Christmas holidays

Well, I'm getting into the really thick of it, so I will be away during the holidays. I'll try to pop in sometime, but if you don't see me for a bit don't worry... Those who know me will find me in the kitchen baking goodies and getting the last minute cooking done for the holidays.


Here is my Christmas wish for the world this year... and for you...

Have a very Merry Christmas, safe holidays, and I'll see you in the New Year! :D

Yummy liver...

Recently I found out that I have low iron stores. My doctor just about flipped when she saw my test results. So now I take iron supplements. The thing is, iron in supplements is not as readily absorbable when compared to iron found naturally in foods.

When speaking of iron rich foods, we immediately think of popeye's favourite - spinach, but did you know that spinach disrupts the absorption of iron? Spinach, along with red wine, coffee, swiss chard, beet greens, rhubarb, sweet potatoes, whole grains, bran and even soy products are all iron absorption inhibitors.1

To enhance absorption of iron, we should eat meat, fish, or poultry along with fruits very high in Vitamin C such as citrus fruits, strawberries and even melons; vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, red and green peppers; and aren't you glad to know that white wine also helps the body absorb iron?2

So what are those foods that are high in iron? Clams, oysters and mussels, shrimps and sardines... all seafood that are excellent and good sources of iron. Obviously the livers of pork, beef and chicken, are excellent sources of iron, while beef and turkey are good sources of iron.3

Mind you if your vegetarian, all of this iron rich meat will surely be unappealing. So what can you eat to help build up your iron stores? Today we can readily find iron enriched breakfast cereals, cooked beans and lentils, pumpkin seeds and blackstrap molasses which are all excellent sources of iron in vegetable form. Canned beans, canned asparagus, enriched pasta and baked potates (with skin) are all also good sources of iron in vegetable form.4

With all of these natural sources of iron, my doctor shouldn't be jumping up and down over my iron levels. Unfortunately, I'm not always eating iron rich foods... Hence the supplements.

One of my favourite ways to eat iron rich foods though is in this following recipe:

Chicken liver paté
by Johane Levesque

1 cup butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced celery
1 pound chicken livers
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste, up to 1 teaspoon)
1 pinch chili pepper
1 pinch paprika
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 jigger Brandy

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a skillet. Saute onions, garlic, and celery until just soft. Add livers and cook until done. Drain liquid and cool.

In a blender or food processor, puree liver mixture. Add seasonings, mustard and remaining butter. Process until well combined.

Pour the liquified pâté into 6 small ramekins (about 4oz each), cover and then chill thoroughly.

This pâté is excellent with toast in the morning (on iron rich white bread), or on crackers as a snack, or just like that with a spoon.

1. http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml
2. ibid
3. ibid
4. ibid

Cookbooks...

I was asked recently what was my favourite cookbook. I guess my best answer would be the one that I haven't read yet - the mystery of new recipes, new ingredients, new ideas... That is one of the many reasons why I collect recipes and cookbooks.


Another reason I enjoy cookbooks is they are usually filled with good stories. Family favourites, Christmas memories, anecdotes and personal secrets. Certainly there are those "technical bibles", even those I can find interesting.


My two latest acquisitions have been "The Martha Stewart's Living Cookbook" - Original and New Classics. I've found recipes in these books that I had been searching for for a long time. I've been inspired by a few recipes and intrigued by others.


Would I recommend these books? They may be a bit intimidating for a first time cook, but they do make excellent reference books filled with those basic recipes such as chocolate chip cookies, roast chicken, bread and a whole variety of vegetable recipes. For a more experienced cook, they'll find more challenging or intriguing recipes such as specialty desserts, international dishes, and original/forgotten uses for "regular, oh-hum ingredients". Although a bit pricey, they are a valuable addition to any cook's reference material.

As such I do recommend these books to any cook, from novice to more experienced.

PS. Just so that we know exactly which books I'm talking about, here is Martha Stewart Living Cookbook Original Classics and Martha Stewart Living Cookbook New Classics.

Apple Chutney

I have a lot of apples on hand, so to go with some pork chops for supper, I made an apple chutney.

With 4 apples, 1 onion, some freshly grated ginger, a pinch of salt and sugar, a sprinkling of cider vinegar, of wine and of orange juice, I made a lovely chutney.

I had diced the apples in "largeish" chunks, and the onions about the same size. I sweated the onions and ginger in about a teaspoon of canola oil for a few minutes. Then I added the apples and remaining ingredients. The salt helped to draw out some much needed liquid, while the sugar added a touch of sweetness to balance the acidity of the vinegar, wine and orange juice. I cooked this on medium-high heat for just a few minutes, that is until most of the liquid had evaporated.

Once this was completed, I simply added the "chutney" to a pan in which was cooking some pork chops. I finished cooking the chops on medium heat.

Results? Clean plates, empty pan and smiling faces. :D A chef can't ask for more! Ok, maybe for someone to do the dishes! lol

Note: Young kids may not be fond of the apple peel.

Storms a' brewin'...

And mom's a' cookin'. We're sitting in the middle of our third winter storm this season... except it's still fall and we've hardly had a day without snow in the last 2 weeks. We also have a very cold air mass sitting right on top of us making it so cold that we haven't reached anything higher than -15C all week.

So I've been cooking up a storm. Well, I've been cooking stews and breads and doing as much as I can to help keep the house warm. Tonight to make something different, I roasted breaded chicken thights with some potatoes and served up some steamed swiss chard along with some sliced tomatoes. It all disappeared as soon as the plates reached the table. :D

Everything was simple enough to throw together. The chicken was simply breaded with breadcrumbs to which I had added some salt, pepper and italian seasoning. The potatoes where baked along with the chicken in a hot oven for about 1 hour. In the last 10 minutes, I got the swiss chard leaves prepared, washed and steamed. Tossed the swiss chard with a bit of butter, salt and pepper to taste. I sliced 3 vine ripened tomatoes and sprinkled a bit of kosher salt and just a few drops of balsamic vinegar over the slices.

The silence that surounded the supper table tonight was only broken by the utensils striking the plates. That is a satisfying sound to this chef. :D

It's nice when

I love to cook. As a parent in a large family, if I didn't love to cook, I think I'd be in big trouble. But I love to cook, so that is ok. I don't mind going somewhere and while I'm visiting being asked to "help" prepare a meal or answer food related questions. It is my passion and I thoroughly enjoy it.

But you know? It's nice when I go for a visit, and it is just that - a visit. My mom has prepared a lasagna, there is fresh homemade bread, and all we do is talk about the time of day and the weather. That's nice too.

T'is the season

To come home one day with groceries and all of a sudden realize that you could use a larger refrigerator! Oops! Buying too many groceries isn't usually a problem around here... The kids are growing and they eat their fair amount. By this time of year though I usually have some baking done and my menu planned. This year I may be a little behind, but it is no different. I have a refrigerator full of fresh food ready to be prepared as Christmas goodies. I have a pantry with all of the necessary ingredients to make spice cakes, sugar cookies and all kinds of sweets and treats.

I usually only get the basic, local vegetables and inexpensive cuts of meat, milk - lots of milk - and cheese, cereal and snack stuff. Christmas is the time of year where I get those more "exotic" ingredients - odd spices, foreign fruits, quality chocolates... Over and beyond the regular food that I usually get.

Once a year, I come home with all of the ingredients that I need to make a special Christmas for the children and I think that at this time of year I should probably look into renting a second refrigerator. I say that now though, when friends and family are often at the door, when we bring sweets to Christmas parties and for teachers, when we are at our culinary busiest. In all too few and very short weeks, we'll have returned to our regularly scheduled menues.

So while my fridge is well stuffed I will enjoy it. I will Thank God for all of His goodness, I will Praise Him for the provenance of care He gives to His creation. I will share this great bounty with those who are hungry that find their way to my home, I will share the blessing of the season with anyone who needs an extra special blessing.

Now I'm off to wrap gifts and prepare the other little extras that make Christmas special for the children.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night"!! :D

On a windy wintery day

We'll be using some left over bread, some remnants of cheese and a lovely beef stock... to make a hearty and warming french onion soup for supper.

How is this for a Christmas side dish?

Carrot Ribbons

1/4-1/2 carrot per person
1/4-1/2 parsnip per person
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and peel the carrots and parsnips. Then continue peeling the vegetables to create ribbons about 1 centimeter wide (less than 1/2 inch). Do not mix the vegetables yet. Cook them seperately in a covered pan then blanche them in ice water to stop the cooking process. This can go very quickly depending on how much carrot or parsnip is in the pan. The vegetables should still be slightly crunchy. At this point you can mix the vegetables and store them in the fridge for a day or two if made in advance.

On the day you'll be serving this dish, bring the vegetables to room temperature, melt the butter in a sauté pan and toss the vegetables quickly in the warm butter with just a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot. Yum!

NOTE: Why not mix the carrots and parsnips before "steaming"? Because the vegetables are in the liquid, and the parsnips will discolour.

What do you get when...

...you mix a rinsed can of mixed beans, some pizza spice, salt & pepper, some vinegar and a dash of oil? A very easy lunch!

A Christmas Auction

To help a family in need, please visit this auction to help a single mom this Christmas season.

Thank you.

It's that time of year again...

When the kids come home from school and raid your pantry to give at school for the local food bank. When the boxes stand at the end of the check out at the grocery store, asking to be filled with non perishable items. When, depending where you live, there will be volunteers who come knocking on your door asking for food or monetary donations in support of the Christmas boxes given to those in need.

From experience, I can say that the families that receive your donations are grateful. It puts food on the table, and the children do not go to bed hungry tonight. If I may, I'd like to make some recommendations for donations.

Canned tomatoes and tomato juice rather than tomato soup. Much more versatile and more nutritionally sound, they are generally kept for those who are sickly, or who may have special dietary requirements. If you ever step into a food bank, you may well find a wall full of tomato soup, yet only a shelf or two of tomato juice and canned tomatoes.

Salt and pepper, herbs and spices. Can you imagine eating pasta cooked in unsalted water? Can you imagine the only seasoning you have on hand are the extra flavourings from Ramen noodles? Can you imagine meal after meal, unseasoned and bland?

Think of the families who have infants and could need diapers - of all sizes. Think of those families who canot go to the dentist, and may need a tooth brush. Imagine yourself, all of a sudden in need of one of these boxes from the food bank. What would you need in one of these boxes?

I know some of my readers occasionally use uncommon ingredients such as capers, or extravagant ingredients such as truffles. These are not what I am asking for. I am asking for those items that are staples in your pantry and in your home. I am asking for those items that would be missed if they were no longer available to you. I am asking for a little bit of creativity in your donations.

Please know that whatever you decide to give, your donations will be greatly appreciated by the family who will receive it. So do not be shy. The food drives have started. Give freely, joyfully and creatively. You never know who could be receiving your donation.

Don't know what to have for supper?

My mom has this fast and firm rule that works everytime...

Start peeling potatoes! :D

It's uncanny, but whenever I'm stumped about what to fix for supper, I follow this rule and start peeling potatoes. Within a few minutes I remember the frozen italian sausage in the freezer, and then the recipe just kind of floats out of the air and into my brain... Some caramelized onions, sliced up sausage, a bit of wine... hmmm. Some mashed potatoes with that. hmmm... Some shaved carrots? Yeah. Carrots with a bit of maple syrup (the real stuff please)...

And there you go. Before you're finished peeling potatoes, you have the entire meal planned out, where 5 minutes earlier you had no clue what could find it's way to the table for supper.

Fresh homemade bread

There is nothing that beats fresh homemade bread. I have a recipe that is so versatile, you can make just about any dough based recipe. Foccacia? Yup. Baguette? Uh-hu. Pizza crust? Sure thing. Cinnamon buns? Most definately. Oh, and let's not forgette the regular loaves or rolls...

This recipe is so easy to make that it is almost a shame not to have fresh bread daily. So much so, that the recipe is named "Daily Bread". It is not my own recipe. Years ago it was posted on a free subscription based e-mail list named foodwine. I've searched the archives for the original post and I couldn't find it. To the original author - Thank you. My family has much enjoyed your recipe over these past many years.

Daily Bread
Yields 1 loaf/1 pizza

1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water (112F)
2.5-3 cups of all purpose flour (depending on the humidity you may need more or less)
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vegetable oil (optional, though necessary for pizza dough)

In a bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, water and 1 cup of flour until you get a runny gloppy mess. Keep covered in a draft free place for a minimum for 15 minutes, or even better - overnight.

Once the yeast mixture has proofed, add the remaining amount of flour, the salt and the oil (if desired). Mix thouroughly, the dough should not be particularly sticky, it should be soft and have just a bit of give when pressed with a finger . If you are using a machine of some sort, kneed the dough for a few minutes. If making by hand, kneed the dough for about 5-10 minutes - it depends if you have the time to give a full kneed or not, as long as the dough has been worked a bit, then you'll be ok. Like I said it's a very forgiving dough. Place in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm and draft free place in your kitchen. You can leave it all day while you're at work, or overnight while you're sleeping for a fresh loaf first thing in the morning. Or again, you can make it as a traditional bread recipe and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size.

Once you and the dough are ready, shape in the form that you want... Pizza? Roll it out. Loaf? Roll it up into a log. Baguette? Snake it out. If making bread, let it rise another 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400F, and then bake your bread for 30 minutes.

Can you see why I so like this recipe? It works with me. I don't have to worry about having to watch the clock to make bread anymore. Is there anything better than a fresh slice of warm bread with a bit of butter with supper? Not in my books. :D

What do you call....

Roasted squash, potatoes, and an onion & garlic stuffed roasted chicken?

In my books, we call it an easy supper tonight.

PS... Scooping the squash into a bowl, adding the roasted garlic and blending together? YUMMY!!!! :D

Well, I'm going into business...

With my home responsibilities, it is really difficult to juggle in a full-time job (or even a part-time one) into our crazy hectic schedules. My bosses can't fire me because I do a good job. At the same time they can't give me the hours I need because there is just not enough business during the hours I'm available to work. So I'll put up my own shingle.

I know. I know. Owning your own business is even more work than working for someone else. All the paperwork. Taxes. Employees - should I ever get big enough to need more than myself as an employee... At the same time, I can have the kids with me while I work once school is out - something that any other employer would seriously frown upon. I'd work more, but I'd be working on my schedule rather than someone else.

Plus, I've always had too much salesman in me to just stay behind the wall and hide as a cook. I am after all a chef. Ok, I haven't done my apprenticeship yet but it's all a matter of heart I say.

So here goes. If anyone is interested, I have cookies for sale. Fresh "homemade" cookies. I'm working on some recipes still, however I have nailed:

• Decorated Sugar Cookies
• Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookies

I also make cookie lollipops for cookie bouquets.

Please contact me for a price list and to place an order.

Please forgive my camera, it doesn't do my cookies justice.

Now this is a puzzler....

A friend of mine has recently posted a lovely caramel sauce recipe on her blog. We use this kind of caramel on toast or as a cake filling or as a sauce for pouding chomeur... or... or... Thing is, where I live I can buy this product at my local grocery store. We even have a chocolate fudge version. When I mentioned this to Suzanne, she requested the recipe. Oops! My recipe consists of getting in the car and driving 10km to the store to pick some up... lol

Anybody have any ideas where I could start tweeking her recipe to make a chocolate version? My first thought is adding a rich cocoa to the brown sugar, but then I have to add more liquid to have the right consistancy. I have a feeling that melted chocolate would make it too dense also. hmmmm.... :s

I smell sweet treats coming up. Good thing the Holidays are just around the corner! ;)

When you're down three sous-chefs...

You get to make a nice key-lime ginger pie with your 5 year old sous-chef and learn things like "If you still wore size 6 you'd pop your underwear!"

The holiday plans begin...

Well, the American Thanksgiving is over now, and Advent is just around the corner. That means that Christmas and New Years will soon be upon us. It's time to start planning for the feasts that we'll share with friends and family. This week is the time to decide on a theme, how many side dishes, what kind of pies, which recipe to use for the main dish...


Personally, I've been researching the main dish recipe that I may well use. For years now, I've read about and heard about Turducken. I've not yet confirmed that massive dish as my main service. It looks interesting though. Just the idea of having a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a stuffed chicken. I must say that the idea is very intreguing to me. This cajun dish that has its roots in Louisianna is heavily influenced by the traditional dish "Ballotine de Dinde". Yet at the same time, it is completely different.


While both the Ballotine de Dinde and the Turducken start off with a serious deboning job, their assembly is somewhat different. Where a Turducken will have a variety of dressing and meat, a Ballotine de Dinde will be mostly seasoned whole turkey meat, ground chicken meat, and some slices of duck foie gras. Where a Turducken will often preserve the basic shape of a Turkey, a Ballotine will be rolled into a log shape by using a towel or some plastic wrap. Where a Turducken will be roasted, a Ballotine will often be boiled in some stock. Where a Turducken will be served hot, a Ballotine will often be served cold.

The principle idea though is the same. Debone the turkey then stuff it with a very savoury filling to end up with a very savoury dish. Considering that I do enjoy galantine (a derivative of a ballotine) I think that I may well consider making this dish. I'll tweek it to my liking, I'll play with the recipe and create what I hope will be a closer tie between the traditional french dish and the cajun dish that many know and enjoy.

I think I might have to start drinking coffee...

Especially if I knew that I would wake up to such a lovely cup!

Rosetta by Corey Diamond

Gastronomy on the wild side...

We went to the pet shop yesterday morning. Turns out we were in time for the animals breakfast. We saw the fish get their flakes, the rodents and birds get their seeds, the kittens and puppies their kibble... And the lizzards enjoying their live grasshoppers. You haven't lived until you've seen a Leopard Gecko lick his lips after swallowing a kicking grasshopper.... yick!

Mom's new toy...

It was my birthday yesterday, and I got some pretty cool stuff. Ok, so I had the red machines before, but the black stand mixer is new. I got to choose the colour of my machine too. Why did I choose black you ask? Doesn't the flour show up and isn't it a chore to keep clean? Yes, and I guess yes... But I chose it precisely because the flour shows up. If I can't see it, I can't keep it clean.













Now I'm playing though. Making all kinds of cool things with my new mixer. Cookies in preparation for the up-coming holidays. And what else could I make but my own rose birthday pound cake with rose buttercream icing? I was having loads of fun!














What's next? Why bread of course! :D

Post storm Sunday Meal

With the after effects of Hurricane Noel passed, it was time to look at what to have for a Sunday meal. Garlic roasted chicken with roasted pumpkin purée and baked potatoes sounded just about right.

Making your own terrines

So I had some extra ground veal and ground pork in the fridge today. I decided I would make my own terrine. I mixed the pork and the veal together with some fresh thyme leaves, some Frangelico Liqueur, black pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, freshly ground juniper berries, some ground cloves, salt and some saltpetre. I cooked a bit for a test. It needed a bit more salt, so I added some. Then I started putting the terrine together.

In a loaf pan, I laid down a layer of the meat mixture, then I sprinkled some pine nuts and pommegranate seeds. Then I placed another layer of meat. Then I cut up a 1" piece of salt pork into 1/4" cubes and sprinkled that on the meat and covered with a final layer of meat. I topped the terrine with 3 bay leaves. I covered the pan with a sheet of alluminium paper. I cooked it in a bain-marie at 350F for 45 minutes, then I lowered the temperature to 300F for another hour and a half.

Then I placed another loaf pan filled with water over the alluminium paper to weigh down the loaf in the pan and I let it cool completely.

Serve with a simple tossed green salad and a sprinkling of pommegranate seeds and some nice crusty bread. YUM! :D

It's all about mise-en-place...

This morning I made a lovely split pea soup. With a smoked ham hock, some onions, celery, split peas, seasonings and chicken stock. I made it in my slow cooker. It would cook steadily all day, and I would arrive home tonight with a nice warm soup that would be ready for this cool autumn day.

This was the plan. I just forgot to start the slow cooker.

D'oh!

We're having make your own...

You know those nights where you're too beat to even look at the kitchen, much less go in and prepare supper for the kids... Those nights where the day has been so long, the kid so whinny, the work so strenuous, and where the only thing you want to do is crawl into your bed and sleep 'til next week? Those nights where just the thought of stepping into the kitchen has you wanting to curl up in the corner and sob... On those night we have what is known as "make your own". Supper is simple, a bowl of cereal or a pb & j sandwich, or a warmed up left over soup, or some of the kids get together and microwave some ramen noodles.

Whatever supper happens to be, it is make your own.

Some tasty side dishes

So I have some extra zucchini on hand, along with a bit of garlic and some scallion whites. Wash and slice the zuke's, mince the garlic and chop the scallions. Toss with some olive oil, salt and a bit of pepper. Place in a small pan, and roast in a hot oven (425F) for about 45 minutes. Serve hot. Yum.


I also have cornmeal, some parmesan, a bit of butter and some curry.... Hmmm.... I also still have some scallion whites. Chop the scallions and sauté for a few minutes in a bit of olive oil. Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of cornmeal (sifting and stirring so that I avoid lumps) and cook on medium high heat for a few moments - until the water is all absorbed. Grate some fresh parmesan, add a pinch of curry, a pat of butter and some salt to taste. Mix it all in and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Serve hot. Double Yum!


Serve with a nice lemon rosemary roast chicken or a lovely roast beast.

So it's thanksgiving this weekend...

And the kids are with dad 400 km away... So do I cook a 10 lb turkey? With scalloped potatoes, and "mioche", and salad, and bread, and gravy and desserts?

Sure! My sister's coming for a visit, and it's what we do on the long weekend in October in Canada.

PS. Mioche (it's pronounced Me-aw-sh... say the aw like you have a few marbles in your mouth) = mashed carrots and turnip mixed together.... Yum!

The prodigious potato party...

Well today is the potato festival. What can I say about this popular tuber?

I could go into nutritional details about potatoes, but that would be about as dry as... sawdust. Just about as interesting too. So we'll just agree that potatoes are very nutritious.

I enjoyed going through the recipes that have been sent to me. Some of you sent me recipes from famous cooks, others sent me links to websites with hundreds of potato recipes. Some sent me family favourites, while others sent me Bubba-like lists of potato recipe titles...

Terry, a long time friend from Foodwine, a listserv e-mail group, sent a recipe from Ina Garten that calls for no water, and go figure the potatoes aren't fried either! Check this out...

Herbed New Potatoes

Serves 6
Recipe By: Ina Garten
Published in: Barefoot in Paris

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 1/2 pounds small white or Yukon gold potatoes -- scrubbed but not peeled
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh green herbs -- such as parsley, chives, and dill


Instructions


Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the whole potatoes, salt, and pepper and toss well. Cover the pot tightly and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender when tested with a small knife. From time to time, shake the pot without removing the lid to prevent the bottom potatoes from burning. Turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to steam for another 5 minutes. Don't overcook! Toss with the herbs, and serve hot.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

I guess that the residual water from the washed potatoes creates enough steam to cook the potatoes.

Iowagirl, a fellow BBS poster on a low-carb forum, laughed and sent me the following...

"Mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, au gratin potatoes, boiled potatoes, potato soup, potato pancakes, potato bread. How's that Forrest?" I should have known better than inviting a low-carber to a potato festival! lol ;) Instead of eating potatoes she recommended using potatoes to make fun art projects with kids. Leave it to a low-carbing mom to remind me that potatoes are not only important for nutrition, but also for family fun!

Ian on the other hand told me that his favourite potato recipes are Shepherd's Pie found here
http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_shepherd.htm and Tattie Hushie found here http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-015y69.html and finally Corned Beef Hash and Picalilli.

I didn't know that the beef variation of Shepherd's Pie that I eat is actually called Cottage Pie... And who would have thought of adding tomato paste (AKA ketchup) and oatmeal to cream of leek soup? I'll have to try that.

Then Terry found another couple of recipes that were very tasty indeed...

One wasn't so much a recipe, but simply "a way to prepare potatoes"...

"I have a vegetable threader which turns vegetables into spaghetti like strands. I thread a russet potato and wrap a piece of salmon with the threads. Then I saute that in olive oil (lots of salt and pepper on the fish) until the potato is brown and crispy. When that happens the salmon is done. I place that on top of some fresh cooked spinach (sometimes plain and sometimes creamed. It's such a simple dish but very impressive and people love it.... it's sort of fried potatoes without the frying if you know what I mean. The hardest thing about the dish for most people is finding a vegetable threader." (To see what a vegetable threader is, go here. It makes long "potato spaghetti"... really kinda cool!)

Her next recipe was sent to her by another friend of ours, Phyllis (also a foodwine member).

Potato And Onion Cakes

Serves 4
Recipe Sent By: Phyllis Keating who found it on this other food related blog

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
coarse salt
1 teaspoons chopped rosemary -- plus 6 sprigs for ramekins
1 small red onion -- sliced into 6 1/4" rounds
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes -- grated
1 egg yolk -- slightly beaten



Instructions



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter ramekins, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegars. Place a rosemary sprig in the bottom of each ramekin, then lay one onion round over the rosemary. Toss potatoes with egg, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Divide the potatoes into ramekins and dot with remaining butter. Bake for 30 minutes, until brown. To remove the cakes, slide a knife around the edge of the ramekin, then turn upside down.

Don't you just love reading the "extra notes" added those who've cooked a recipe? Well, Terry says:

" I tried it and it's very tasty and fun to do. Unusual in that you don't drain the moisture off. Anyway, it's just different enough that I thought I'd send it to you. It unmolds nicely. Oh I wouldn't use rosemary unless it's very tender new leaves. My friend made it on my recommendation and she used the rosemary you buy at the supermarket which is too coarse and strong. I believe I used fresh thyme leaves in mine."

The last recipe that I'll post comes from a dear friend who recently passed away. He loved life, and lived every second of life for all that it was worth. He laughed. He argued. And as much he loved and lived, he was loved and is missed. Thank you Bob for being a mentor to many of us. An inspiration to some of us. An exaspiration to others... but then those guys don't know how to keep their tongue firmly planted in their cheek! Most of all though, you were a very dear friend. We were very blessed for having known you. (Thanks Terry for sending me this recipe also.)

This is the most fun to make and serve. I've served it a several dinner parties. Everyone likes it and it's such a good story. I microwave the potatoes and rice them so they are *very* dry just like I do for gnocchi. I always do them as walnut size balls. Don't forget the egg wash, it's needed for that great little crust.



Wildly Inauthentic Crustless Potato Knishes - Pastorio


Serves 6
Recipe By: Bob Pastorio




Ingredients


2 large eggs; slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoons black pepper
3/8 cup matzo meal
3 cup mashed potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium onion; diced and sauteed (optional)
1 egg yolk; beaten with 1 tablespoon water
oil for baking sheet



Instructions


Heat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine eggs, butter or margarine, salt, pepper, and matzo meal. Stir in mashed potatoes and, optionally, a diced and sauteed onion. Form heaping tablespoons of the dough into walnut-sized balls or shape about 1/2 cup portions into the traditional square shape. Brush with egg. Place on a well- greased cookie sheet (non-stick is a good idea) and bake for 20 minutes or so, until well browned. Serve warm.



I split them horizontally and spread a little mustard around the inside. This recipe can be easily doubled. As an option you may also substitute up to 1/4 sweet potato for the white potato for a pleasantly different taste and texture. If you don't have matzo meal, virtually any cracker meal will work, although the taste and texture will vary from this.



Recipe Notes: Knishes are traditionally made with a crepe filled with mashed potatoes. These dispense with the wrapper and form a crust all their own. This makes a lot of little nibbles or maybe ten 3 X 3 inch knishes about an inch thick. Three cups of mashed potatoes is about 1 1/2 pounds. I've used Russets, Yukon Golds, and white-skins. Don't use light margarine or whipped butter because they're different than the real thing, mostly more water. - Bob


Yield: about 30 walnut-sized knishes or ten larger ones.



8/3/06
I baked them on a sheet pan with parchment paper which I sprayed with a bit of Pam. I made them walnut size. David loved them as did I. I think these will be a hit at a cocktail party.I microwaved two large russet baking potatoes until tender. That made my three cups of mashed potatoes. Peeled and riced them while still warm. I felt I needed to keep the potatoes as dry as possible so the knishes would be light. I added the diced sauteed onion which is optional but I felt it was needed for additional flavor. -Terry

Well with all of these recipes, should I really go into my potato recipes? I've grown up in potato country, and there are so many to choose from. Rösti's, Latke's, mashed, hashed, boiled and simply baked... The list goes on. My favourite way of eating potatoes though is when my father makes mashed potatoes. He makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I could give you the recipe, but even I can't make it just right, and believe me, I've watched him do it and I've tried doing it... It's just not the same. I guess it needs a "father's touch".

His recipe starts simply enough.



Peel and boil 2 potatoes per person. Strain. Mash. Add some milk, a bit of butter, and a dash of salt and pepper. Mash again to mix the ingredients.

Simple right? Doesn't it beat all that after 25 years, I still can't figure how he does it? They are dry, but not too dry, creamy but not pasty, light but not unsubstantial... And just seasoned enough.

So... Do you have a favourite recipe to share?

Grocery shopping for under 100$

3 lbs carrots
3 lbs onions
1 bunch celery
1 green bell pepper
5 heads of garlic
1 ginger root
3 lb blade roast
3 lb chicken thighs
6 lbs shell noodles
5 lbs penne noodles
1 lb key limes
40 granola bars
2 pint sour cream
1 box graham cracker crumbs
1 bottle white wine
2 lbs bacon
1 green zucchini
1 yellow zucchini
1 lb ripe tomatoes
3 lbs marble cheese
4 lb squash
1 tube toothpaste
2 tourtière pies
1 instant camera with processing included (as a b-day gift for a 9yo boy... What do you buy for a boy's b-day?)
and finally, 1 reusable grocery bag

That's what 100$ gets you at the grocery store these days... About 10 meals worth of building materials.

Oh! I forgot to add the milk! Add milk to that list.

(Thank You God!)

What could be simpler?

1 cup of bread crumbs
.5 tsp onion salt
.5 tsp ground pepper
.5 tsp spanish paprika
6 chicken thighs

Mix the dry ingredients, add the chicken, mix to cover then cook at 450F for 45 minutes. Mmmmm....

That and a baked potato with sour cream and steamed veggies makes for a delicious supper. What are you having for supper?

The Nice Mother's Award

Well, it seems as if I've been nominated for the Nice Mother's Award. What an honour. On days where I have to run from work to school to home, make supper and do homework and then rush off to choir practice... I may not necessarily feel like a particularly nice mother. Rushing about always makes parenting more difficult. Then I remember the quiet things, the "mommy I have a booboo" that are really "momma I wanna kiss", the laughing together as we're going to the store, and the singing and dancing as we do household chores. Maybe I am a good mom after all!

Thank You Suzanne for the nomination. I now tag:

Rachel Mom to 5 boys! Wow! Snaps and snails and puppy dog tails...

Boothe A mom who, when given an impossible situation, remained open to life and graciously took us along so that we might also be blessed by Copeland - Heaven's newest angel.

Danielle A homeschooling mom to 8 children! An author and an inspiring blogger.

KristenA very nice mom indeed.

and finally Melanie A really nice homeschooling mom too! :D

Blog?... Meet Life! And my first Potato Festival

I came on the computer today and realized that I hadn't posted a blog in a while... What with a new job, kids going to visit with their dad, school and the change of seasons... And last night's stew was just sooo good.

A friend of mine works for the departement of agriculture, and over the last few days has brought me potatoes. They were testing potatoes and the ones that passed were good to use. Except, well, there is too much. So even after everyone takes a fair share, there is some left over that needs to be destroyed. I'm glad that my friend thought of us. I have over 20 lbs of Russet potatoes and 20 lbs of Chieftan potatoes. Thank you Daniel! I'll certainly share this bounty with others.

So over the next little while, I'll be working with potato recipes. Last night was the first... Chicken stew. Money has been tight around here for the last little while, what with school starting up and the kids hitting a growth spurt like I haven't seen in a while. I'll get paid soon, but in the meantime, my pantry is getting kinda bare. (The Lord does provide for us doesn't He? I mean I'm running out of food, then a friend comes along with over 40 lbs of potatoes! The Lord IS good - All the time! Praise God!!! :D )

So my stew was made with what was on hand. I started with an onion that I roughly chopped into 3/4 inch squares. I sautéed that for a few minutes in some butter. I pulled the skin of four chicken legs and threw that into the pot. I added two and a half liters of water, and started to let that simmer. Meanwhile I peeled some russet potatoes, probably enough to fill my litre measuring cup once diced, washed them and cut them into 3/4 inch cubes. I added that to the water. I asked my sous-chef, M., to get me some thyme from the garden to add to the stew. Then I added a bay leaf, about a half dozen peppercorns, three carrots that had been diced, and a bit of condensed vegetable broth. As the stew simmered, I skimmed the foam off of it - I wanted a clear and clean broth. A bit over an hour later... I had a wonderous stew. Now I had to pull the chicken meat off of the bones, add the meat to the stew and serve.

The kids ate it up. Here I thought I had made an industrial size stew for my family, and I barely made enough! The kids weren't hungry when we got up from the table... I just don't have my leftovers for lunch today.

I wonder what I'll do with potatoes for supper today. hmmm.... If you have any good potato recipes please forward them. I'll hold a potato festival on October 3rd. Please pass the word along, and we'll have lots of excellent potato recipes next week!

Simple pasta

Today's lunch:

2 italian sausages - peeled and crumbled
1 med onion - diced
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
1 pound pasta (shell or fusili or "scooby-doo" or bow-ties)

Cook pasta as per directions on the package. Sweat the onions quickly in the melted butter. Add the crumbled sausage and cook through. Add the chicken broth to the cooking sausages. Bring to a boil and let reduce by half. Drain the pasta and toss with the sausage sauce. Serve warm. Mmmmmm!

This works well with both hot and mild italian sausages.

Enjoy!

Tonight supper...

Easy enough...

For each person:

1 chicken breast (boneless skinless), seasonned simply with a bit of salt and pepper, pan fried in a little bit of oil with a bit of garlic.

2 tablespoon salsa (degree of heat of your choice)

Cheedar cheese curds.

Method:

Cook the chicken breasts partially. Place them in a casserole. Top with some salsa and finish off with cheese curds. Place in your preheated 400F and cook for 20-30 minutes. Long enough for the cheese to melt, bubble and start to become golden.

Serve immediately, topped with a bit of chopped cilantro if you have some on hand. Yum!

Off for a bit...

My mom has been in the hospital for over a week, and yesterday the doctors finally figured out why she was sick. She needed emergency major surgery. She'll be touch and go for a bit. She's still in a drug induced coma at this point. Please say a prayer for her.

More than just noodles...

You know those ramen noodles that are so popular? Those that you can by four for a dollar? The kids eat them dry, crumbled and seasonned with the salty broth powder that comes with the noodles. Don't ask me how. They make for a quick snack after school, or a light lunch on a rushed day. Did you realize they could make a nice supper?

Tonight for supper we will be having ramen noodle pork stir fry for supper. With a few simple ingredients, a little bit of preparation, maybe a touch of imagination and we'll have a lovely supper.

For 5 people (4 of them children) we'll have:

3 packages of ramen noodles
3 small pork chops (boneless)
1 medium bell pepper
1 medium onion
3 stalks celery
2 medium carrots
Soya Sauce
Garlic
Ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup almonds

First we slice the meat into thin strips, dice/slice the veggies thinly, mince the garlic and ginger. Depending on your speed and ability, this could take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. This part is very important because the once the cooking starts there will be no time to cut and prepare the next ingredients. Even having the measured ingredients ready and on hand will make the cooking fast and easy.

Once everything is gathered, cut, and prepared, we can start to cook. First, we heat our sauté pan, add the oil, then the ginger, garlic and pork. Stir and cook at high heat with a bit of soya sauce. Remove the meat from the pan once it is cooked through. It's easier to cook in small batches, so that you can get the best flavours from the meat. Once the meat is cooked, sauté the vegetables quickly, starting with the carrots, then the celery and onions, and finally the bell peppers. At the same time cook the noodles. Once the noodles are cooked, drain, reserving a bit of the broth if you like.

To finish the dish, sauté the almonds quickly, then stir everything together. If you like a little bit of spice, you can always add a bit of chili pepper (to taste) to the vegetables as they cook. Serve the dish hot, with chopsticks if you want. The kids love eating ramen noodles this way. Flavourful, interesting and varied textures, this dish disappears quickly around our home.

You can always add other veggies such as brocoli, bok choy, chinese cabbage...

She can't can-can anymore...

I was talking with my grand-mother recently, and looking into her cupboard to help make lunch. What did I find there? Can upon can of canned vegetables and chicken sauce and soups and... and... and... Imagine, a cupboard that is about 36x18-20x24 in size that is completely absolutely full of canned goods. All 13680 cubic inches of space taken up with salty, soggy, mushy vegetables.

Oy! And here we (her family) are trying to make sure that she follows her prescribed diet as she should. One thing that is on the no-no list is salt. So she doesn't salt her food. Good thing, considering that one serving (1/4 cup) of chicken sauce contains nearly all of her required daily intake of salt! So... I tried to find a way to help my grand-mother find a way out of the canned goods aisle. Keep in mind that she is alone in her home now, and though she often has family over at meal times, we often bring our own meals so that we don't strain her limited budget. Yet here she sits with at least one cupboard filled with canned goods. If she never bought canned goods again, she would have canned food through to next summer if not next fall!

So as we were talking, she kept saying how she liked her canned goods. Then it struck me. We grew up in different times. I've always known the freezer and refrigerator. I've grown up with frozen vegetables. My grand-mother though grew up with the ice-box. She was an adolescent during the depression. What little they had, they had to ration and preserve to keep for tomorrow whenever they had any bit extra. Salt being one of the oldest, best, and cheapest preservation mediums available at the time, my grand-mother has developed a palate that requires a strong salt presence.

Medical concerns may weigh heavy on our minds, yet how can we disregard everything that my grand-mother has been through and grown up with? So we humour her canned goods cupboard, and we watch how much rotation goes on in that cupboard. We try to help her understand the importance of portion control - especially with the canned stuff. She seems to be catching on, but we know that she is probably sneaking in some "banned" foods. They are a comfort to her and so we turn a blind eye - to a certain point.

I blog this in my cooking blog because although we are what we eat, we are also who we were. The flavours we grew up with are the ones we search for in our old age. They speak not only of the foods we used to eat, but also of where we've been, of who's travelled along life's road with us and the comforts or struggles we've encountered along the way. For although food will nourish our bodies, who can deny that it also feeds our spirit?

Monday, Monday...

Well, today is Monday. It is return to work day. That means that I need to get supper going in the morning. Yet I have no clue what to prepare. I could take a chuck roast, brown it really quick in a cast iron pan, and throw in a few vegetables such as carrots, onions and celery (the regular mirepoix), sliced mushrooms and maybe a diced tomato. Add a cup of beef broth, a bit of salt and pepper, maybe a sprig or two of thyme. Oh! And what would it do if I added a few cloves of garlic? Mmmm! Cover with foil, then throw in my toaster oven at 250F for the day. Oh! I can hardly wait to smell supper tonight! :D 15 minutes work this morning to have a mouth watering and suculent meal tonight.

Food Bank Donations

Throughout the year there are food drives for a variety of food banks across the country and around the world. Obviously for a good cause. You can never imagine why certain people would need to go to a food bank. I'll admit that I have relied on my local food bank for a while. I never thought I would, but events came to be that I required the services of my local food bank.

For those of you who don't know (I hope you are many), here is a list of some of the things that I would find in my food box to feed my four children and myself for a month...

• Cream of tomato soups (Lots of cream of tomato soups)


• A few boxes of macaroni and cheese


• Canned peas/string beans/creamed corn/variety vegetable


• Canned pineapples


• Canned meats (ham, tuna, chicken, mystery...)


• Frozen pizza pockets


• Frozen donuts/timbits


• Frozen potato nuggets


• Maybe some frozen hot dogs


• A couple of odd things such as fruit ketcup


• 2 cups of rice


• Beans (not necessarily in amounts that can feed my family - single serving sizes are not particularly useful for some families)


• 2 cups of sugar


• Powdered drinks


• Jello


• 1.5 lbs of frozen ground beef

Keep in mind that some families live on the food box that they receive sometimes as often as once a month. If I could prove with a note from the doctor that I needed extra nutrients, I would be allocated one of the few cans of tomato juice or a bit of "real" meat such as chicken or small roast.

Can you imagine looking for something to feed your family and find only these items in your pantry? You have no salt. You have no pepper. You have no seasonings. You have no choice. The children are hungry and this is what you have. So I did my best and I was very grateful.

Now, I don't go get food boxes anymore. I do give though. I give lots of dried herbs and spices. I give salt and pepper. I give chicken bouillion base. I give a variety of things that allow for those who receive to have more than just something from a can.

Next time there is a food drive for your local food bank, keep this in mind and give generously. Give things that you hadn't thought of before, things that you would buy for your own family. Know that when you give, it may well be your neighbour who receives, and that they are grateful.

Hello all!

Unknown to everyone is that I have a stat counter on my site. A little something to give me a hint that there are people out there reading my little blog/online cookbook. Like anyone else, I like it when people leave comments, but I don't often get any - thank you to all of those who have left comments, they were much appreciated... This little counter just lets me know that I'm not talking to myself out here. Although it can be considered strange, I have been known to do that in "real-life" too.

My little stat counter doesn't just let me know how many people came to visit my site. I get a bit of an idea of where people are visiting from. I get a little google map with "pins" to show where people come from. Many are from Eastern and Central US, as could well be expected. However some of the visits came from places I never would have thought of... Peru, Brazil, Germany... A little island off the coast of Africa.

Well, to all of my visitors I wish to say Salut!

*Raises a glass in a toast to new friends*

I hope you will find my site informative and enjoyable. :D

Curried Corn Chowder

So how do you take a classic such as corn chowder and not only "kick it up a notch" to quote a famous TV chef, but completely blow it out of the pot? Well take a stroll with me into my kitchen and see what the kids had for lunch today.

The ingredients were simple. The method pushed around a bit. The results? Fantastic!

Curried Corn Chowder

1 can of creamed corn although frozen corn would work well too.
1 large onion (the biggest one you'll find in a 5lb net of onions - not one of those super onions) - diced
3 stalks of celery - diced
1 tsp flour
1 quart of chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup 18% cream
1 large russet potato, washed, peeled and diced
salt and white pepper to taste
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
Paprika (opt.)

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter with the oil. Once the the butter was melted, I added the diced onions and celery. I let that cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or so, stirring every so often so that my vegetables caramelized instead of burned. Once the vegetables have browned nicely, I added the curry (you can adjust the amount if you like less spicy, or more spicy...), stirred and then added the flour. I cooked that for a minute or two then I added the stock. I brought that to a boil, added the diced potatoes and simmered until the potatoes were tender. I added the corn at this point since it was already pretty tender.

Then came the fun part. Blitzing with my hand mixer until everything was puréed. Then I added the milk and cream. I heated everything up and served warm.

I had reserved a bit of the corn to top the soup, then I sprinkled a bit of paprika on top. Not only was the soup enjoyed for its taste, it looked good too. The kids devoured it!

So what do you do in your kitchen for fun?

Another simple recipe

I was making lunch today, and my third child came up to me and asked if I had "invented" the recipe. I had to admit, no I had not. I couldn't say who invented it because it is so simple that any home cook could have come up with it. I had never really heard of it either. I just kind of threw it together myself. But if you're looking for something super easy, ready in 10 minutes or so and enjoyed by the kids (the 7 yo ate 3 plates full!) here you go!

1 pkg of dry fusili
3 italian sausages
1 large onion
1 tbsp butter
1.5 cups of chicken stock (low sodium boxed stuff will do)

Cook the fusili according to directions on the package.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet, rough dice the onion. Sauté the onion enough to soften the onions. Remove the skin of the sausages. Add to the onions and crush with a large fork to crumble. Stir quickly then add the stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the fusili is cooked. The stock should have reduced and thickened some. If you wanted to do so, you could add a bit of spinach or small brocoli florets.

Drain the fusili once it is cooked. Toss with the sauce and serve immediately.

Enjoy. I know my kids do! :D

Fresh Potato Salad

At my local grocery store, I have been able to find tiny new potatoes over the last few weeks, both red and white. They aren't generally in my food budget, but this week I picked up a small package of white potatoes. They were a bit smaller than golf balls. I bought about a pound. I could hardly wait to get home and make the kids one of our favourite potato salads.

I boiled them for about 20 minutes. While they were boiling, I prepared the rest of the salad. I minced a bunch of scallions, I diced about the same amount of celery, I put these ingredients in the bottom of my salad bowl. I added about 1 tblsp of lemon juice, 3 tblsp of canola oil, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and a couple of shots of hot sauce. I whisked quickly and once the potatoes were cooked, I added them to the sauce. I added salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Toss to coat completely.

This salad can be served warm or cold. Either way, it is very yummy and disappears very quickly at a meal! The kids prefer this kind of potato salad to mayonnaise type potato salads.

I hope you and your family enjoy this potato salad as much as my family and I do. :D

The splendor of couscous

In the summer there is one thing that is very nearly always on my dinner table. The kids enjoy it, it offers a lot of variety, it is inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare. I'll admit, I'm not sure if the kids enjoy it because it tastes good, or if it's because Couscous is such a peculiar word. Either way, it's a staple in our summer cooking.

There are purists who do not like the "Minute Couscous". They prefer using a couscousière and fresh stock, and a lot of steam. Yes. I admit it. This does make a superior quality couscous. I've done it and I do it when I really want something extravagant. The "Minute Couscous" though is ready in about 5 minutes vs 30 minutes for the traditional method. For those of us who can't (or don't want to) spend a lot of time in the kitchen though, this is good and quick meal or side dish.

My favourite couscous based meal is couscous chicken salad. A complete meal in and of itself. So easy to make and uses many ingredients on hand or readily available at the store.

Couscous chicken salad

2 cups boiling stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 cups couscous
1 small onion diced finely
1 tomato, seeded and diced finely
2 stalks of celery diced finely
1 small colourful bell pepper, diced finely
1/4 cup vinegrette
1/2 tsp fresh thyme rough chopped
1/2 tsp fresh basil, chiffonade (that means stacking, rolling like a cigar, then cutting the leaves)
1 small roasted chicken, torn apart and rough chopped.
Salt and pepper to taste
Few drops of lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest to give the salad an extra little oumph!

Prepare the vegetables and herbs. Boil the stock, pour the stock into a bowl, then sprinkle the couscous over the stock. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Prepare the chicken. Once the couscous has absorbd all of the stock, fluff with a fork and then add the remaining ingredients except the chicken. Mix thoroughly, taste and adjust the seasonings. Lay the couscous on a platter, then top with the chicken and a bit of fresh lemon juice.

Enjoy! :D

Gourmet convenience

Well, even though I know how to do many fancy "gourmet" meals, such as Tarragon Chaud-Froid de Poussin or Oysters Rockerfeller, sometimes I use convenience items to make life super simpler. Especially if it's just for me and the kids.

One of these items that I have on hand at all times is mashed potato flakes. It can easily be used to absorb excess liquid, and allow dishes to bind together... Crumbled ground beef needs to stick together a bit more in your meat pie? Add a tablespoon or two of mashed potato flakes and problem is solved.

Another thing that I like to use potato flakes for is to make a super quick Vichyssoise. I sweat down some leeks or mild onions. Add one litre of vegetable or chicken stock - which ever I have on hand. I heat the mixture up and blend thoroughly. Then I add about 1/2 cup of potato flakes, or until the soup has a good texture. Then presto! A quick 'homemade' Vichyssoise.

So what convenience food item do you like to use?

Magna Cum Laud

Well, I have done it! I have finaly graduated. In Magna Cum Laud no less! I knew I had, but it wasn't real until I received those golden cords. What an amazing day! I am so proud. Not only of the work that I have done and everything that I have accomplished, but also of the work that my children have done, and the sacrifices they faced while I studied for exams, worked on projects and worked late nights at school for special events and suppers.

So I raise a glass to my dear children. Thank you for your support and faith in me. Thank you for your understanding and patience. Thank you for doing as you were told and for listening when you would rather have not done so. It did not go unnoticed.

Seriously Good: Strawberry Gastrique

Seriously Good: Strawberry Gastrique

In reading other food blogs, I came across this blog by Kevin Weeks. It looked really good, so I thought I would link and share. :D Thank you Kevin! I hope everyone else enjoys as much as I do. ;)

Strawberry Festival

Well, I see that Suzanne has started a festival to celebrate the freshest fruit of the season... Strawberries. She and her family picked just a handful of strawberries. If you consider 10 lbs to be a handful! ;) So she gave us a challenge, what to do to prepare, preserve and use this wonderful fruit.

(photo by Suzanne Temple - June 2007)

Here are a few ways that I use strawberries... (I can hardly wait for the season to start here! :D )

Strawberry coulis - pronounced cool-ee (Strawberry sauce)

1 cup simple syrup (see recipe to follow)
4 cups cleaned and trimmed strawberries - roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Prepare simple syrup as per recipe and heat 1 cup of the simple syrup. Add the strawberries and the juice of the 1/2 lemon. Simmer for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, or until the strawberries can easily be crushed. Blend the mixture and place in a jar and reserve in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or you can even place the cooled sauce in a re-sealable bag (like Ziplock) and freeze.

This sauce can be used to top ice-cream, decorate a dessert plate, or as a sauce for a pound cake. You can double the recipe easily enough, place in a lasagna pan, and place in the freezer. Stir with a fork every 30 minutes for 6+ hours to make a nice strawberry sorbet. Once the sorbet is made, it only needs to be stirred once or twice a day.

Simple syrup:

Equal parts water & sugar ( 1 cup : 1 cup, 2:2...)

Stir the sugar and water together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil lightly. Let boil 1 minute. Cool and use to sweeten homemade lemonade or to create a simple fruit sauce, or even to create a lovely granité or sorbet.

Returning to strawberries...

Strawberry rumpot (most certainly not for kids...)

Equal weight sugar and clean/trimmed/blemish free berries
Enough rum to cover

Cut the fruit into small bits. Cover with the sugar and stir. Put in a jar and cover with rum. Store in the refrigerator for a minimum of a month. Use the "juice" as a lovely hard sauce for ice cream, pound cake or other such dessert - you can use the fruit too, but I find that they become little hard. Sometimes I like to take just a small bit as a dessert drink. Yummy! :D This is a traditional way to preserve fruits for the holidays, and as you use the rumpot you can top it off with new fruit that's in season, sugar and rum. This can last a very long time. Keep out of reach of children for obvious reasons.

WARNING: Rumpot has a very strong kick to it - I suspect that it has a higher alcohol content than the rum on its own - so use with care!

Be sure to check out The Virtual Kitchen on June 27th to read up on more great strawberry recipes! :D

Cooking on a hot day

So what do you do when the day is so warm that it already feels as if you've spent a few hours in a hot kitchen. The best thing you can do is keep it simple. This is where a little planning comes in awfully handy.

When the summer hits, I tend to do most of my heavy cooking at night. That way, the house stays nice and cool throughout the day, and I have easy to prepare meals for a few days to come. I tend to prepare a couple of roast chickens, maybe a pork loin roast, and most certainly a beautiful roast beef. How do I prepare these meats in the same oven? My first secret is low. My second secret is slow. I set my oven to about 250-275F, I season my meat, and I let it cook throughout the evening.

Once the meat is ready, I store it and I have some great meat to serve over the next few hot days. I can make a delicious chicken couscous salad, or a nice roast beef sandwich. Better yet, I can make a nice picnic platter... All kinds of crudités, cheese and a bit of meat. Most people have a smaller appetite on hot days anyway. We tend to nibble throughout the day. So to help maintain a healthy weight or create good eating habits, we should be prepared.

So how do you deal with cooking on those hot and humid summer days?

Summer is finally on it's way!

We've had a cool spring. It's been so cool that we still have frost in the morning. It makes it hard to put in our tomatoes and know that they will survive the night! Even with protection... Ah well!

I can hardly wait though... fresh "local" greens are starting to show up at the grocery store though. So fresh salads are on the horizon. What I most look forard to is throwing in some fresh edible flowers into my salad. The lovely pinks of rose petals, the warm yellow petals of pansies, the cool purples of violets and the piquant of nasturtiums... MMMMmmmm!

So as I look forward to planting my tomatoes, here is a simple home vinaigrette:

2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
6 tblsp vegetable oil (Good EVOO, or a nice grapeseed oil -although a canola oil will do)
Zest of 1 well washed lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 pinch salt
1 pinch fresh ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a small jar with a cover. Mix, taste with a bit of salad and adjust seasoning. Dress the salad at the last moment before service.

I like adding onions, garlic and all herbs & spices into the salad itself. That way the extra dressing can be safely be kept in the refrigerator for a week.

Enjoy! ;)

The thrill of competition...

Have you ever heard of Skills Canada Competitions? They hold a variety of provincial and national competitions in a variety of fields for students and apprentices. Including Culinary Arts.

Yesterday was competition day here, at a provincial level. I was lucky enough to be able to participate in a provincial level competition. We had three plates of three services to prepare - an entrée, main dish, dessert. We had shrimps, scallops and mussels for the entrée, we had pork loin for the main dish, and dessert was up to us.

I started my day, as usual, steeling my knives. Unfortunately, my knife slipped and struck my thumb to the bone. The wound was difficult to control, because it would bleed for 15 minutes. I'd get it stopped, bandaged, then bang it and start all over again. I was lucky in my bad luck though because had the knife struck at a slightly different angle, I could have split my thumb at the joint. This didn't stop me though. My goal was control the bleeding, and get the meal out to the juges. So with plasters and bandages on, gloves over that, I started working.

I started with dessert... Thym flavoured Panna Cotta. That with a wild berry couli and fruits made for a yummy plate. The gelatine had to set though, so what better way to start than with dessert? ;)

Then I worked on the entrée, a seafood mousse duo. A scallop mousse was the center, and a shrimp mousse was the surrounding part. Lovely light pink on the exterior, and creamy whiteness in the center. Completely delicious. To serve with that, a baby spinach salad, with a simple homemade vinegrette - made with white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, a neutral oil, pinch of salt, a bit of sugar, some romano cheese and some french shallots. Oh! I forgot... A few raspberries crushed and blended in... mmmmm!

Afterwards, it was on to preparing the main dish. This time we are talking a simple bread stuffing stuffed into the pork loin, which was pan roasted. This was served with a turned beet, some turnips and a fenel salad. Oh, and a nice chive-merlot demi-glace to top it off.

Even with my injury, my plates were on time and delicious. Comments? Good. A little on the bland side, but better that than too seasoned - which was the case for some of the other competitors.

Last night, we had the award ceremony and a celebratory banquet. The awards were anounced for another group of competitors. The culinary arts medals were given to them... an oversight by the presentors... Oops! We all had a good laugh. Especially the other group since they were saying that they don't cook at all! Things got straightned out and then it was on with the presentations for my group, the culinary arts. We were all at a table together and we waited with baited breath. A small speech and then on with the placements... Third place, ME! :D :D :D, Second place, Sebastian Richard from Rogersville NB. First place went to Chrisine Iforgetherlastname from Fredericton NB. From what I understand, it was only decimal points difference between first and third...

The medals and prizes handed out, we had the obligatory pictures for the media and away we went to party the night away! Congratulations to my fellow winners, and to the other competitors. We all worked hard, and we all deserved the recognition. I hope we have a chance to meet again and share a meal together. It's been a pleasure meeting and working with each of you all!

Mmmmm.... Ribs!

We're having ribs tonight. A recipe simple enough to follow.

Ribs
Bbq spice rub
A hit of hot sauce just to give it an extra punch of heat

Throw in a low oven (200F) in the morning. Go to work. Return from work hours later. Throw it on the Bbq for a few minutes to finish with a bit of flame. Add a nice rye maple syrup Bbq sauce and glaze. Serve with extra sauce. Finger licking good. Once your fingers get covered with sauce, be careful NOT eat your fingers! :)

Meme... Visual DNA

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It's the weekend, time for menu planning

A good cook will always have a menu on hand. That is just good time management and kitchen planning. Generally, you won't plan your three course meal for the night you get home at 5pm and have to leave at 6pm to catch a meeting.

Most of us stand in front of the refrigerator and decide each evening what we'll have for supper. Most times, we'll end up giving up and ordering out, or grabbing something from a box. Not the healthiest way to eat. With obesity becoming a bigger and bigger problem, we need to watch what we eat. I believe that the biggest part of the problem is the lack of good menu planning skills.

Certainly exercise is important. Watching what you eat is important. The easiest way to know that you are eating sensibly though is to prepare a menu and generally stick to it. Then eat as planned and get a bit of exercise in every day. I'm sure that if everyone took 30 minutes per week to do this simple task, we would be a healthier and wealthier nation. Oh, yeah! Didn't I tell you? Sticking to a menu and not wasting food is good for the budget too.

Is menu planning a difficult task? Not unless you make it so. Here are some simple guidelines for menu planning.

Material required:

• Have your weekly agenda on hand - just to know which nights have outings, which days have been more demanding, which evenings you get home late from work or school...



• Have a sheet of paper with the days of the week written in the margin with a minimum of 2 lignes between days.



• A good pencil and eraser is handy too.

Up to this point, everything sounds simple enough. Now comes the planning.

1. On each day, write down a meat. I'm not talking "chicken cordon bleu". I'm just talking chicken. For variety, try not to have the same meat or even similar meat two days in a row... ex: chicken/turkey or sole/haddock...



2. On each day, write down a grain. Here we can be more specific. Instead of just saying wheat, we would say pasta. No names though. This is just the basic guideline.



3. On each day, write down at least two vegetables/fruit. Preferrably one will be bright green, and the others have vibrant colours.



4. On each day, write down a dairy product. Milk, cheese, yogurt.

Doing this first step allows you more freedom to switch things around as you are planning your meals.

Keep in mind when doing this to look over your agenda. Do you have a meeting on Tuesday night? Then I wouldn't recommend planning a three course meal with chicken for Tuesday. Actually, I'd likely avoid chicken for Tuesday. I would probably plan a stew so that it could simmer slowly all day while I was at work, or a quick stir-fry - where all the prep work is done the night before.

You may have noticed that we've hit the 4 food groups. This will help us to follow the food guide, and help us to get everything we need in our diet. Now, let's put a little bit more meat on this menu.

Some people don't need to go much further than this. They can see this and create a shopping list and know what they will have for supper every night of the week. Others, they need a bit more substance. They need to know that on Monday, the chicken will be "shaked and baked"(tm) with a side of rice pilaf, spinach, cucumber and tomato, served with a glass of milk. So let's start talking substance.

You know how busy you are. You know if your family is only ever home 2 nights a week, or if you have picky eaters, or even if you have growing teenage boys. You know if you have to watch your salt intake... At this point this is where you plan your menu. I will give you a peek at mine.

1. Monday - Chicken, potato (very starchy vegtable so in this case will likely replace a grain), salad, zucchini, carrots, yogurt - (OUT)



2. Tuesday - Pork, polenta, spinach, celery, tomatoes, cheese - (OUT)



3. Wednesday - Chicken, rice, carrots, cabbage, onions, milk - (OUT)



4. Thursday - Beef, pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, cheese



5. Friday - Fish, potato, string beans, carrots, milk



6. Saturday - Beans, ploye (that's a local pancake), vegetable sticks, yogurt



7. Sunday - Roast, couscous, salad, carrots and brocolli, ice cream

For me this is enough of a guideline to follow. This coming week, I happen to be out of town for 2-3 days due to surgery in the family. This means that someone else needs to cook for the rest of the family. When I get back, the rest of the week will be busy caring for the recovering child. My menu will need to be light and quick to prepare. So let's plan:

1. Oven baked spicy chicken thighs with baked potatoes, salad, sautéed zucchini & carrots. Yogurt for dessert.



2. Pan fried marinated italian pork chops with cheesy polenta & tomato sauce, wilted garlic spinach & braised celery.



3. Oven baked shaked chicken, rice pilaf, coleslaw



4. Green & beefy tomato sauce with pasta. Cheese



5. Fish & chips, sautéed string beans and mashed carrots.



6. Homemade baked beans, ployes, vegetable sticks & yogurt base dip.



7. Roast (on special), couscous salad, chef salad, honey-ginger carrots and garlic brocolli.

From here I pull out my recipes, make sure I have everything that I need, and plan my grocery list. I also plan my cooking week. Since some of this can be made ahead of time, I plan to save myself a bit of a logistical headache and break down my week as such:

• Do days ahead: Polenta, tomato sauce, green and beefy tomato sauce.



• Do night before: Prepare vegetables (dice, slice, cut...) and store in water in the refrigerator to cook tomorrow, wash & dry leafy greens and wrap in paper towel to store in the refrigerator, rince beans, season roast.



• Do morning of: Season chicken, prepare breading mix for chicken, start beans, marinade the pork chops in italian salad dressing.

This way, as a working mom, when I get home at night, too exhausted to look at the refrigerator, I know that supper is ready, or at least nearly so. The work that I have left to do is minimal and I can relax, knowing that we'll have a good and healthy meal.

Admittedly, this takes a bit of time. However, with this 30-45 minutes of work, I've saved myself 3 suppers out, 2 chicken nugget suppers & 1 from a box dinner. I've saved money because I haven't gone out for supper. I've saved money because I don't waste fresh food bought from a guilty "we should be eating fresh vegetables" conscience. I'm eating healthier because I'm eating those seasonal fresh vegetables and reasonable portions.

Hmmm... This could well be the new diet revolution... Menu planning! ;)

Now. What's for lunch?

Bonne fête mémére!

Today is my grand-mother's 86th birthday. Tomorrow is my mother's 5mumbleth. So as many other families do, we went out and celebrated at a local restaurant. The brunch was good, but the company was best. We took some really special pictures.

One of the most important pictures we took was a four generation picture. Here are 4 generations of eldest children. Yup... all girls! :D For at least 6 generations the eldest child of the eldest child has been a girl.

It's that time of year again...

Nighttime lows of between -5C & -10C, daytime highs of about +5C. The snow is melting. The trees are starting come back to life. From the cold and hard winter, we head into spring. From the bareness of the winter table, we start to have hope of the freshness available in spring. The first sign of the upcoming spring in these parts is that beautiful clear liquid that runs in maple trees.

At this point, simple maple water, it is collected and slowly simmered to evaporate the water and concentrate the sugar. Slowly, surely, surreptitiously... in a room full of sweet smelling steam, the lifeblood of our stately maple trees becomes a luscious thick liquid. A light, pristinely clear liquid becomes a deep and ambered liquid. Transformation takes hold of the world. Winter into spring. Seed into plants. Sap into syrup.

There is nothing better in the world than a shot of freshly boiled syrup. Warm and sweet. Fresh and surprisingly intoxicating. Maple syrup has many more uses than just for pancakes.

Added to freshly whipped cream, it makes a great topping to a summer melon salad or even a delectable maple parfait.

Added to egg yolks, you'll easily make a delicious maple crème brulée.

Used in place of honey, we can glaze a nice salmon filet.

Used in place of sugar, we can sweeten a cup of coffee.

Maple puddings, maple sausages, maple taffy... the list goes on.

So let's raise a glass to maple syrup, an exquisite first sign of spring.