the rolled spelt. In the center, add all the wet ingredients and then blend everything together. Finally, add the carob chips. Scoop out about a tbs or so of the mixture and place it on a baking sheet. Make sure to grease the pan as the mixture is very sticky. Cook at 350 for 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Spelt Pierogies

My husband is away this weekend so I decided to make some pierogies – from scratch! I think the only time I'll venture into the kitchen to cook is when I'm home alone. Otherwise I get too nervous or feel that I'm taking too long to do what I'm doing. These took a VERY long time. About 5 or 6 hours total.

I can't tell you how these taste because I haven't cooked one yet. I'm waiting for my husband to get home and do it for me. I'm afraid I may screw them up by cooking them (yeah-yeah, I'm weird). I'll do another post when I do finally eat them. For now I'll just post the recipe. This came from about 10 other recipes and then more modifications on my end. I made waaaaay too much filling so I'll cut the amount in half for this post. My friends Gina and Teresa came by last night and we made sweet potato pancakes with the leftover stuffing and they were very yummy!

For the dough:

- 5 cups spelt flour (from the Ottawa Farmers' Market)

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 eggs (from Aubrey's)

- 4 tbs olive oil

- 1.5 cups water

Put the flour in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. In the center add the eggs, olive oil and blend. Slowly add the water, a small amount at a time until it's fully absorbed. Knead the dough until smooth then form into a ball. I had actually put in 2 cups of water but it was waaaay too wet. I ended up adding more flour to the mixture until it became the right consistency. If you find the dough is still very wet, add more flour. Or you may want to just add 1 cup of water to start and see how it goes. Cover the dough with a warm bowl and let stand 10 minutes at room temperature.

For the filling:

- 4 sweet potatoes, cubed (from Herb and Spice)

- 1/2 lb 3 year old cheddar, shredded (from Aubrey's)

- 2 tbs olive oil

- 2 onions, chopped (from the Ottawa Farmers' Market)

- salt and pepper

Optional:

- red pepper flakes

- Sriracha sauce

- thyme

- garlic powder

- shredded parm

Boil the potatoes then mash them. Add the cheese (I also added a bit of shredded parm in addition to the cheddar, no measurement, just sprinkled it in). Sautée the onions in the olive oil and then add it to the mixture. Add in a bit of salt and pepper, and if you'd like, some other stuff like the things in the optional list above. I didn't put a lot of each but just enough to taste.

Roll the dough out, about a 1/4 of an inch thick (you may want to use regular flour for the base as this dough is very sticky and the spelt flour doesn't do a very good job at reducing the stickiness). Cut circles out with a glass. Place about 1 tbs of the mixture in the centre of the circle and close it over. Line them up on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer (or boil and then fry them).

I hope they turn out ok!!!