"You sure know how to make a guy delirious."
It isn't every Amazon that can elicit a comment like that from her husband simply by serving mushy peas and brown gravy from a package. Perhaps it helps to provide context:
My husband loves meat in pastry. Anything remotely resembling a savoury pie gets his enthusiastic thumbs up. In our past pre-kid travels to New Zealand, we did our best to eat our weight in meat pies—evidence of this is here in a past blog.
On our more recent (two years ago recent) trip to Australia, we sampled a few pies as well, with the clear winner being a "Tiger" from Harry's Cafe de Wheels in Woolloomoolloo. This is a meat pie, topped with mashed potatoes, mushy peas and brown gravy. It was surprisingly delicious, and we still think of it fondly.
So enter hubby's true birthday, which is a bit of a let-down because we've already done the family dinner and fancy cake the previous Sunday. He has requested ground beef cooked with some kind of tomato sauce for his true birthday dinner, but what I have in the fridge are ready-made pies from The Prairie Pie Wagon. This is Saskatoon's version of Harry's Cafe de Wheels. I had four pies: pork, cherry and wild rice, turkey pot pie, steak and Guinness, and tourtiere.
I also had a good quantity of leftover buttermilk mashed potatoes. This got me thinking. Perhaps we could recreate a favourite vacation meal for his birthday? I had some green split peas, and with a quick stop at the nearby convenience store for a package of brown gravy mix (note, I NEVER buy this stuff, but in this case, it was required for authenticity's sake). I boiled up the peas, mashed them, mixed up the gravy, reheated the pies and potatoes, and voila! Nostalgic dinner extravaganza! And the resulting quote regarding delirium. Lucky me to be married to someone so easy to please. And by the way, he had the tourtiere, which I think meets his ground meat requirements. I didn't even outright ignore his request in making this dinner! A true step forward in our relationship.
Photo of the pie/peas/potatotes/gravy to come soon...promise!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Rack of Lamb from Heaven
Pulled together a tasty, tasty menu last night for good friends as a thank-you for letting us crash at their house for a painfully long time during our renovation. '10 days' turned into three or four weeks of space-sharing, which they offered up cheerfully. This little rack of lamb menu was the least I could do as thanks (they refuse to take gifts):
Mustard and herb crusted rack of lamb
Buttermilk mashed potatoes
Roasted cauliflower with garlic
Roasted beet salad with beet greens and feta
Mini raspberry lemon cream tartlets (another favourite use for lemon curd: just mix it about half and half with whipped cream, fill your favourite pre-baked tart shells, and top each with a fresh raspberry)
My friend is a librarian who orders books (often cookbooks) for the library she works for, and she brought over a recent collection of "food porn" for me to peruse. Not something I'm about to try to recreate, but it's a fascinating evolution of molecular gastronomy that is tied to place and season. In this case, place is Denmark, and the local ingredients are therefore familiar to Canadians: spruce buds, for example, wild blueberries, and...moss. Not kidding. Check out the Noma Cookbook. Beautiful and mind-bending. Maybe someday I might be tempted to turn a portion of my frontyard spruce tree into granita...or my neighbour's birch tree into a dessert...
Mustard and herb crusted rack of lamb
Buttermilk mashed potatoes
Roasted cauliflower with garlic
Roasted beet salad with beet greens and feta
Mini raspberry lemon cream tartlets (another favourite use for lemon curd: just mix it about half and half with whipped cream, fill your favourite pre-baked tart shells, and top each with a fresh raspberry)
My friend is a librarian who orders books (often cookbooks) for the library she works for, and she brought over a recent collection of "food porn" for me to peruse. Not something I'm about to try to recreate, but it's a fascinating evolution of molecular gastronomy that is tied to place and season. In this case, place is Denmark, and the local ingredients are therefore familiar to Canadians: spruce buds, for example, wild blueberries, and...moss. Not kidding. Check out the Noma Cookbook. Beautiful and mind-bending. Maybe someday I might be tempted to turn a portion of my frontyard spruce tree into granita...or my neighbour's birch tree into a dessert...
Monday, September 19, 2011
Old-Fashioned Birthday Dinner
It isn't very often that my husband gets to choose what he wants for dinner. I usually consult with him loosely during my meal-planning and then do what I need to do, taking his preferences, but also what we have to use up, what's in the freezer, and what I'm in the mood to cook, into consideration.
But this week is his birthday, so he gets to pick two meals: the family dinner last night, and what he wants to eat on his actual birthday. The poor guy is so desperate for the comfort food of his childhood, his two choices were ham and scalloped potatoes, and "ground beef turned into something with tomato sauce." I followed his request for dinner last night to a 'T', including the Brussels sprouts, which were a slight challenge to find. So here's the menu:
Slow-cooker ham in apple juice (just poured a litre of apple juice over the ham and cooked it on high for 4 or 5 hours, then glazed it in the oven, with a mixture of brown sugar, honey and Dijon mustard, for about 20 minutes)
Scalloped potatoes (I no longer use a recipe for this, just do my thing and it works out)
Steamed Brussels sprouts
Lettuce and arugula salad with creamy blue cheese dressing
Lemon meringue cake a la Nigella Lawson, using the lemon curd recipe from Saturday's blog post
I would definitely do the ham this way again, and while everything turned out very well, the cake really did take the cake. I finished assembling it so close to dinner time and it got eaten so quickly (no leftovers) that I completely forgot to take pictures. If you click on the recipe link, though, you'll see it. It turned out exactly like that. And it was surprisingly easy, for something that looks so decadent. While Baby G was all about the main course, D inhaled his cake and then asked for more.
Leftovers
Tonight for dinner I'm going to use the leftover ham juice and make my mom's standard leftover ham and rice gumbo, although I'm going to use brown instead of white rice. Basically, you just cook the rice in the ham juice with the ham bone, add chopped ham and a can of brown beans. I might add some onions and celery as well. Very simple, but perfect comfort food. I'm coming down with the cold that has been circulating our house for the past week or more, so I'm really looking forward to a bowl full of steaming gumbo.
But this week is his birthday, so he gets to pick two meals: the family dinner last night, and what he wants to eat on his actual birthday. The poor guy is so desperate for the comfort food of his childhood, his two choices were ham and scalloped potatoes, and "ground beef turned into something with tomato sauce." I followed his request for dinner last night to a 'T', including the Brussels sprouts, which were a slight challenge to find. So here's the menu:
Slow-cooker ham in apple juice (just poured a litre of apple juice over the ham and cooked it on high for 4 or 5 hours, then glazed it in the oven, with a mixture of brown sugar, honey and Dijon mustard, for about 20 minutes)
Scalloped potatoes (I no longer use a recipe for this, just do my thing and it works out)
Steamed Brussels sprouts
Lettuce and arugula salad with creamy blue cheese dressing
Lemon meringue cake a la Nigella Lawson, using the lemon curd recipe from Saturday's blog post
I would definitely do the ham this way again, and while everything turned out very well, the cake really did take the cake. I finished assembling it so close to dinner time and it got eaten so quickly (no leftovers) that I completely forgot to take pictures. If you click on the recipe link, though, you'll see it. It turned out exactly like that. And it was surprisingly easy, for something that looks so decadent. While Baby G was all about the main course, D inhaled his cake and then asked for more.
Leftovers
Tonight for dinner I'm going to use the leftover ham juice and make my mom's standard leftover ham and rice gumbo, although I'm going to use brown instead of white rice. Basically, you just cook the rice in the ham juice with the ham bone, add chopped ham and a can of brown beans. I might add some onions and celery as well. Very simple, but perfect comfort food. I'm coming down with the cold that has been circulating our house for the past week or more, so I'm really looking forward to a bowl full of steaming gumbo.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
On Lemon Curd (and how 'complicated' does not always equal 'better')
In 20 minutes, start to finish (at 11:30PM instead of sleeping) I just made a lovely lemon curd. As I was making it, I spent some time reflecting on previous lemon curd efforts, and thought, I'm glad I've now made enough lemon curd in my life to know that simple is best.
There are lemon curd recipes that require double boilers, eggs to be separated, and fancy lemons. In my ongoing "quest for the best," I did once turn a rare discovery of Meyer lemons in Saskatoon into Alice Waters' Meyer Lemon Curd. Alice Waters is a hero of mine, and if she recommends a lemon curd recipe, I'm going to assume it's going to be the best lemon curd I've ever tasted. While this has been the case with other recipes I've made from her Chez Panisse collection, it wasn't so with the lemon curd.
The Meyer lemon curd was very very good, but it wasn't good enough to justify the extra effort of separating eggs, finding uses for the egg whites, and so on. And basically, the recipe calls for milk as well, which seems to only be required to thin the mixture because the egg yolks thicken it too much. The dead-easy, no egg separating version from The Canadian Living Cookbook was just as smooth (in fact, smoother, because it seems to be more forgiving if you let it get too close to boiling, which I often do) and just as delicious, had a pleasing luminous yellow colour, and was perhaps more satisfying because it took less effort.
Sometimes it is worth the effort to undertake a fussy recipe. I often do so and will again. But there are so many culinary challenges out there that are truly difficult; so why make things any harder than they need to be? This, I confess, is one of the reasons I often run out of patience with Martha Stewart recipes. I usually cut out half of the steps and the results are still just as good as if I'd spent the extra hour and followed the directions exactly.
So here is my favourite Lemon Curd recipe. Rest assured I have done the research for you. No need to look elsewhere, or get any more fussy than this:
(from The Canadian Living Cookbook)
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon rind
1/4 c. butter
In a small, very heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook at just below a boil, stirring almost constantly, until thick enough to thickly coat a spoon (I find the thickening process to happen almost instantly), about 15 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Store in covered jar in refrigerator.
Spread this on toast or scones, mix half and half with whipped cream to fill tart shells, scoop out of the jar with your finger, or use in any recipe that calls for lemon curd. Mine is an ingredient in my husband's birthday cake. More on that tomorrow.
There are lemon curd recipes that require double boilers, eggs to be separated, and fancy lemons. In my ongoing "quest for the best," I did once turn a rare discovery of Meyer lemons in Saskatoon into Alice Waters' Meyer Lemon Curd. Alice Waters is a hero of mine, and if she recommends a lemon curd recipe, I'm going to assume it's going to be the best lemon curd I've ever tasted. While this has been the case with other recipes I've made from her Chez Panisse collection, it wasn't so with the lemon curd.
The Meyer lemon curd was very very good, but it wasn't good enough to justify the extra effort of separating eggs, finding uses for the egg whites, and so on. And basically, the recipe calls for milk as well, which seems to only be required to thin the mixture because the egg yolks thicken it too much. The dead-easy, no egg separating version from The Canadian Living Cookbook was just as smooth (in fact, smoother, because it seems to be more forgiving if you let it get too close to boiling, which I often do) and just as delicious, had a pleasing luminous yellow colour, and was perhaps more satisfying because it took less effort.
Sometimes it is worth the effort to undertake a fussy recipe. I often do so and will again. But there are so many culinary challenges out there that are truly difficult; so why make things any harder than they need to be? This, I confess, is one of the reasons I often run out of patience with Martha Stewart recipes. I usually cut out half of the steps and the results are still just as good as if I'd spent the extra hour and followed the directions exactly.
So here is my favourite Lemon Curd recipe. Rest assured I have done the research for you. No need to look elsewhere, or get any more fussy than this:
(from The Canadian Living Cookbook)
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon rind
1/4 c. butter
In a small, very heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook at just below a boil, stirring almost constantly, until thick enough to thickly coat a spoon (I find the thickening process to happen almost instantly), about 15 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Store in covered jar in refrigerator.
Spread this on toast or scones, mix half and half with whipped cream to fill tart shells, scoop out of the jar with your finger, or use in any recipe that calls for lemon curd. Mine is an ingredient in my husband's birthday cake. More on that tomorrow.
Tomato Soup Even Babies Love
Check out this cream of tomato soup recipe. It tastes very similar to the canned stuff I used to love as a kid, but this time you control all the ingredients and know exactly what's in it. I love that you can throw in tomatoes with seeds and all, because you run it through a strainer when you're done. Baby G (just 13 months old tomorrow) finished off his little bowl, even picked up the whole thing and drank what he couldn't get with his spoon. Goldfish crackers were the perfect accompaniment, which pleased D to no end.
I've made this with canned tomatoes and fresh, and I was surprised to find that the canned tomatoes were actually a little more tomatoe-y. Both were good though!
I've made this with canned tomatoes and fresh, and I was surprised to find that the canned tomatoes were actually a little more tomatoe-y. Both were good though!
Oatmeal-free Crisp
I haven't really gotten into singing the praises of Quinoa 365 yet, but I think I'm about to start. Yesterday I spent some time demonstrating to D how to slice apples with the apple wedger without cutting his finger (and also re-stating that he should never touch it without a grown-up's help), which meant I ended up with a large collection of sliced apples, just right for a crisp.
The problem was, I didn't have any oatmeal (used it all up making morning glory muffins). I vaguely remembered seeing some kind of crisp or crumble recipe in Quinoa 365, so I looked, and discovered that you can basically just swap out the oatmeal for quinoa flour in your favourite recipe.
It isn't like oatmeal is a poorer nutritional choice, but quinoa does have the benefit of a uniquely nutty flavour and a higher protein count. So I guess it depends whether you want to tout your dessert as having cholesterol-lowering properties (oatmeal), or that it packs a protein punch (quinoa!).
I realize that not everyone who runs out of rolled oats will have quinoa flour lying around, but if you happen to be shopping at your local health food store and come across some quinoa flour, you may want to pick it up. It may soon become a staple in my pantry.
2016 UPDATE
I just discovered the link above for morning glory muffins is no longer working. Here is the recipe!
Morning Glory Muffins
Mix together in a large bowl:
4 c. flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
4 c. oatmeal
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. sesame seeds
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans (or pepitas)
1 c. coconut
In a separate large bowl, mix the wet ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (or milk kefir)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
2 c. grated carrot
2 c. grated zucchini
2 green apples, peeled and grated
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I make these as mini muffins too. Then you only need to bake them for 10 minutes. This makes 4 dozen large muffins. You'll be enjoying them out of the freezer for a few weeks!
The problem was, I didn't have any oatmeal (used it all up making morning glory muffins). I vaguely remembered seeing some kind of crisp or crumble recipe in Quinoa 365, so I looked, and discovered that you can basically just swap out the oatmeal for quinoa flour in your favourite recipe.
It isn't like oatmeal is a poorer nutritional choice, but quinoa does have the benefit of a uniquely nutty flavour and a higher protein count. So I guess it depends whether you want to tout your dessert as having cholesterol-lowering properties (oatmeal), or that it packs a protein punch (quinoa!).
I realize that not everyone who runs out of rolled oats will have quinoa flour lying around, but if you happen to be shopping at your local health food store and come across some quinoa flour, you may want to pick it up. It may soon become a staple in my pantry.
2016 UPDATE
I just discovered the link above for morning glory muffins is no longer working. Here is the recipe!
Morning Glory Muffins
Mix together in a large bowl:
4 c. flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
4 c. oatmeal
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. sesame seeds
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans (or pepitas)
1 c. coconut
In a separate large bowl, mix the wet ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (or milk kefir)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
2 c. grated carrot
2 c. grated zucchini
2 green apples, peeled and grated
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I make these as mini muffins too. Then you only need to bake them for 10 minutes. This makes 4 dozen large muffins. You'll be enjoying them out of the freezer for a few weeks!
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.
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