The parties are over, and my recovery is mostly complete. I confess to spending last week and weekend cooking as little as possible, and sleeping as much as possible, to catch up as much as I can from three weeks of visitors, parties, and camping trips, all while suffering from a nasty summer cold which has made its rounds on the entire family. My kids are still coughing and sniffling. I thought I'd share my recipes and experiences from three very different, but all wonderful, summer events.
Party #1: Food Writers' Get-Together
I invited some local food writers, with whom I had taken a food writing workshop last year, to a get-together, which will hopefully become a regular occurrence. It's great fun to hang out with fellow foodie/wino peers and indulge in food talk and a bit of wine snobbery. Especially with this gang, who is particularly down-to-earth.
The party theme (I always have to have a theme) was 'matching your favourite wine to food/favourite food to wine' depending on your priorities. Since one of the attendees is a wine writer, his focus was obviously on the wine side.
The day was HOT and it had been hot for days prior. I ran in to said wine writer at the grocery store that day, and he said, "all I'm bringing is salsa and some chips. And wine, of course. It's too hot to eat!" The unmentioned fact is that it is not too hot to drink wine.
I had a few simple items planned, including fresh, homemade goat cheese on baguette, topped with radish leaf pesto (my new favourite recipe for turning garden waste into deliciousness—thanks, Chocolate and Zucchini!). I also prepared another canapé topped with homemade chorizo sausage mixed with butter beans and basil, topped with yogurt, a recipe from Cook, Eat, Smile.
The other writers showed up with homemade deer sausage (delicious!) and a couple of homemade salsas. The wine writer showed up with a CASE of vinho verde and Lambrusco (for any true wine snobs out there, you'll laugh, since Lambrusco does not have a very respectable reputation), his recommendations for light, refreshing summer drinks. He was right. It was delicious, and went GREAT with sausage! We had a great time until the wine writer got too enthusiastic about playing with my kids and wiped out on the carpet while giving 50lb. D a piggy back ride. The party ended on that note, with a grown-up with a bloody nose (D was fine) and the rest of us shaking our heads and wondering how it had gotten to that point. Perhaps foolishly, we are already talking about the next event.
Party #2: Blessingway BBQ for 25
My sister-in-law is due to have her first baby on G's birthday in August. She asked if I would host her "Blessingway," a sort-of baby shower that has many spiritual aspects to it, and is intended to surround the mother with loving women and prepare her for childbirth and motherhood. It was a beautiful ceremony, and was followed by a bbq that included husbands and kids, as well as all the women that had attended the ceremony.
From the food perspective, I needed to prepare a meal that could mostly be made ahead of time, so that I wouldn't be distracted during the ceremony, and which could be set out the second we were done to accommodate the hungry kids coming back from the park. My menu worked perfectly, except for the fact that I second-guessed myself on food quantities late the night before, and had to pull out another package of meat from the freezer to make myself feel better. The quantities were just right before I pulled out that package, so we ended up with a few leftovers, but nothing too unreasonable. It was a good lesson in trusting my instincts. I truly have cooked enough to know the right amounts for 25 people. But I still live in terror of running out of food.
The menu, taken mostly from recipes on the internet, with an Asian theme, and nothing too spicy, as my sister-in-law's baby-infused tastebuds are very sensitive to things like onion and raw garlic:
Raw vegetables with Asian-inspired Dip (made ahead)
Szechuan Noodles and Shredded Vegetables (designed to be made the night before)
Cold Chinese Rice Salad (cooked the day before and mixed that morning)
Grilled chicken, beef, moose and elk skewers, with various Asian marinades (marinated over night, skewered early in the afternoon)
Grilled baby bok choy with Asian marinade (my new favourite from a couple weeks ago)
Thai Iced Tea (using red tea from Thailand that my brother and sister-in-law brought back with them a few years ago)
Coconut milk and honey frozen pops (made the night before)
It all came together with a minimum of stress. A very satisfying experience!
Interlude: Ukrainian Braided Wedding Bread
Oh yes, and besides the parties, I was also trying to work out how to appropriately honour my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary (65 years is a big deal!). I considered making 65 bread doves, which my grandma has made many times as table decorations for her grandchildren's weddings. My mom got the recipe and instructions from her, at which point I realized that I did not have time, nor enough sanity, in the three days remaining before their anniversary, to make them, 20 at a time, dry them in the oven overnight, then glaze them and paint eyes on them.
I opted instead to make them my version of a traditional Ukrainian wedding bread, which my grandma had made for our wedding. It had probably been 65 years since someone had done it for her, so it was time for a redux. I found a recipe on King Arthur Flour's website. The dough was wonderful to work with, and the resulting loaf, while a tiny bit lopsided (I made it in an 8" pan instead of a 9" pan, and used some of the extra dough to make doves for decoration, and then had some left over, which I added to the centre of the loaf, and it turned out to be too big for the pan) was still not bad for a first try. My dad took a picture, which I will try to scam from him to post here.
My granddaughterly duty done, I could then return to meal planning for the next big summer event.
Party #3: Wyld Womyn's Trail Ride Supper Duty
The weekend after the Blessingway was our annual wyld womyn's trail ride. My mom and I are usually in charge of suppers. We usually cook over the fire, or outside in some fashion. I wanted to try something a bit different this year, so I pitched the idea of making southern fried chicken in the turkey fryer. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, and this seemed like a good opportunity, especially because my dad has the fryer basket required to make the job easier, a piece of equipment I have yet to purchase.
Night #1:
Lynn Crawford's Southern Fried Chicken (this calls for a bbq spice rub as part of the spicing. I used this recipe)
Mom's homemade potato salad and coleslaw
Fresh fruit (eventually...first, we went for a ride to burn off the chicken)
I can happily report that the effort of marinating, breading and frying chicken, while messy and a bit hot when done outdoors in 30-degree temperatures, is well worth it. The results were fantastic. I am now hunting in earnest for a basket for my own fryer, so I can do it again at home.
Night #2:
Greek Night!
Beef souvlaki kebabs, cooked over the fire
Lemon rice (we cheated for this and plugged in a rice cooker in our camper, which was hooked up to power)
Greek salad
Baklava (from the RecipeSource website, an amazing resource for all kinds of ethnic dishes. Check it out when you have a chance!)
Our beef was a little tough, in spite of marinating overnight, but everyone still raved about the food. The baklava was especially popular. I forgot that I had also picked up some Lebanese candied fruits from a new shop in Saskatoon, and we never even got around to eating them.
Night #3 is the night when husbands, kids, friends and other family is invited, and we have a big wiener roast. Great fun for everyone.
So after the past few weeks, while I enjoyed every minute of it while it was happening, you might be able to imagine why I laid low this past week, cooking minimally. We still ate well though, thanks to some thawed pizza dough that covered us for two meals. More on that in an upcoming post!
Showing posts with label Kitchen Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kitchen Stuff. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Must-Have (For Me) Summer Cooking Tools
On sweltering hot days when my poor, ancient air-conditioner can't keep up, and my husband is hounding me to close the blinds, curtains and windows to keep the sun and hot air out, it pains me a little to fire up my gas range. I usually adore it, but in the middle of summer, it becomes uncomfortably obvious how much heat the thing gives off.
Bring on the BBQ (and by BBQ, I mean the Canadian version, not the BBQ of the deep south, nor whatever Australians consider BBQ. I only know that my version and the Australian version differ somehow). My gas grill has to have a burner on the side on which I can steam veggies, cook beans from scratch, or fry fish in the relative comfort of the outdoors, thus preventing my house from overheating any more than it already is.
I've also discovered a new way to use the gas grill as an oven, without burning the things I am trying to roast: my Lodge Logic Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle is heavy enough to handle the heat and makes perfect roasted vegetables every time. Halved new baby potatoes are my family's new favourite thing, and with the griddle on the back half of the BBQ, I still have room to grill burgers and steaks up front, or even do a roast on indirect heat by leaving one of the burners off.
Today I made another version of chickpea and carrot soup from scratch, even with the humidex up high, thanks to the side burner that simmered the beans all morning. Coming up: grilled pizzas to use up ingredients that went into bush pies and Denver sandwiches during our long weekend camping adventure. Soup and pizza, without turning on the range or the oven. My kind of summer cooking.
Bring on the BBQ (and by BBQ, I mean the Canadian version, not the BBQ of the deep south, nor whatever Australians consider BBQ. I only know that my version and the Australian version differ somehow). My gas grill has to have a burner on the side on which I can steam veggies, cook beans from scratch, or fry fish in the relative comfort of the outdoors, thus preventing my house from overheating any more than it already is.
I've also discovered a new way to use the gas grill as an oven, without burning the things I am trying to roast: my Lodge Logic Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle is heavy enough to handle the heat and makes perfect roasted vegetables every time. Halved new baby potatoes are my family's new favourite thing, and with the griddle on the back half of the BBQ, I still have room to grill burgers and steaks up front, or even do a roast on indirect heat by leaving one of the burners off.
Today I made another version of chickpea and carrot soup from scratch, even with the humidex up high, thanks to the side burner that simmered the beans all morning. Coming up: grilled pizzas to use up ingredients that went into bush pies and Denver sandwiches during our long weekend camping adventure. Soup and pizza, without turning on the range or the oven. My kind of summer cooking.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Leftover Series #2: One Pot of Porridge Makes Three Delicous Breakfasts
Sometimes what seems to be a problem or limitation is actually an amazing opportunity. Case in point last week when I discovered right at breakfast time that we were out of bread, rendering our usual breakfast of toast an impossibility.
Oatmeal porridge is also welcome at our breakfast table, so it wasn't that much of a hardship. D asked for raisins and apples in his oatmeal, so I obliged. Porridge isn't my favourite thing, but I have worked out a cooking method for oatmeal which is slightly unorthodox, but which I like. I add three cups of cold water to 1 cup of slow cook oats, bring it to a boil, and simmer until it thickens, about fifteen minutes. This creates a smooth, creamy texture, which I prefer to the more grainy approach of adding your oats to a smaller volume of boiling water (the recommended water to oat ratio in most cookbooks is 2:1). Critics of my approach might say the resulting oatmeal is too gooey, but I won't apologize, because that's the way I like it, and my kids like it too. (Delicious Breakfast Number One)
Anyway, I ended up with about a cup and a half of leftover oatmeal, and I was loathe to toss it. I've been trying my hand at bread-making lately, and so did an internet search for leftover oatmeal bread. Alton Brown didn't let me down! I made some adjustments to his recipe, however, using butter instead of oil and honey instead of agave syrup. I love learning the science behind bread-making—as long as I have some kind of fat and some kind of sugar, it will turn out just fine!
I was also appreciating having my handy-dandy Salter kitchen scale, which makes measuring by weight for baking super easy. I use it all the time.
Anyway, the bread turned out beautifully, and we enjoyed it simply sliced and buttered, alongside some fresh fruit, the next morning for breakfast. (Delicious Breakfast Number Two)
The next morning, with the bread a little over a day old, we opted for French toast. Another kid favourite! I sliced up some of my dad's home-cured bacon to go along with it. Breakfast was very quiet that morning, with my kids each inhaling an entire slice of French toast. The oatmeal bread, which was very light and fluffy, took on a creamy texture when dipped in the egg mixture and cooked on the griddle. The slight sweetness from the apples and raisins (which were ground into nothing during the dough mixing process, but added a nice aroma and touch of sweet to the bread) reminded me of a cruller doughnut. But not quite as unhealthy. (Delicious Breakfast Number Three)
My Preferred French Toast Batter
3 eggs, beaten until frothy
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
3 T. raw sugar
Mix all ingredients together and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Dip bread slices in the mixture, and cook slowly on a hot, buttered griddle until browned on each side.
So, one pot of porridge, one loaf of bread, three delicious breakfasts, and, most satisfying for me, no waste!
Oatmeal porridge is also welcome at our breakfast table, so it wasn't that much of a hardship. D asked for raisins and apples in his oatmeal, so I obliged. Porridge isn't my favourite thing, but I have worked out a cooking method for oatmeal which is slightly unorthodox, but which I like. I add three cups of cold water to 1 cup of slow cook oats, bring it to a boil, and simmer until it thickens, about fifteen minutes. This creates a smooth, creamy texture, which I prefer to the more grainy approach of adding your oats to a smaller volume of boiling water (the recommended water to oat ratio in most cookbooks is 2:1). Critics of my approach might say the resulting oatmeal is too gooey, but I won't apologize, because that's the way I like it, and my kids like it too. (Delicious Breakfast Number One)
Anyway, I ended up with about a cup and a half of leftover oatmeal, and I was loathe to toss it. I've been trying my hand at bread-making lately, and so did an internet search for leftover oatmeal bread. Alton Brown didn't let me down! I made some adjustments to his recipe, however, using butter instead of oil and honey instead of agave syrup. I love learning the science behind bread-making—as long as I have some kind of fat and some kind of sugar, it will turn out just fine!
I was also appreciating having my handy-dandy Salter kitchen scale, which makes measuring by weight for baking super easy. I use it all the time.
Anyway, the bread turned out beautifully, and we enjoyed it simply sliced and buttered, alongside some fresh fruit, the next morning for breakfast. (Delicious Breakfast Number Two)
The next morning, with the bread a little over a day old, we opted for French toast. Another kid favourite! I sliced up some of my dad's home-cured bacon to go along with it. Breakfast was very quiet that morning, with my kids each inhaling an entire slice of French toast. The oatmeal bread, which was very light and fluffy, took on a creamy texture when dipped in the egg mixture and cooked on the griddle. The slight sweetness from the apples and raisins (which were ground into nothing during the dough mixing process, but added a nice aroma and touch of sweet to the bread) reminded me of a cruller doughnut. But not quite as unhealthy. (Delicious Breakfast Number Three)
My Preferred French Toast Batter
3 eggs, beaten until frothy
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
3 T. raw sugar
Mix all ingredients together and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Dip bread slices in the mixture, and cook slowly on a hot, buttered griddle until browned on each side.
So, one pot of porridge, one loaf of bread, three delicious breakfasts, and, most satisfying for me, no waste!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
We rang in the New Year in style, with eight parents and seven kids under the age of 5, and I counted myself lucky to have friends who love food and cooking as much as I do. I'm sorry to have posted this selection for New Years' noshing the day after, but I didn't know what my friends were bringing. I guess I did provide you with my menu a day in advance...
Besides all the food that I prepared, we also got to enjoy:
• Caesar salad devilled eggs (YUM!)
• French onion soup stuffed mushrooms (from www.pioneerwoman.com) (EXTRA YUM!)
• Crudites with Miso dip
• Roasted pepper and eggplant dip
• Assorted cheeses
• Hummous and pita
• Homemade chocolate cake (thanks to my hubbie!)
• Assorted Xmas baking and chocolates
• Butter tarts
We had one couple pull out at the last minute, and I think we would have had just about the right amount of food had they come. As it stood, there were a few left over finger foods, and far too much sweet stuff, in spite of the kids' best efforts to eat as much as they could. At the end of the evening, one little three-year-old said, "Mom, I'm still hungry." She said, "What would you like to eat?" He answered, "Hmm, I don't know. Something covered in chocolate?" He had himself a second slice of birthday cake.
Last night I had declared that I would take today "off" and not cook anything. We were planning to go to a New Years' Day open house and I had enough crackers, goat ricotta dip and beet tartare left over from the night before that even if I didn't cook anything else, I wouldn't show up empty handed.
But our plans were foiled by kids once again when Baby G woke up this morning, throwing up. We had an enforced day of rest, mostly sitting under Baby G while he slept. But that meant I had to think up something for dinner time.
I had some leftover empanada filling, and I had saved some whey from my cheese-making efforts because I hate to waste it, and I had read that you can use it in bread dough. So I made whole wheat buns, stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella. They were popular with everyone, including Baby G, who by 6:00 had rallied and ate several bites of a bun and sipped some of the goat's milk.
I am so very grateful for all my friends and family, for their love and generosity, and for the beautiful food they bring to my life. Some examples:
• Last night I found myself mentioning my mom again and again: I used her pastry dough in the butter tarts, she made the gingerbread men that the kids went crazy for, and my go-to birthday cake recipe is her Devil's food chocolate cake. We felt (and tasted) her presence very strongly last night.
• My mom's cousin very generously off-loaded dozens of litres of frozen goat's milk (and she says there is more where that came from), which all my boys drink (in fact, D refers to goat's milk as "boy milk" because only I drink cow's milk in our house. So that is "girl milk"), and which makes up a substantial portion of our grocery bills. The kids (and hubby) love it, and it tastes so fresh that I might even be convinced to start drinking it. It will also provide us cheese and possibly yogurt (more on that after tomorrow) for the next few months.
• My in-laws gifted me with Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal, a cookbook that I am madly in love with (and recently had to return it to the library), as well as a gift certificate to Souleio Foods. There are so many potential (and delicious) ways to spend it!
• Another good friend gifted me with Cook, Eat, Smile, a lovely seasonal cookbook
• "Santa" brought me a cast-iron frying pan, a cut glass beverage dispenser, a beautiful porcelain serving platter and bowl set, and a Le Creuset kettle.
• my neighbour brought us Cat's Claw bush honey from Arizona and some homemade rhubarb chutney.
• my freezer is full of beef, pork, and northern freshwater fish, gifted by my dad, as well as one and a half farm chickens from my mom's cousin and my mother in law.
• another good friend sold me gorgeous lamb for cost, and also brought another pint of honey from bees on her family's land.
• my birthday gift from my husband was a light garden, so I can start growing herbs and microgreens indoors during the cold months! I was so delighted to get dirt under my fingernails, even in winter, when I filled the pots with soil today!
My cup floweth over. And I am thankful.
Besides all the food that I prepared, we also got to enjoy:
• Caesar salad devilled eggs (YUM!)
• French onion soup stuffed mushrooms (from www.pioneerwoman.com) (EXTRA YUM!)
• Crudites with Miso dip
• Roasted pepper and eggplant dip
• Assorted cheeses
• Hummous and pita
• Homemade chocolate cake (thanks to my hubbie!)
• Assorted Xmas baking and chocolates
• Butter tarts
We had one couple pull out at the last minute, and I think we would have had just about the right amount of food had they come. As it stood, there were a few left over finger foods, and far too much sweet stuff, in spite of the kids' best efforts to eat as much as they could. At the end of the evening, one little three-year-old said, "Mom, I'm still hungry." She said, "What would you like to eat?" He answered, "Hmm, I don't know. Something covered in chocolate?" He had himself a second slice of birthday cake.
Last night I had declared that I would take today "off" and not cook anything. We were planning to go to a New Years' Day open house and I had enough crackers, goat ricotta dip and beet tartare left over from the night before that even if I didn't cook anything else, I wouldn't show up empty handed.
But our plans were foiled by kids once again when Baby G woke up this morning, throwing up. We had an enforced day of rest, mostly sitting under Baby G while he slept. But that meant I had to think up something for dinner time.
I had some leftover empanada filling, and I had saved some whey from my cheese-making efforts because I hate to waste it, and I had read that you can use it in bread dough. So I made whole wheat buns, stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella. They were popular with everyone, including Baby G, who by 6:00 had rallied and ate several bites of a bun and sipped some of the goat's milk.
I am so very grateful for all my friends and family, for their love and generosity, and for the beautiful food they bring to my life. Some examples:
• Last night I found myself mentioning my mom again and again: I used her pastry dough in the butter tarts, she made the gingerbread men that the kids went crazy for, and my go-to birthday cake recipe is her Devil's food chocolate cake. We felt (and tasted) her presence very strongly last night.
• My mom's cousin very generously off-loaded dozens of litres of frozen goat's milk (and she says there is more where that came from), which all my boys drink (in fact, D refers to goat's milk as "boy milk" because only I drink cow's milk in our house. So that is "girl milk"), and which makes up a substantial portion of our grocery bills. The kids (and hubby) love it, and it tastes so fresh that I might even be convinced to start drinking it. It will also provide us cheese and possibly yogurt (more on that after tomorrow) for the next few months.
• My in-laws gifted me with Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal, a cookbook that I am madly in love with (and recently had to return it to the library), as well as a gift certificate to Souleio Foods. There are so many potential (and delicious) ways to spend it!
• Another good friend gifted me with Cook, Eat, Smile, a lovely seasonal cookbook
• "Santa" brought me a cast-iron frying pan, a cut glass beverage dispenser, a beautiful porcelain serving platter and bowl set, and a Le Creuset kettle.
• my neighbour brought us Cat's Claw bush honey from Arizona and some homemade rhubarb chutney.
• my freezer is full of beef, pork, and northern freshwater fish, gifted by my dad, as well as one and a half farm chickens from my mom's cousin and my mother in law.
• another good friend sold me gorgeous lamb for cost, and also brought another pint of honey from bees on her family's land.
• my birthday gift from my husband was a light garden, so I can start growing herbs and microgreens indoors during the cold months! I was so delighted to get dirt under my fingernails, even in winter, when I filled the pots with soil today!
My cup floweth over. And I am thankful.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Nuts: I Am What I Eat
I have been neglecting my blog posts while I scramble for sleep as Baby G cuts his last one-year molar, while also trying to coordinate plans for Christmas baking and gifting. I also picked up a catering gig for the 17th of December, which I'm looking forward to, but which also requires quite intensive planning in order to pull it off without a hitch. Hence, more thinking and list-making is going on, rather than blogging.
My meal plan was created on the fly this week, hence it wasn't much of a plan. I do have a couple of recipes to share though, which have nuts in common. As long as your children don't have nut allergies, and are past the risk of choking, nuts are an excellent, energy-dense, healthy fat-filled, and filling addition to a meal. The nuts were the most popular part of these two vegetarian meals this week:
Pineapple Tofu with Cashews, from Canadian Living
Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Green Olives and Almonds
The Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Green Olives and Almonds is a particular favourite of my husband and me, served with whole grain spaghetti. It is one of the few olive oil-based sauces that I find completely satisfying. Added Parmesan helps, too.
I will post again soon with the developments of both my catering gig and Christmas baking plans. First steps are in place—I purchased the Lee Valley Gingerbread Mold and gingerbread decorating ingredients today. I can't resist anything for the kitchen made from cast iron! Excited to use it.
My meal plan was created on the fly this week, hence it wasn't much of a plan. I do have a couple of recipes to share though, which have nuts in common. As long as your children don't have nut allergies, and are past the risk of choking, nuts are an excellent, energy-dense, healthy fat-filled, and filling addition to a meal. The nuts were the most popular part of these two vegetarian meals this week:
Pineapple Tofu with Cashews, from Canadian Living
Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Green Olives and Almonds
The Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Green Olives and Almonds is a particular favourite of my husband and me, served with whole grain spaghetti. It is one of the few olive oil-based sauces that I find completely satisfying. Added Parmesan helps, too.
I will post again soon with the developments of both my catering gig and Christmas baking plans. First steps are in place—I purchased the Lee Valley Gingerbread Mold and gingerbread decorating ingredients today. I can't resist anything for the kitchen made from cast iron! Excited to use it.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Pear Rescue
I set myself up for this. I know I did. A year or so ago, I purchased a pyramid-shaped fruit holder, thinking that I liked the idea of decorating with fruit, it would be cool in my newly renovated kitchen, and D would love to unpack the fruit onto the stand. All of this proved to be true, but I did not predict the regularity with which I discovered all my lovely fruit to have single bites taken out of every single piece. It's inevitable when the fruit is out on the counter, just begging to be tampered with.
I hadn't used the holder for a while because I had been discouraged by D's aforementioned treatment of the fruit (taking bites out of all of them and putting them back). But it had been a while, and I had some pears that needed ripening, so I plunked them on the holder, and promptly forgot about them.
Enter not-so-baby G, who has learned by observing his brother that moving chairs to the counters and climbing on them opens up a whole new world of opportunity. By the time I started paying attention, all the pears had been removed from the holder, one dropped, two revealed that they had started to rot, and the rest of them had single bites taken out of them.
I wondered out loud about the two that had started to turn. D piped up, "That's probably because I dropped them and they bruised." Ah, thanks for the info.
I suddenly had a lot of pears that needed peeling and turned into something, with little time to do it. I decided to poach them (a fancy name for stewing, really), using apple juice and adding some of the cranberries (in the freezer) left over from Thanksgiving. The results made a refreshing dessert!
Cranapple Poached Pears
1 child's juice box of 100% unsweetened apple juice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (you could use dried cranberries as well)
4 or 5 pears, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 whole clove
Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Don't worry if the pears aren't covered by liquid. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the pears are soft and the cranberries have burst. Sweeten with honey or a bit of sugar if desired. I didn't sweeten it at all, and while it was a bit tart, we all still enjoyed the flavour.
I hadn't used the holder for a while because I had been discouraged by D's aforementioned treatment of the fruit (taking bites out of all of them and putting them back). But it had been a while, and I had some pears that needed ripening, so I plunked them on the holder, and promptly forgot about them.
Enter not-so-baby G, who has learned by observing his brother that moving chairs to the counters and climbing on them opens up a whole new world of opportunity. By the time I started paying attention, all the pears had been removed from the holder, one dropped, two revealed that they had started to rot, and the rest of them had single bites taken out of them.
I wondered out loud about the two that had started to turn. D piped up, "That's probably because I dropped them and they bruised." Ah, thanks for the info.
I suddenly had a lot of pears that needed peeling and turned into something, with little time to do it. I decided to poach them (a fancy name for stewing, really), using apple juice and adding some of the cranberries (in the freezer) left over from Thanksgiving. The results made a refreshing dessert!
Cranapple Poached Pears
1 child's juice box of 100% unsweetened apple juice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (you could use dried cranberries as well)
4 or 5 pears, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 whole clove
Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Don't worry if the pears aren't covered by liquid. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the pears are soft and the cranberries have burst. Sweeten with honey or a bit of sugar if desired. I didn't sweeten it at all, and while it was a bit tart, we all still enjoyed the flavour.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
One Chicken, Three Great Meals
I see many benefits to buying local, happy chickens and storing them in my freezer. This week I realized how easy it is to stretch one of those largish birds (just under 6lbs.) into three weeknight meals. I'm usually not one for economizing when it comes to food, but this week I was quite pleased with the idea of using one bird three different ways.
I already mentioned the first meal: Mark Bittman's Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken, which I made by chopping up one leg, thigh and partial breast of my still mostly-frozen chicken. I saved the bones for later.
Next came another Bittman recipe, Anise-scented Poached Chicken with Squash which I shared in an earlier blog, except this time I had a kabocha squash, so I used that. I made the white-cut chicken dipping sauce to go with it, and served it with the poaching broth over soba noodles, and it was a hit with everyone.
The last day, we were down to a pretty pared-down chicken carcass, but it was enough to make into a broth, and save the meat for stew. I used the left over poaching liquid from the day before, and made a standard chicken stock:
Chicken pieces/back/neck/giblets
1 coarsely chopped onion
1 coarsely chopped carrot
1 coarsely chopped celery stalk
bay leaf
a few sprigs of fresh marjoram, thyme and parsley (still growing in my garden!)
Cover with water (in this case, I used yesterday's poaching liquid as part of the water I added) and bring to a boil. Lower heat, skim off foam and let simmer gently for two hours.
Strain solids and remove all the pieces containing meat and let them cool.
Then make the stew (inspired by the chicken stew in Quinoa 365)
1 T. chicken fat (skimmed from the stock)
1 c. diced carrots
1 c. diced celery
1 diced onion
1 t. minced fresh garlic
2 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. diced potato
1 c. diced kabocha squash
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill
chopped cooked chicken meat (removed from bones of chicken used to make stock) and giblets
1 c. diced sweet pepper
1/2 c. quinoa flour
1 c. cold chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the fat and cook the carrots, celery, onion and garlic for about 8 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Stir in chicken stock, potatoes, squash, bay leaf and dill. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until potato and squash are tender. Add chicken and sweet pepper. Remove the bay leaf.
Whisk flour and stock together in a small bowl. Add mixture to saucepan and cook until the stew thickens (a couple of minutes). Season and serve.
I served this with another batch of fresh oat rolls from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook. I'm on a roll (no pun intended, well okay, maybe it was) with baking buns. Easy peasy with the Kitchenaid Mixer!
I have to say that I am entirely sold on using quinoa flour in place of wheat flour for thickening soups and stews. The stew is actually noticeably more filling, I think due to the additional protein hit from the quinoa, and it thickens in a way that seems much less 'glue-like' than flour. And the flavour was excellent.
So there you have it. Three dinners for a family of four (although the kids aren't fully grown) out of one chicken.
I already mentioned the first meal: Mark Bittman's Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken, which I made by chopping up one leg, thigh and partial breast of my still mostly-frozen chicken. I saved the bones for later.
Next came another Bittman recipe, Anise-scented Poached Chicken with Squash which I shared in an earlier blog, except this time I had a kabocha squash, so I used that. I made the white-cut chicken dipping sauce to go with it, and served it with the poaching broth over soba noodles, and it was a hit with everyone.
The last day, we were down to a pretty pared-down chicken carcass, but it was enough to make into a broth, and save the meat for stew. I used the left over poaching liquid from the day before, and made a standard chicken stock:
Chicken pieces/back/neck/giblets
1 coarsely chopped onion
1 coarsely chopped carrot
1 coarsely chopped celery stalk
bay leaf
a few sprigs of fresh marjoram, thyme and parsley (still growing in my garden!)
Cover with water (in this case, I used yesterday's poaching liquid as part of the water I added) and bring to a boil. Lower heat, skim off foam and let simmer gently for two hours.
Strain solids and remove all the pieces containing meat and let them cool.
Then make the stew (inspired by the chicken stew in Quinoa 365)
1 T. chicken fat (skimmed from the stock)
1 c. diced carrots
1 c. diced celery
1 diced onion
1 t. minced fresh garlic
2 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. diced potato
1 c. diced kabocha squash
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill
chopped cooked chicken meat (removed from bones of chicken used to make stock) and giblets
1 c. diced sweet pepper
1/2 c. quinoa flour
1 c. cold chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the fat and cook the carrots, celery, onion and garlic for about 8 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Stir in chicken stock, potatoes, squash, bay leaf and dill. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until potato and squash are tender. Add chicken and sweet pepper. Remove the bay leaf.
Whisk flour and stock together in a small bowl. Add mixture to saucepan and cook until the stew thickens (a couple of minutes). Season and serve.
I served this with another batch of fresh oat rolls from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook. I'm on a roll (no pun intended, well okay, maybe it was) with baking buns. Easy peasy with the Kitchenaid Mixer!
I have to say that I am entirely sold on using quinoa flour in place of wheat flour for thickening soups and stews. The stew is actually noticeably more filling, I think due to the additional protein hit from the quinoa, and it thickens in a way that seems much less 'glue-like' than flour. And the flavour was excellent.
So there you have it. Three dinners for a family of four (although the kids aren't fully grown) out of one chicken.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Two (surprisingly) Kid-Popular Meals
Sometimes my kids surprise me. The last two nights, I have made meals that I worried would be rejected outright. Not so! Here is proof that if you push the envelope occasionally, you may be surprised with your kids' responses.
Sausages with Black Grapes
Farfalle cooked al dente with herbs de Provence heated in butter
Steamed peas and carrots
Cucumbers (last out of the garden)
While Baby G wasn't at his best (cold and teething) and didn't eat overmuch, D had three servings of the pasta and carrots, as well as having seconds of the sausage. I'm not sure he touched the onion/grape sauce on the sausages, but I certainly enjoyed it, and it didn't seem to slow him down as far as eating the sausage was concerned. I was pleasantly surprised by the farfalle—herbs de Provence contain thyme, basil, savory, fennel seeds and lavender—and they were just right as an accompaniment to the sweet Italian sausages. Coincidence? D slept through the night and actually slept in a bit this morning. Maybe because he didn't wake up hungry?
Tonight, I was sure that I was taking a big risk serving a curry:
Mark Bittman's Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken
Whole wheat chapatis
Yogurt, more sliced cucumbers, and rhubarb chutney (a gift from a friend)
I was concerned the recipe was a bust, because it seems overly fussy for what it is (cook the chicken, then add the ginger and onions, then remove the chicken from the pan, then add the chickpeas and curry powder, fry THEM, then remove them, then cook the cauliflower in the same pan in the coconut milk, then add everything back in...made me wonder why I couldn't just simmer it all together for a more harmonious and tender result. I sort of did that at the end), and the spices blackened quite dramatically in the hot pan between additions. The final results looked kind of rustic, with dark bits in the sauce, but it didn't taste bitter at all. And Baby G went to town on those chickpeas, in spite of the curry powder (I did skip the chili in order to make sure it didn't get too spicy for the kids). D called the chapatis 'tortillas' and filled up primarily on them, but also the cucumbers, and tasted some of the stew. Both kids also sampled the chutney, to mixed reviews. The best part was that my husband and I got to enjoy a version of curry (we love it, but don't get to have it often because of the kids' sensitive palates) and the kids were satisfied, too! In spite of my misgivings, I would do it again. Chapatis were very easy to make with the hlep of my Kitchenaid Food Processor and Lodge Cast Iron Griddle. There are many more flatbreads in my future.
Sausages with Black Grapes
Farfalle cooked al dente with herbs de Provence heated in butter
Steamed peas and carrots
Cucumbers (last out of the garden)
While Baby G wasn't at his best (cold and teething) and didn't eat overmuch, D had three servings of the pasta and carrots, as well as having seconds of the sausage. I'm not sure he touched the onion/grape sauce on the sausages, but I certainly enjoyed it, and it didn't seem to slow him down as far as eating the sausage was concerned. I was pleasantly surprised by the farfalle—herbs de Provence contain thyme, basil, savory, fennel seeds and lavender—and they were just right as an accompaniment to the sweet Italian sausages. Coincidence? D slept through the night and actually slept in a bit this morning. Maybe because he didn't wake up hungry?
Tonight, I was sure that I was taking a big risk serving a curry:
Mark Bittman's Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken
Whole wheat chapatis
Yogurt, more sliced cucumbers, and rhubarb chutney (a gift from a friend)
I was concerned the recipe was a bust, because it seems overly fussy for what it is (cook the chicken, then add the ginger and onions, then remove the chicken from the pan, then add the chickpeas and curry powder, fry THEM, then remove them, then cook the cauliflower in the same pan in the coconut milk, then add everything back in...made me wonder why I couldn't just simmer it all together for a more harmonious and tender result. I sort of did that at the end), and the spices blackened quite dramatically in the hot pan between additions. The final results looked kind of rustic, with dark bits in the sauce, but it didn't taste bitter at all. And Baby G went to town on those chickpeas, in spite of the curry powder (I did skip the chili in order to make sure it didn't get too spicy for the kids). D called the chapatis 'tortillas' and filled up primarily on them, but also the cucumbers, and tasted some of the stew. Both kids also sampled the chutney, to mixed reviews. The best part was that my husband and I got to enjoy a version of curry (we love it, but don't get to have it often because of the kids' sensitive palates) and the kids were satisfied, too! In spite of my misgivings, I would do it again. Chapatis were very easy to make with the hlep of my Kitchenaid Food Processor and Lodge Cast Iron Griddle. There are many more flatbreads in my future.
Friday, September 16, 2011
It's All About Balance (Right?)
This week's events are a good example of how even the best-laid plans often can't hold up to life with small children.
Here's how things unfolded:
My husband has been out of town. My original plan was to plan a simple meal the first night he was away, and then live on leftovers the second night. First, he didn't leave until after dinner the first night, so my leftover quantities were diminished (I was glad to have him there otherwise, don't get me wrong). He has also started packing a lunch, so my leftovers weren't quite as plentiful as I'd hoped.
This meant I needed to actually cook something on the second night I was on my own. That's fine, I just pulled out a fillet of lake trout, since the boys both love fish. Fish and oven fries would fit the bill nicely.
However. Right when I was supposed to be starting dinner, D decided to check out my new Pampered Chef apple wedger, and promptly sliced his thumb open to the point where he needed stitches. I called my mother-in-law for back-up, so I didn't have to deal with both baby G and D in the waiting room and while D needed to be held down for his needle. We waited about an hour, from 5:30-6:30, and after the stitches (two), we were out of there at 7:15. I had warded off hunger with a few snacks, but we still needed to eat. I decided to do the quickest option, and picked up Vern's pizza by the slice. Truly not my favourite pizza, but it filled a void.
Fish is still in the fridge, ready to be cooked tonight.
Because of this series of fortunate events, I was also low on lunch items for my sitter and the kids. Due to my weakened emotional and mental state after yesterday's challenges, I caved and pulled out a package of hot dogs.
Now, this may not be a big deal for many people. But let me provide some context. When I left home and moved out on my own, when I was 17, I promised myself I would never buy hot dogs. Smokies and Kraft Dinner were okay, but I drew the line at wieners. I wanted to make sure I cooked and ate well and never gave in to the easy fix. This has truly served me well, gave me a great start on my life as a foodie, and I honestly never did buy hot dogs for a quick, easy meal.
In the past 20 years since I left home, I can count on one hand the number of times I purchased a package of hot dogs. And then, only because we were having a wiener roast. Even for wiener roasts, I usually opt for something more recognizable as meat, like sausage.
Case in point, the hot dogs in my freezer were left over from G's birthday cook-out, and they didn't get used because everyone chose the smokies I brought instead.
But there they were, along with a can of beans, and because they were there, I gave in to it. Gave Grandpa the lunch plan instructions.
And promptly headed out the door to work at Caffe Sola, where I enjoyed delicious tomato soup and a fig chevre tart for lunch. I'm a hypocrite, I know. But only today. And I feel compelled to confess. That's something, isn't it?
I'm not sure it makes up for today's transgressions, but I did feed my boys hot 12-grain cereal for breakfast, and then turned the leftovers into cookies. I always feel guilty when I have leftover porridge, because it's so good for you, and I hate waste in general. I made oatmeal bread with leftover oatmeal recently, and it was wonderful. So why not cookies?
I haven't perfected the recipe yet, but here's what I did:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 c. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2/3 c. butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. leftover multigrain porridge
1/2 c. raisins
Mix together dry ingredients, mix in butter and eggs until creamy (2 minutes or so) and the stir in porridge and raisins.
These turned out to be kind of cakey, sort of a cross between hermits and toothy snickerdoodles. I will make them again, and when I do, I will use brown sugar instead of white, use half whole wheat and half white flour, and a 1/2 t. vanilla. They were good enough for me to eat three of them while still warm...as well as the leftover hot dog. With mustard. It's not like I get that chance every day.
Here's how things unfolded:
My husband has been out of town. My original plan was to plan a simple meal the first night he was away, and then live on leftovers the second night. First, he didn't leave until after dinner the first night, so my leftover quantities were diminished (I was glad to have him there otherwise, don't get me wrong). He has also started packing a lunch, so my leftovers weren't quite as plentiful as I'd hoped.
This meant I needed to actually cook something on the second night I was on my own. That's fine, I just pulled out a fillet of lake trout, since the boys both love fish. Fish and oven fries would fit the bill nicely.
However. Right when I was supposed to be starting dinner, D decided to check out my new Pampered Chef apple wedger, and promptly sliced his thumb open to the point where he needed stitches. I called my mother-in-law for back-up, so I didn't have to deal with both baby G and D in the waiting room and while D needed to be held down for his needle. We waited about an hour, from 5:30-6:30, and after the stitches (two), we were out of there at 7:15. I had warded off hunger with a few snacks, but we still needed to eat. I decided to do the quickest option, and picked up Vern's pizza by the slice. Truly not my favourite pizza, but it filled a void.
Fish is still in the fridge, ready to be cooked tonight.
Because of this series of fortunate events, I was also low on lunch items for my sitter and the kids. Due to my weakened emotional and mental state after yesterday's challenges, I caved and pulled out a package of hot dogs.
Now, this may not be a big deal for many people. But let me provide some context. When I left home and moved out on my own, when I was 17, I promised myself I would never buy hot dogs. Smokies and Kraft Dinner were okay, but I drew the line at wieners. I wanted to make sure I cooked and ate well and never gave in to the easy fix. This has truly served me well, gave me a great start on my life as a foodie, and I honestly never did buy hot dogs for a quick, easy meal.
In the past 20 years since I left home, I can count on one hand the number of times I purchased a package of hot dogs. And then, only because we were having a wiener roast. Even for wiener roasts, I usually opt for something more recognizable as meat, like sausage.
Case in point, the hot dogs in my freezer were left over from G's birthday cook-out, and they didn't get used because everyone chose the smokies I brought instead.
But there they were, along with a can of beans, and because they were there, I gave in to it. Gave Grandpa the lunch plan instructions.
And promptly headed out the door to work at Caffe Sola, where I enjoyed delicious tomato soup and a fig chevre tart for lunch. I'm a hypocrite, I know. But only today. And I feel compelled to confess. That's something, isn't it?
I'm not sure it makes up for today's transgressions, but I did feed my boys hot 12-grain cereal for breakfast, and then turned the leftovers into cookies. I always feel guilty when I have leftover porridge, because it's so good for you, and I hate waste in general. I made oatmeal bread with leftover oatmeal recently, and it was wonderful. So why not cookies?
I haven't perfected the recipe yet, but here's what I did:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 c. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2/3 c. butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. leftover multigrain porridge
1/2 c. raisins
Mix together dry ingredients, mix in butter and eggs until creamy (2 minutes or so) and the stir in porridge and raisins.
These turned out to be kind of cakey, sort of a cross between hermits and toothy snickerdoodles. I will make them again, and when I do, I will use brown sugar instead of white, use half whole wheat and half white flour, and a 1/2 t. vanilla. They were good enough for me to eat three of them while still warm...as well as the leftover hot dog. With mustard. It's not like I get that chance every day.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
A Good Excuse for a Party
Much foodiness has occurred over the last few days, and I have been remiss in my writing:
Thursday: meeting with kitchen designer to review his ideas, followed by Vietnamese food delivered from Nha Trang to our friends' house. The food was excellent, as usual—we opted for the Vietnamese dinner for four (spring rolls, wonton soup, satay beef and vegetables, Vietnamese ginger chicken and tofu with tomatoes, and then added a special bird's nest (fried noodle basket topped with stir-fry) and salad rolls). Our children, amazingly, played well together, and it was in some strange way refreshing to only have an 18 month old poking at our five month old, because he seemed far less likely to do any damage compared to 40lb-D's usual hijinks.
Friday: prepping for a family birthday dinner, to take place Saturday. Supper was a momentous occasion, because D completely cleared his plate. The winning dinner was pork piccata with lemon caper sauce, simple roasted baby potatoes, steamed broccoli, and sauteed carrots and zucchini.
Saturday: spent today preparing for a homemade pizza party to celebrate Uncle Kevin's birthday. Grandma and Grandpa came, as well as six kids ranging in age from 5 months to 17 years. Keeping in mind potentially fussy eaters, I kept flavours relatively simple:
Veggie plate with dill dip
Avocado, radish and orange salad with lemon Dijon vinaigrette
Ham, black bean and mango pizza (inspired by a quesadilla I sampled many years ago—it has become one of our pizza standards) with old Cheddar cheese
Chicken, bacon, caramelized onion and mushroom pizza, with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
Classic Hawaiian pizza
My mom's amazing devil's food cake with vanilla ice cream
I started planning on Thursday, made my grocery list, and sent D and Dad to the grocery store Friday night while I went to my book club meeting. Late on Friday night, I threw together the pizza dough, to sit overnight. I have to put in a plug for my Kitchenaid mixer at this point, because making pizza dough has never been easier. Throw the ingredients into the mixing bowl, attach the dough hook, turn on, and walk away. It's worth the investment!
Made the cake before noon today and spent the kids' naptime (which they have thoughtfully coordinated again) chopping and prepping so that all of my ingredients were ready to be spread on the pizzas as our guests arrived. I reveled in my lovely ingredients, such as my dad's home-cured and smoked bacon, smoked pepper on the chicken breasts before we grilled them, and the liberal use of bacon fat as a cooking medium for the onions and mushrooms. I didn't manage to make my own tomato base, but instead relied on purchased salsa for the ham/black bean/mango combo, and a jar of fire roasted tomato sauce for the other two. The pizza was a hit.
And damn, Mom. Your cake is simply fantastic. It is my measuring stick for all cakes. I confess that I don't understand the goal of a 'fine crumb' in a chocolate cake. Any finely crumbed cake I've ever tasted seems dry. Mom's cake is moist and chocolatey, while managing to avoid being either too dense or too sweet. Topped with simple chocolate butter icing and good vanilla ice cream, it is probably the only birthday cake for me. I occasionally venture out to try new ones, because it is in my nature to search out improvements. But I have yet to find an improvement on this cake. Dare I say, at least according to my tastebuds, it is perfect.
Mom's Devil's Food Cake
Mix in a large bowl:
3 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
pinch salt
Make a well in the centre.
Mix together:
2 eggs
1 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
Add to dry ingredients. Then add:
1 c. hot coffee
Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate to cool completely. Top with your favourite icing and serve with ice cream.
I'll also share my pizza dough recipe, since I have tried several, and settled on this one as my favourite. I've adapted it from The Lazy Gourmet cookbook, incorporating whole wheat flour and being even lazier than the Lazy Gourmet in my mixing techniques:
3 T. fast rising yeast
2 1/2 c. hot water
2 T. olive oil
2 T. honey
2 T. salt
3 1/2 c. EACH whole wheat and all purpose flour
Place yeast, water, olive oil and honey in a mixing bowl and let sit a few minutes until the mixture starts to foam. Add flour and salt and mix by hand or using a dough hook until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead for five minutes (or just keep that beautiful mixer running for five minutes while you do other things). Let rise, covered, for 30 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
Roll and stretch thin onto your favourite pizza pan and top with your favourite toppings. Bake at 400F 20-25 minutes.
I often make just a half batch, which is enough for one generous meal for four. Lately, I've been making the entire recipe and then freezing half, so that I have pizza dough on hand for a later date. Tonight, I used the whole batch, which made two large rectangular and one 12-inch round pizza, and fed six adults and five kids (baby G just sucked on a piece of mango) with probably a generous 1/2 a pie leftover for tomorrow. Mmmm. Pizza for breakfast! ...and chocolate cake for dessert.
P.S. I apologize for the lack of photographs. I will try to get better at that. Tonight, my husband said, "You should take some pictures for your blog." I said, "Go ahead, I'm busy." He took a couple, but they're not great. I think it's time to think seriously about an SLR camera...
Thursday: meeting with kitchen designer to review his ideas, followed by Vietnamese food delivered from Nha Trang to our friends' house. The food was excellent, as usual—we opted for the Vietnamese dinner for four (spring rolls, wonton soup, satay beef and vegetables, Vietnamese ginger chicken and tofu with tomatoes, and then added a special bird's nest (fried noodle basket topped with stir-fry) and salad rolls). Our children, amazingly, played well together, and it was in some strange way refreshing to only have an 18 month old poking at our five month old, because he seemed far less likely to do any damage compared to 40lb-D's usual hijinks.
Friday: prepping for a family birthday dinner, to take place Saturday. Supper was a momentous occasion, because D completely cleared his plate. The winning dinner was pork piccata with lemon caper sauce, simple roasted baby potatoes, steamed broccoli, and sauteed carrots and zucchini.
Saturday: spent today preparing for a homemade pizza party to celebrate Uncle Kevin's birthday. Grandma and Grandpa came, as well as six kids ranging in age from 5 months to 17 years. Keeping in mind potentially fussy eaters, I kept flavours relatively simple:
Veggie plate with dill dip
Avocado, radish and orange salad with lemon Dijon vinaigrette
Ham, black bean and mango pizza (inspired by a quesadilla I sampled many years ago—it has become one of our pizza standards) with old Cheddar cheese
Chicken, bacon, caramelized onion and mushroom pizza, with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
Classic Hawaiian pizza
My mom's amazing devil's food cake with vanilla ice cream
I started planning on Thursday, made my grocery list, and sent D and Dad to the grocery store Friday night while I went to my book club meeting. Late on Friday night, I threw together the pizza dough, to sit overnight. I have to put in a plug for my Kitchenaid mixer at this point, because making pizza dough has never been easier. Throw the ingredients into the mixing bowl, attach the dough hook, turn on, and walk away. It's worth the investment!
Made the cake before noon today and spent the kids' naptime (which they have thoughtfully coordinated again) chopping and prepping so that all of my ingredients were ready to be spread on the pizzas as our guests arrived. I reveled in my lovely ingredients, such as my dad's home-cured and smoked bacon, smoked pepper on the chicken breasts before we grilled them, and the liberal use of bacon fat as a cooking medium for the onions and mushrooms. I didn't manage to make my own tomato base, but instead relied on purchased salsa for the ham/black bean/mango combo, and a jar of fire roasted tomato sauce for the other two. The pizza was a hit.
And damn, Mom. Your cake is simply fantastic. It is my measuring stick for all cakes. I confess that I don't understand the goal of a 'fine crumb' in a chocolate cake. Any finely crumbed cake I've ever tasted seems dry. Mom's cake is moist and chocolatey, while managing to avoid being either too dense or too sweet. Topped with simple chocolate butter icing and good vanilla ice cream, it is probably the only birthday cake for me. I occasionally venture out to try new ones, because it is in my nature to search out improvements. But I have yet to find an improvement on this cake. Dare I say, at least according to my tastebuds, it is perfect.
Mom's Devil's Food Cake
Mix in a large bowl:
3 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
pinch salt
Make a well in the centre.
Mix together:
2 eggs
1 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
Add to dry ingredients. Then add:
1 c. hot coffee
Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate to cool completely. Top with your favourite icing and serve with ice cream.
I'll also share my pizza dough recipe, since I have tried several, and settled on this one as my favourite. I've adapted it from The Lazy Gourmet cookbook, incorporating whole wheat flour and being even lazier than the Lazy Gourmet in my mixing techniques:
3 T. fast rising yeast
2 1/2 c. hot water
2 T. olive oil
2 T. honey
2 T. salt
3 1/2 c. EACH whole wheat and all purpose flour
Place yeast, water, olive oil and honey in a mixing bowl and let sit a few minutes until the mixture starts to foam. Add flour and salt and mix by hand or using a dough hook until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead for five minutes (or just keep that beautiful mixer running for five minutes while you do other things). Let rise, covered, for 30 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
Roll and stretch thin onto your favourite pizza pan and top with your favourite toppings. Bake at 400F 20-25 minutes.
I often make just a half batch, which is enough for one generous meal for four. Lately, I've been making the entire recipe and then freezing half, so that I have pizza dough on hand for a later date. Tonight, I used the whole batch, which made two large rectangular and one 12-inch round pizza, and fed six adults and five kids (baby G just sucked on a piece of mango) with probably a generous 1/2 a pie leftover for tomorrow. Mmmm. Pizza for breakfast! ...and chocolate cake for dessert.
P.S. I apologize for the lack of photographs. I will try to get better at that. Tonight, my husband said, "You should take some pictures for your blog." I said, "Go ahead, I'm busy." He took a couple, but they're not great. I think it's time to think seriously about an SLR camera...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Foodie Gifts
This year I got a couple of fantastic gifts from my cousin. After my most recent phone call in which I enthusiastically thanked her for the awesome flour sack tea towels with a butcher's diagram of a pig outlining all the possible cuts of meat, she confessed her strategy for finding me thoughtful foodie gifts: go to etsy.com and type "foodie" into the search engine.
I LOVE the tea towels, and hope to buy more for myself to outfit my new kitchen when it's finally finished, and I will also make a place for the beautiful wood salt box that she gave me for Christmas. If you're ever wondering what to get the foodie on your gift list, you may want to start with Etsy.
I LOVE the tea towels, and hope to buy more for myself to outfit my new kitchen when it's finally finished, and I will also make a place for the beautiful wood salt box that she gave me for Christmas. If you're ever wondering what to get the foodie on your gift list, you may want to start with Etsy.
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