Finally! A Meal Plan!

Wow, the last meal plan I posted was in June. I have written up meal plans for myself since then, but not as regularly as I'd like. Glad I'm back to not only making them, but sharing them.

It's a quiet week, so I have a bit of time to cook. A good foodie friend gifted me with a Bon Appetit subscription for my birthday, and the first issue arrived this week. I'm definitely inspired, and one of this week's recipes is from there.

Monday
Pork chops with cabbage
Steamed barley (saving some for Wednesday's meal)

(since this meal has already happened, I have a few edits to share. The original plan assumed I had pork chops in the freezer. Sadly, I discovered only one package of two, which is nowhere near enough to feed two adults and two carnivorous children. I had just ordered a package of Boerwors (South African sausage) from Cool Springs Ranch, so I decided to add those to the recipe as well. When I read to the bottom of the recipe, I noted Martha Stewart recommended serving the chops with a side dish of carrot and parsnip puree. I have those! So I made that as well. The results blended together beautifully. Nutty barley, sweet cabbage and carrots, savoury meat...mmm. It may be a strange idiosyncrasy, but I love braised cabbage.)

Tuesday
Roast chicken
Roasted sweet potatoes and (more) parsnips
My mom's frozen bean and carrot medley
Tossed salad

Wednesday
Baked Wild West Steelhead trout (from Lucky Lake)
Warm Cauliflower and Herbed Barley Salad

The salad is from my first issue of Bon Appetit, and I was delighted to discover I have virtually all of the hard-to-find ingredients, like gigante beans (I buy them regularly from Italian Star Deli) and fresh parsley and tarragon (well...mine aren't fresh, but I froze some fresh from my garden, and that will work for my purposes)

Thursday
Ragout de Boulettes (a winter favourite that we haven't yet enjoyed...and dare I say we might be running out of winter...in the next month or so?)
Pugliese bread from Christie's Bakery
Raw veggies

By the time we get to Friday, I'm guessing we'll have leftovers, and I am scheduled for a book club event that night, so I may leave 'the boys' to fend for themselves. There you have it. Something of a plan.

Two Summer Party Menus

Two parties in two days, and wedding tomorrow! That's my kind of pace (truly! Okay, well at least I can handle it for about three days and then I'll need a rest for one day before diving in again).

Last night, I hosted the Sturgeon Ladies' Literary Society (that's a fancy way of saying my neighbourhood bookclub) meeting. We always put on a bit of a spread, although it's after dinner, so not a huge meal. I relied heavily on Mark Bittman's Food Matters cookbook (if I haven't convinced anyone to buy it yet, then you must not be paying attention. There are 500 recipes, so even though I use it all the time, I have barely even scratched the surface! And there are many more recipes I want to try) for this summer-themed menu. Everything was light and delicious (except for the quinoa cake, which was delicious, but not-so-light) and gluten free.

Party #1 Menu: After Dinner Summer Snack Buffet for the Bookclub

Radishes with Olive Oil and Sea Salt (that simple. Just serve radishes next to a small dish of olive oil and coarse sea salt. Barely a recipe, but I got the idea from Mark Bittman's book)
Quick-Pickled Watermelon with Feta (I'm new to pickling melon, but I definitely liked the results)
Lentil "Caviar" with All the Trimmings (recipe below)
Olives, Cucumbers and Tuna, Mediterranean Style (just a toss of olives, cucumbers, tuna, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, garlic, parsley and chile flakes)
Homemade goat cheese with herbs de Provence
Assorted crackers
Fresh strawberries and watermelon
Quinoa chocolate mini-cupcakes, inspired by the chocolate cake recipe in Quinoa 365

I was feeling kind of ambivalent about the lentil caviar when I made it the day before. It just didn't seem to be all that interesting. But it was the thing that the ladies liked best (except for maybe the cupcakes). They asked for the recipe so they could make it themselves.

Here it is:

Lentil "Caviar" with All the Trimmings

8 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) Le Puy or other dark green or black lentils (I used beluga lentils from Hestia Organics at the Farmers' Market)

2 T. vegetable oil

1 large shallot or small onion

1/4 c. dried dulse, arame, or hijiki

1 c. sake, brewed green tea or water (I used jasmine tea)

2 T. mirin or honey (I used mirin)

Salt and pepper

8 slices whole grain bread or crackers for serving

1/2 c. capers or chopped cornichons, for garnish, optional

1/2 c. chopped red onion, for garnish, optional

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped, for garnish, optional

1/2 c. mayonnaise, sour cream, or creme fraiche for garnish, optional (I used sour cream)

Put lentils in a pot and cover with cold water by 2-3 inches. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat so that the lentils bubble gently. Partially cover and cok, stirring occasionally, checking hte lentils for doneness every 10-15 minutes. When the lentils are tender but not falling apart, drain them.

Put the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. When it's hot, add the shallot and sea greens and cook, stirring constantly, 3-5 minutes. Stir in the sake and miring. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let the mixture bubble away until it reduces and thickens to a thin syrup, 5-7 minutes. Strain.

Pour the glaze over the lentils and toss gently to coat; taste and adjust seasoning. Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to a few days (I chilled overnight). Toast the breatd if you're using and cut each slice diagonally into 4 toast points. Serve with the toast points or crackers, along with any garnishes you like.

Party #2 Menu: Impromptu Vietnamese Fresh Roll Feast, or, What Would I Do Without the Internet?


The next party had a bit of a roundabout development. Earlier in the week I stopped at the Saskatoon Asian Market to get seaweed to make the lentil caviar. I couldn't just buy the one thing, and had to wander around to see what else they had of interest. What else they had was beautifully fresh bean sprouts, the cutest little mini baby bok choy, some Chinese sausage, which I bought without knowing what I was going to do with it, and a couple kinds of noodles.

When I got home, I started planning what to make with my ingredients, and thought to myself, it's hot out, and I have some greens in the garden...maybe I should make salad rolls. I wonder if there are Vietnamese salad rolls that call for Chinese sausage? Well, if you Google "Vietnamese salad roll Chinese Sausage", you will find that the answer is yes! How easy is that, and how often do I have two seemingly unrelated ingredients that I Google to come up with an amazing concoction? Almost daily. If you can conceive the combination, chances are someone else has, too, has blogged about it, and the recipe is ready and waiting.

So here is my impromptu Vietnamese Fresh Roll Feast menu, which we enjoyed with good long-time friends and their daughter. The kids mostly ate the sausage, but generally seemed to enjoy the rolls, too. Hey, this menu is almost gluten-free, too...the sausage might be questionable...

Pre-dinner cocktail (served alongside leftover lentil caviar and goat cheese on crackers): Plum wine tonic (1 part plum wine, 2 parts tonic water, and a squeeze of lime over ice)

Our friends brought a bottle of Cava, sparkling Spanish wine, which I would match with anything and drink every day if I could. Delicious!

Boa Bia, Chinese Sausage Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce (thanks to The Ravenous Couple for the recipe)
Mark Bittman's Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce (I skipped the sauce and just used the ingredient list as a guideline: lettuce, cilantro, basil, julienne cucumber, bean sprouts, shrimp)
Grilled baby bok choy with Asian marinade, inspired by Dad Cooks Dinner (this was a sleeper hit. They were a little bitter, a little sour, smoky, savoury, just a bit crunchy, and totally delicious. My baby bok choy were really tiny, so I didn't bother cutting them in half, just tossed them in the marinade and 'stir-fried' them in a grill basket).
Quinoa cupcake ice cream sandwiches (and the last of the Taylor Fladgate 20 year old tawny that I was keeping in the fridge)

I am replete. Tomorrow I take a break from cooking (except for making breakfast from the leftovers of Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, basil, carrots, and bean sprouts. Can you say "egg foo young"?) and attending my cousin's wedding. Then I'll be cooking something for my sister and her family who will be staying with us after the wedding, and thinking ahead to Tuesday when I host some local food writers for a little get-together.

I love summer entertaining. Who am I kidding? I love entertaining, period.

Product Placement #6: Rozendal Vinegar

I have a new expensive habit, and strangely this one doesn't contain alcohol. I am completely enamoured with Rozendal vinegar, represented here in Saskatchewan by Doug Reichel, owner of Fine Wines Saskatchewan and importer of Rozendal wine. The wine is also excellent, but the vinegar, at $35/500 ml bottle, is even more expensive than the wine! It is also harder to find; here in Saskatoon it is only available at Cava Secreta.

I know many people are of the philosophy that expensive food items are wasted on kids. I am straying further and further from that philosophy all the time, and am constantly rewarded for it. I personally know many adults on whom expensive food items would be even more wasted than on my own children. My kids DO appreciate good food, and are far more likely to enjoy their meals if the food is real, and not what passes for food on most children's menus in restaurants.

Case in point: a recent meal that I made for a girlfriend and her kids, as well as my own family, involved a simple main course of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches: slices of a round brioche loaf, and a melted mixture of shredded smoked Gouda, broccoli, mayonnaise and sunflower seeds as the filling. Beside that, I served a salad: spring greens, toasted almonds and craisins, simply dressed with a splash of Rozendal vinegar, a splash of olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

My kids don't normally go for salad very much, so I usually provide raw vegetables as well. There were raw veggies available that day, too, but all the kids asked for more salad, and eventually scraped the bowl clean. You might think they were going for just the craisins, but they weren't. They inhaled the entire thing. I thought to myself, if that vinegar is what inspires kids to eat salad, then it's worth the price tag. On top of that, the vinegar itself is packed with health benefits. So really, there's no reason NOT to serve it. From now on, there will always be a bottle in my cupboard (currently we're enjoying the Green Tea flavour); I'll consider it an investment in my own and my kids' health, and their palates.

Product Placement #5: Red Espresso!

Since writing my foodie gift guide before Christmas for Planet S magazine, I have been enjoying a generous supply of Red Espresso, which I ordered once I found a Canadian supplier. It is not available yet in Saskatoon, but there is a coffee shop chain in Calgary, the Good Earth Cafe, with a location in Regina, that carries it retail.

My husband has recently stopped drinking coffee, but he still loves the idea of having a latte or capuccino. Enter Red Espresso, caffeine-free rooibos tea, ground finely enough to run through an espresso machine. The resulting brew is a rich, creamy shot of intensely flavoured tea that melds beautifully with steamed milk (or eggnog, as my husband discovered over the holidays).

I still drink coffee, but I have also been enjoying the Red Espresso as an after dinner drink. I usually only drink one or two cups of coffee in the morning, but there is something amazingly satisfying about having a latte after dinner. And the flavour of the Red Espresso certainly holds its own against a traditional coffee latte. Give it a try!

As an aside, if you have a coffee-grinder, you can also try grinding loose tea into a fine powder and running any kind of tea through your espresso machine. My husband tried it with Russian caravan black tea, with great success. You can buy it ready-made, or do it yourself—a bit more mess, but less money.

Foodie Adventures in Regina

Just got back from a weekend away in Regina, and rediscovered old favourites as well as checking out some new foodie fun.

My primary stop in Regina is always The Italian Star Deli. Carlos and his family are always an absolute delight, as are the amazing ingredients they offer. I dropped a pretty penny on a bag of dried porcini mushrooms, and then proceeded to pick up an amazing-sounding blue cheese and herb mustard, several funky shapes of whole grain pasta, some of their famous sandwiches for lunch later, my favourite Spanish olive oil, some Illy Espresso beans, housemade Italian sausage, and my key reason for coming, salt packed anchovies. These little delights last forever in the fridge (sealed tightly in a ziplock bag, because they stink) and supply me with constant anchovy flavour for my Caesar salad dressing, pasta sauces, tapenades, and anything else that calls for them. They are much milder and fresher tasting than anchovy paste, and you can use one at a time, with only a quick rinse and peeling away their fillets from the bones, which makes them more convenient and less wasteful than having to open a can of anchovies and only using a couple fillets.

We also stopped at a coffee shop called Sweet, which offered some delicious pastries (D was beside himself with the prospect of choosing one of their lovely tarts or cakes, which were all at eye-level. He sat remarkably still while sipping a mango smoothie and eating a portion of a lemon mini-bundt cake).

The friends we were staying with also introduced us to Siam Thai Restaurant, from which we ordered takeout. Everything was absolutely delicious and authentic. Many many more items to sample on subsequent trips to Regina! I made a quick stop at Smokin Okies BBQ to meet other friends, and managed to steal a couple bites of their delicious, smoky ribs. I was already booked for supper, so I just enjoyed having a beer out of the house and away from the kids, while hubbie and the boys had an afternoon nap. I made a mental note to revisit Smokin Okies again. I've always enjoyed their food, but have yet to sample the catfish and hushpuppies. MUST TRY THEM.

It's a good life, being a foodie and surrounded by friends who are also food lovers. *SIGH*

Sadly, the Italian sausage from the Italian Star deli was absolutely delicious, but the medium heat was still too spicy for D. I made a roasted pepper and tomato pappardelle (wide, long noodles) for supper, and roasted the sausage separately so that we could add it to our own dishes. D had some salami with his instead of the spicy sausage. With the addition of the tiny remainder of sun-dried tomato tapenade leftover from last weekend, we had a delicious pasta meal. I love being able to pull such delicious ingredients out of my fridge and pantry to make dinner on a whim.