Last night's supper

was simple and elegant and delicious... most of all, cheap!

BBQ lemon and jalapeno chicken
Green salad
Rice

Recipe:

BBQ lemon and jalapeno chicken

chicken parts (I deboned and skinned them myself...)
lemon juice
jalapeno jelly
cilantro
garlic
salt and pepper to taste
oil

Mix everything together except the chicken parts to create a marinade. Pour the marinade over the chicken parts in a plastic bag and let rest for 2 hours minimum.

BBQ over a hot bbq. Serve with peppery salad greens (arugula, nasturtium leaves, red lettuce) and rice.

Delicious! ;)

As it happens...

With the recent moves, and the fact that I've been essentially unemployed for the previous six months, and the fact that my rent has nearly tripled, and the fact that my job has me on a summer layoff... I am now penniless. As a single mom, I've been there and done that before. I coped as best I could, and usually managed fairly well. This time, however, I've had to turn to the food bank for help.

I've mentioned it before. Food bank fare can be less than apetizing, or in some cases not paricularly healthy. This time I have to say, I am proud of the donations made by the members of this community.

In my box, I found pasta and pasta sauce. I found canned meats, beans, soups, and crackers and cereal. I found variety of product, not variety of brand name. There was fresh milk, there were fresh eggs. There was even fresh vegetables available... Stuff that the grocery store would throw out was donated to the local food bank, and we could choose amoung lettuce, potatoes, plums, and apples.

I was even asked if there was anything in paricular that I needed. I asked for tomato juice or canned tomatoes and received both! What a blessing!

In these difficult times, where many are struggling to make ends meet, lets remember those that rely regularly on the food bank. Talk to your local grocery stores and restaurants... Maybe they can make fresh donations of produce still good to eat, but not necessarily marketable.

If you need to go to the food bank, know that you are not alone. There are people there from many backgrounds, and with many stories. Most of all, you will find a blessing there.

I know you have all made donations in the past, and I'm positive you will make donations again. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.

Summers here and we moved... twice!

Well summer's here and since I've last posted I got a new job in another town, found an apartement, packed, sent one of my girls to France on a school trip, moved, got sick, called the health departement only to learn that there is a ton of mold in the place, searched for another apartment and moved for a second time in less than three weeks...

I am slowly unpacking the non-essentials, as long as we have clothes, food, and dishes, we are okay. So now I can start exploring my new (old) neighbourhood. New because I've never lived in this neighbourhood before. Old because I've lived in this town before many years ago. I am excited to see so many new restaurants, and ethnic restaurants too! WOW! I'm glad to see many of the old places are still there too. That means my chosen industry is doing well here... I do beleive I have come home...

What makes this place, well, next to heaven? The farmer's market that is half a block away. We can roll out of bed early Saturday morning, get dressed, walk over and buy a danish to eat while we peruse through the other stalls. Local meat, thick cut bacon, fresh farm eggs (which I'll have to get the kids used to...) And fresh vegetables grown within a few kilometers from town. I bought a bag of mixed salad last week, we ate from it over the week, and had the last serving on Friday. Bagged salad from the grocery store wouldn't last so long! Specialty dishes like samosas, and fresh kettle popped popcorn (what a show that is!!!) And fresh baked goods... Local artists selling there wares... Talking with the producers of the product about there goods, sharing recipes and ideas... This has to be a simple taste of heaven. I think I'm going to like it here!

Not strictly food related...

...but funny anyway.

My adolescent, angry about having been 'pestered' by her younger sisters at supper time, declares forcefully an hour before bedtime:

'I'm going to bed! And it's not my decision!'

Cooking like a peasant and eating like a Queen

This is such a simple soup, and with just a few special ingredients it is transformed into high class fair. It has a very fancy name of course, Pottage Soissonais, what it really is though is a white bean soup.

Pottage Soissonais
(serves 12 as a soup course, 6 as a meal)

3 cups white navy beans
18 cups liquid, seperated in 6 cup water, 6 cup water, and 6 cup strong broth measures
3 cups mirepoix (mix of onions, carrots and celery, ratio of 2:1:1)
1 tbsp dry thyme, rubbed
1 tbsp dry oregano, rubbed
2 bay leaves
2 whole garlic cloves

*Where possible, use freshest ingredients possible, but dry ingredients work well in winter.

Clean and soak the beans in the first 6 cups of water as directed on the package.

Once the beans have been soaked, pre-cook the beans in the second 6 cups of water with the remaining ingredients, until the beans are soft. Add more water if necessary.

Once the beans are cooked and most of the water absorbed, add the broth. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. Once the soup is prepared, remove the bay leaves and blend thouroughly with a hand blender, or in batches in a regular blender.

Now here are the 2 optional ingredients that take this regular soup from everyday fair to wow.

1/4 tsp pesto
a few drops of cream

Once you serve the soup into bowls, gently drop the pesto in the center, and drop an odd number of cream around the pesto. Take a sharp knife or a toothpick and drag it through the drops of cream to create little hearts. With only 3, 5, or even 7 drops of cream per bowl, this is a very healthy and luxuriously delicious soup. Once served at the table, stir the hot soup and enjoy.

Food, food and more food!

During the holidays I had so much food! Each bite was delicious and much appreciated if I do say so myself. Between the "Six-pâte", the tourtières, the turkey, the dressing, the potatoes, the homemade preserves, the peanut-butter fudge, the "sucre à la crème", the vegetables, the salads and so much... so much more!

Certainly, spending time with family was the most special time of the holidays. Not only do we get to share food, we get to share stories and love and time together. And the gifts don't hurt either. ;)

As you can surely appreciate, it's taking me a bit of time to get back on track. Slowly I'm getting there. I hope you had Christmas this season, and I wish you all a blessed new year.

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.