Tuesday, June 28, 2011
New Foodie Read
My most recent reading indulgence is Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. I'll keep you posted. I've heard great things!
The Onion Tell
We're STILL not back in our house. The renovation is dragging on. I am back in the city though, back in the land of wi-fi, well-stocked groceries and within driving distance of my cookbooks! We're staying with my brother-in-law for the next few nights. Sorting through his bachelorific kitchen to see what I have to work with, I remembered my Onion Theory, which has been percolating in the back of my mind for some time.
The lowly onion is a good baseline indicator of foodiness in a household. I find I am shocked by people who don't keep onions on hand at all times. Virtually any dish I make begins with an onion. I panic if I get down to two or fewer in my pantry. If you can't find an onion at someone's house, there's a very good chance they cook from a package most of of the time.
Unless of course you are my unfortunate cousin who is deathly allergic to onions. They cook from fresh, but have had to adapt all of their recipes to be onion-free. I can't imagine that, any more than I can imagine the plight of the woman I once met who developed a deathly allergy to garlic during her pregnancy. The horror!
I'm curious, readers—are there indicators, like the onion, that you have noticed? What can you not live without that other non-foodies can?
P.S. What is complete in our kitchen looks absolutely amazing. Can't wait to get in and get to work!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Ultimate Dumpling Dough
My goodness, it's been exactly one month since I last made a post. That's terrible. I just haven't had much to write about, since we have spent the last month being displaced, and I have been living in limbo and making do when it comes to cooking. Until yesterday.
Yesterday was the day that I was officially told that, despite what we were originally promised, we would not be able to move back home at the end of this week. I know, I know, renovations always take longer than expected, blah blah blah. While I have been able to cope fairly well with being displaced up until now, I was really counting on going home this weekend. To console myself, I opted for some cooking therapy.
I'm staying on my parents' farm with my boys, and so don't have access to my usual cookbook collection. I also don't have access to high-speed internet; out here, we're one step above dial-up. So my usual approach to recipe searching, i.e., Google the recipe I want to make or the ingredients I want to use, was not going to work.
I surveyed my resources. We had some leftover mashed potatoes, and I was thinking about making potato bread. I started going through my mom's cookbook collection, and got hung up on a recipe for Periski, a sort of baked perogy, from the St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Parish 50th Anniversary Cookbook. I wouldn't put the potatoes in the dough; I'd stuff the dough with potatoes instead!
The dough was fairly quick to pull together, but needed to sit overnight. I started thinking about what else I could stuff it with. I had just sampled several pastries at the Lebanese Kitchen in Saskatoon, and was thinking that some kind of meat filling would be good, too.
In time for lunch today, I pulled out the dough, fried some onions and chopped some dill to add to the leftover mashed potatoes, and dug out the leftover "mushroom goulash" (a redneck standard of ground beef, onions, celery and cream of mushroom soup--I never make it at home, but I love to eat it).
My mom and I rolled out the dough (it was lovely to work with) and tucked tablespoonfuls of the filling inside, sealing them up and placing them on baking trays. We had eight squares of dough remaining when we used up all the potatoes and the beef mixture, so we started looking around for a dessert-like filling. We settled on mini-babybel cheese and sliced apple.
Little pastry treats for lunch were just lovely, and the dough baked up like a delicious cross between flaky pie crust and tender bun dough. I am in love with this dough--and I will be looking for more filling ideas. This may become a staple. Forget sandwiches in my kids' lunches. I'll just whip up a batch of these babies, and toss them in their lunch pails!!
Periski
Mix together and let stand:
1 T. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 t. sugar
Combine:
1 c. sour cream
3 eggs
In a separate bowl, mix together as you would for a pie crust:
1 c. butter
1/2 t. salt
3 T. sugar
4 c. flour
Add yeast to the sour cream mixture; add that mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Using a generous amount of flour on your rolling surface, divide the dough in two pieces. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut into approximately 2" squares. Place a tablespoon of filling (anything you put in perogies, such as mashed potatoes and cheddar are typical, but a ground beef filling, sauerkraut, or fruit filling would also work) onto a square, pinching the dough together and placing seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
Traditionally, these are served with a cream sauce. My grandmother used to reheat them in the oven in a casserole, with the cream sauce poured over top, sprinkled with dill. We didn't bother with that; we just ate them out of hand. The cheese-filled and meat-filled pastries leaked; next time I would work a little harder at sealing them, or perhaps make them in a different shape (ours looked like little footballs) with the seam facing up, to minimize the damage of any leaks. Even with the leaks, though, they were delicious.
As for the kid-o-meter, I thought D would love them, but he was more interested in the edamame we steamed and the cottage cheese we served with them. Baby G on the other hand has finally got this whole food thing figured out. He ate half a meat dumpling and a whole potato dumpling, as well as several edamame beans. In spite of D's lukewarm response today, I think he'll be all over the dumplings the next time they're offered. Today he was all about breakfast (a piece and a half of toast, plus a small bowl of dried Cheerios and craisins) and dinner (1 1/3 cobs of corn, three servings of cucumber and tomato salad, and almost a whole steak, and ice cream, chocolate sauce and strawberries for dessert). There was just no room for piriskis at lunch. The next time these dumplings connect with his appetite, they'd better watch out.
So the new move-in date for our house reno is NEXT weekend. It looks great so far, and I can't wait to get in and start cooking! I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday was the day that I was officially told that, despite what we were originally promised, we would not be able to move back home at the end of this week. I know, I know, renovations always take longer than expected, blah blah blah. While I have been able to cope fairly well with being displaced up until now, I was really counting on going home this weekend. To console myself, I opted for some cooking therapy.
I'm staying on my parents' farm with my boys, and so don't have access to my usual cookbook collection. I also don't have access to high-speed internet; out here, we're one step above dial-up. So my usual approach to recipe searching, i.e., Google the recipe I want to make or the ingredients I want to use, was not going to work.
I surveyed my resources. We had some leftover mashed potatoes, and I was thinking about making potato bread. I started going through my mom's cookbook collection, and got hung up on a recipe for Periski, a sort of baked perogy, from the St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Parish 50th Anniversary Cookbook. I wouldn't put the potatoes in the dough; I'd stuff the dough with potatoes instead!
The dough was fairly quick to pull together, but needed to sit overnight. I started thinking about what else I could stuff it with. I had just sampled several pastries at the Lebanese Kitchen in Saskatoon, and was thinking that some kind of meat filling would be good, too.
In time for lunch today, I pulled out the dough, fried some onions and chopped some dill to add to the leftover mashed potatoes, and dug out the leftover "mushroom goulash" (a redneck standard of ground beef, onions, celery and cream of mushroom soup--I never make it at home, but I love to eat it).
My mom and I rolled out the dough (it was lovely to work with) and tucked tablespoonfuls of the filling inside, sealing them up and placing them on baking trays. We had eight squares of dough remaining when we used up all the potatoes and the beef mixture, so we started looking around for a dessert-like filling. We settled on mini-babybel cheese and sliced apple.
Little pastry treats for lunch were just lovely, and the dough baked up like a delicious cross between flaky pie crust and tender bun dough. I am in love with this dough--and I will be looking for more filling ideas. This may become a staple. Forget sandwiches in my kids' lunches. I'll just whip up a batch of these babies, and toss them in their lunch pails!!
Periski
Mix together and let stand:
1 T. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 t. sugar
Combine:
1 c. sour cream
3 eggs
In a separate bowl, mix together as you would for a pie crust:
1 c. butter
1/2 t. salt
3 T. sugar
4 c. flour
Add yeast to the sour cream mixture; add that mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Using a generous amount of flour on your rolling surface, divide the dough in two pieces. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut into approximately 2" squares. Place a tablespoon of filling (anything you put in perogies, such as mashed potatoes and cheddar are typical, but a ground beef filling, sauerkraut, or fruit filling would also work) onto a square, pinching the dough together and placing seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
Traditionally, these are served with a cream sauce. My grandmother used to reheat them in the oven in a casserole, with the cream sauce poured over top, sprinkled with dill. We didn't bother with that; we just ate them out of hand. The cheese-filled and meat-filled pastries leaked; next time I would work a little harder at sealing them, or perhaps make them in a different shape (ours looked like little footballs) with the seam facing up, to minimize the damage of any leaks. Even with the leaks, though, they were delicious.
As for the kid-o-meter, I thought D would love them, but he was more interested in the edamame we steamed and the cottage cheese we served with them. Baby G on the other hand has finally got this whole food thing figured out. He ate half a meat dumpling and a whole potato dumpling, as well as several edamame beans. In spite of D's lukewarm response today, I think he'll be all over the dumplings the next time they're offered. Today he was all about breakfast (a piece and a half of toast, plus a small bowl of dried Cheerios and craisins) and dinner (1 1/3 cobs of corn, three servings of cucumber and tomato salad, and almost a whole steak, and ice cream, chocolate sauce and strawberries for dessert). There was just no room for piriskis at lunch. The next time these dumplings connect with his appetite, they'd better watch out.
So the new move-in date for our house reno is NEXT weekend. It looks great so far, and I can't wait to get in and start cooking! I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
From the Mouths of Babes
"Mom, are there any cupcakes around?"
This, at breakfast, from a boy not yet three. Good reason to pull out Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook once we're reinstalled in our new kitchen! I just discovered that you don't even need the cookbook—a surprising number of her cupcake recipes are posted on her website! Can't believe I've never looked at her website before...
P.S. Garden is (mostly) planted!
P.P.S. I'm either really excited or really over tired. Every sentence in this post ended in an exclamation point. One of many signs that I should go directly to bed.
This, at breakfast, from a boy not yet three. Good reason to pull out Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook once we're reinstalled in our new kitchen! I just discovered that you don't even need the cookbook—a surprising number of her cupcake recipes are posted on her website! Can't believe I've never looked at her website before...
P.S. Garden is (mostly) planted!
P.P.S. I'm either really excited or really over tired. Every sentence in this post ended in an exclamation point. One of many signs that I should go directly to bed.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Kitchen Reno Countdown
Today I entertained for the last time in my existing kitchen. Friends came over for brunch, which evolved into a snack and a beer in the backyard around 2PM, because we were still visiting. We had breakfast burritos, filled with slow cooker black beans—thanks to lennisdottir for the idea, although the aroma of simmering beans while we slept was distracting and even confusing: "Did you leave a burner on?" asked hubby at 3AM—chorizo and Monterey Jack from the Bulk Cheese Warehouse, scrambled eggs, and salsa. A lovely way to spend a lovely summer day (although I have a bit of a sunburn as a result. Those first warm days always seem to sneak up on me)!
My meal plan this week is as bare bones and simple as possible. Not much inspiration here, unless you're looking for the minimalist version of healthy family cooking. In between work, the usual childcare and keeping everyone fed, I will be hauling my stuff out of the kitchen and stashing it wherever I can find space for it in the basement. Part of me loves handling all of my wine glasses, serving platters and pottery; the other part of me marvels at how home renovations bring out the most materialistic side of me. I found I had to remind myself that it is just stuff after all. But stuff I LOVE.
I have managed to take some "before" photos, and I've included them here. I'll be sure to include "after" photos as well. The wall with the shelving and cookbooks on it is already gone, and will be replaced by an island. Just that change has made a huge difference to the feeling of openness and the light coming into the kitchen and living room. Very exciting!
My meal plan this week is as bare bones and simple as possible. Not much inspiration here, unless you're looking for the minimalist version of healthy family cooking. In between work, the usual childcare and keeping everyone fed, I will be hauling my stuff out of the kitchen and stashing it wherever I can find space for it in the basement. Part of me loves handling all of my wine glasses, serving platters and pottery; the other part of me marvels at how home renovations bring out the most materialistic side of me. I found I had to remind myself that it is just stuff after all. But stuff I LOVE.
I have managed to take some "before" photos, and I've included them here. I'll be sure to include "after" photos as well. The wall with the shelving and cookbooks on it is already gone, and will be replaced by an island. Just that change has made a huge difference to the feeling of openness and the light coming into the kitchen and living room. Very exciting!
 |
| We're building in cabinets on this wall. The buffet is for sale. Any takers? |
 |
| This wall is already gone. It opens up the view to dining room and living room. Island will go here. P.S. I really hate the blue walls. |
 |
| So looking forward to making this a functional space!! And getting rid of the temporary (plywood) casing for my dishwasher!! |
In case you're ever desperate for basic, simple food, here are the last meals I'll be making in my kitchen:
Sunday
Pan-fried pickerel
Lemon-scented rice (add zest and juice of one lemon, 2 T. butter, and salt and pepper to hot steamed rice)
Steamed peas
Fresh veggie plate
Monday
Small pork roast (delivered to my door by my lovely dairy delivery folks)
Roasted root veggies (mostly celeriac, since I have some that needs using before we leave the house for three weeks)
Simple salad
Tuesday
Broccoli cheddar melts
Wednesday
Bean and cheese quesadillas
Pacific Organic roasted pepper and tomato soup (from a carton)
Construction starts Wednesday afternoon, so the remainder of the week will be restaurant food. I've never taken D to Fuddruckers, and since he has recently developed a passion for hamburgers (I made some for Saturday's supper this week, and he was yelling, "I want one of THOSE!" the second he caught sight of me on my way to the bbq. I was hard pressed to convince him that they should be cooked first), so I was considering that as an option for Thursday. Friday and Saturday will unfold as they come.
I joked with Mike at the Bulk Cheese Warehouse that by the end of the week, we'd be down to eating bread and cheese. His face lit up, and he said, "So you'll be shopping here, then!" Could be worse.
...and somewhere in the midst of all this, there is a garden to plant...
...and somewhere in the midst of all this, there is a garden to plant...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Backwards Meal Planning
I confess that I do not always follow my own advice. Circumstances this weekend dictated that grocery shopping had to take place before I could make any sort of cohesive weekly meal plan. I picked up the necessities that we were desperate for, and sifted through the organic produce section for a collection of fruits and vegetables that would fit into some sort of meal plan.
I still don't have a plan for the week, but I do have a plan for this evening: Red lentil soup with greens from Moosewood's Simple Suppers. And some kind of salad. I have leftover coconut milk from last week's coconut fried rice, and I picked up some lovely organic mustard greens during my foray, and these will work perfectly in this mustardy, coconutty soup. Yum.
I still don't have a plan for the week, but I do have a plan for this evening: Red lentil soup with greens from Moosewood's Simple Suppers. And some kind of salad. I have leftover coconut milk from last week's coconut fried rice, and I picked up some lovely organic mustard greens during my foray, and these will work perfectly in this mustardy, coconutty soup. Yum.
Corn Feasts
Maybe we just hit a sweet spot with our kids' appetites this weekend, or maybe the following menu will always be this popular. Both boys put a serious dent in their meals (we pulled out some of the quinoa and black beans for Baby G before we mixed in the tomatoes and onions; otherwise, everyone got to eat everything pretty much as is). We enjoyed it just as much:
Grilled pork chops with garlic lime sauce
Black bean and tomato quinoa
Fresh corn on the cob
Watermelon for dessert
This fit the bill on so many levels: the garlic lime sauce dressed up the meat and added some spice for the grownups, while the kids got to eat the plain grilled pork chops. The quinoa was an excellent side dish, higher in protein and lower in carbs than most side dishes. My husband has been wanting to move away from grain-heavy (even whole grains) evening meals, so this did just that. Because the quinoa isn't very starchy, we didn't feel we were over doing it with the corn. Yummy and fresh and summery all around.
Grilled pork chops with garlic lime sauce
Black bean and tomato quinoa
Fresh corn on the cob
Watermelon for dessert
This fit the bill on so many levels: the garlic lime sauce dressed up the meat and added some spice for the grownups, while the kids got to eat the plain grilled pork chops. The quinoa was an excellent side dish, higher in protein and lower in carbs than most side dishes. My husband has been wanting to move away from grain-heavy (even whole grains) evening meals, so this did just that. Because the quinoa isn't very starchy, we didn't feel we were over doing it with the corn. Yummy and fresh and summery all around.
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