something simple and delicious for a sunday night

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I'll apologize in advance because I don't have step-by-step photos of this dinner. I didn't initially set out to blog it, as it was just supposed to be something quick and easy to finish off the week. But once I sat down to eat it, I immediately stopped hubs from digging in and went to grab the camera. It's pretty, it's simple and it was one of those rare dishes that manages to taste both good and virtuous at the same time. The initial inspiration came from Clean Eating (another plug for that magazine and no, they don't pay me), but as I'd used up some of the ingredients earlier in the week, I had to improvise a little bit.

chickpea & coloured-carrot asparagus couscous

*first change - hubs roasted my coloured carrots alongside his buffalo steak on saturday night. I had asparagus, so that's what I used.

1 T olive oil

4 medium assorted carrots (or 1 bunch asparagus)

1 t curry powder

juice of 1/2 lemon (make sure you zest the lemon before you juice it, as you'll need the zest for the other recipe)

1 c low-sodium vegetable broth

1 cup uncooked whole-wheat couscous

1 can rinsed chickpeas

fresh parsley

1. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots asparagus and curry and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add lemon juice and broth and bring to a boil. Add couscous, remove from heat, stir and cover.

3. Fluff with a fork, then stir in chickpeas and parsley. Voila. Done.

meanwhile..... (basically, once the couscous is in the broth), make this....

chicken almondine with lemon green beans

1/4 c sliver unsalted almonds, toasted, divided (note: I was too lazy to toast mine. so sue me. It was still good and my house didn't smell like burnt nuts)

1 T whole wheat flour

1/4 t spanish paprika (I didn't know what type they meant - I used 1/8 t cheap paprika, and 1/8 t bittersweet smoked paprika. it worked).

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness (I actually used two largish breasts and cut them into three pieces each....the couscous/chickpea side is so substantial, you really don't need to add much, if any meat to it)

1 lb green yellow beans (it's what they had at the market)

zest of one lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Grind 1/8 cup almonds to a powder using your chopping device of choice (or a mortar and pestle).

2. Combine ground almonds, flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken breasts in this mixture and set aside (I just put them all in a container and gave it a shake. Like shake'n bake, except without hydrogenated oil, sodium silicoaluminate or maltodextrin....

3. Heat a large skillet, if it's non-stick, spray with cooking spray (if it's stainless steel like mine, use enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan or you WILL regret it). Sauté chicken for 3ish minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from heat.

4. Cook the beans to desired doneness (I use a microwave because it's fast, but you could also blanch/steam/boil them). Then toss with lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.

5. To serve, sprinkle remaining almond slivers over chicken.

A couple of tasting notes on this recipe - the chicken was outstanding. I'm not sure how much of it was the almond/paprika coating, or how much of it was that I used organic, locally-raised chicken. Whatever. It was really good. Don't go cheap on your chicken breasts here, because it's SO much better with good chicken. The other thing is that the beans were AWESOME. I've always been a bit meh on lemon beans because I find the acidity of the lemon juice really just makes it sour....but zest. Man, this has opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibility. The little bits of zest on the beans were like delicious little non-sour lemon explosions in your mouth. It was delicious.

Anyway, if you're bored, this is good. You should make it. It's simple and it's healthy and best of all, it easily serves six hungry people (with just two chicken breasts) and has left me with a bevy of leftovers for delicious lunches. YUM.

to say that life has been busy...

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...for the past few weeks would actually be an understatement.

I've got two guest rooms and they've both been occupied more often than not in the last little bit...which is why you haven't heard anything from me.

Between that and Lil Z, life has kept me hopping.

So um...first things first, merry Christmas from Lil Z and I:


I will update about the big potluck party a bit later (it was awesome) as well as all about Christmas dinner...because in the meantime, I have a few more resolution-worthy recipes to share.

As I've mentioned before, I don't run ads on this blog - first, I'm way too incompetent to figure it all out in HTML (I'm a click and hope kind of gal, when it comes to website coding), second, I steal too many recipes and don't want people to think I'm making money off their creativity, and last, the piddly income I would get from ads would probably only serve to screw up my taxes, make me hire an accountant and essentially negate any financial benefit.

Plus, ads are annoying.

BUT, that said, blogging will occasionally have its perks, and sometimes, I do get the odd freebie in the mail.

Lately, I've received a couple of cookbooks and while I will not mindlessly whore my name out to enrich others, I am pretty happy with some of the recipes I've sampled. This particular cookbook seems fitting for this time of year, given that most of us are probably resolving to eat healthier (BAHAHAHA!), eat out less and all that jazz, I think it's worth considering.

Whole Grains for Busy People, written by Lorna Sass is pretty much exactly what the title describes - quick recipes using whole grains. I'll admit I actually found the book a little off-putting at first...almost TOO healthy looking. I guess I like people to make food appealing by extolling its TASTE virtues, not so much the health virtues. I go for taste, first and foremost, with health being a very good side benefit...kwim? Anyway, Sass, who is pretty much THE person for whole grains, does a good job of explaining a few of the less common grains (farro, millet, etc.) and I'm most definitely looking forward to trying a few more recipes (like squash bisque topped with curried popcorn, or oat-crusted turkey cutlets....she also has recipes coating meat in ground-up popcorn, which sounds intriguing).

The recipes I tried are actually on facing pages, using my latest most fave ingredient - quinoa. Can I tell you how much I love this stuff? It's got a nice chewiness, doesn't taste obnoxiously-in-your-face-good-for-you and just goes so well in so many different things.

I modified the recipes lightly due to ingredient availability (and, let's face it, proximity, as I was too lazy to brave the cold to grocery shop), and because I like bolder, stronger seasonings.

These recipes are relatively quick, though they do require a higher than average amount of attention (i.e., lots of do this, wait 3 minutes, then do this, etc.).

Here are two yummy sample recipes for ya:

Provençal Salmon Stew with Quinoa
from Whole Grains for Busy People
Serves 4 (generously)

My modifications are in parentheses

1 T olive oil
1 c. diced onion
3/4 t thyme *I thought using only thyme would be a bit plain, so added some other typical provençal herbs
(1/4 t lavender)
(1/4 t marjoram)
(1/2 t basil)
(1/2 t rosemary)
1/2 t minced garlic (I used 3 cloves)
1/2 t anchovy paste
1/2 c dry white wine or vermouth (I used vermouth, to keep me from opening and drinking the bottle of white wine, hehe)
2 bottles (13 ounces each) clam juice (here, I subbed 900mL chicken broth as I had no CJ on hand)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid
1/4 c small black olives (I omitted - not a big fan and didn't have any anyway)
1 pound boneless, skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1 inch chunks - I used one of my fave christmas prezzies to cut this bad boy up....

3 T fresh parsley (omitted because I didn't have any)
grated zest of 1 large lemon
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. In a heavy 12-inch sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, thyme (and other spices, if using), garlic and cook, stirring frequently until the onion is lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the anchovy paste and cook 30 seconds more. You can actually see the lavender and other spices here:


2. Stir in the wine/vermouth and cook until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add the clam juice (or broth) and bring to a boil. Stir in the quinoa, cover, and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes.


3. Stir in the tomatoes and olives. Return to a boil. Cover and continue cooking until the quinoa is almost done, about 5 minutes longer (if the quinoa has a substantial white dot of starch in the centre, continue cooking until the dot is tiny).

4. Add a little water if the mixture is no longer loose and soupy. Gently stir in the salmon. Cover and cook over medium heat until the salmon is cooked through to the centre and the quinoa is tender, 2-3 minutes.


5. Gently stir in the parsley, lemon zest and juice and season (salt/pepper) to taste, if needed.


Both hubs and I really enjoyed this stew. Sure, I made some changes, but it's a very nice, fresh, healthy tasting soup...like something you might find in a health spa. I noticed, actually, that hubs enjoyed it so much he also ate it for brekkie. Fish for brekkie should tell you something about how tasty this is. Two thumbs up.

Now, on the facing page to the salmon quinoa recipe was another quinoa stew recipe. And while I was making last night's dinner, I couldn't help but read through this other stew recipe and think...hmmm...I freaking love quinoa and I think I have all/most of the ingredients for this. SOLD.

So here's another one for you. I followed the recipe for the most part, but I added a LOT more spices, due to personal preference. I suspect the original might have been a little timid in flavour. Not so much mine.

Southwestern Quinoa Stew with Squash, Black Beans and Corn
serves 4-6
stolen from Whole Grains for Busy People

(again, my mods are in parentheses)

1 T olive oil
2 t minced dried onion (wtf is this? I used 1 small whole regular onion)
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t granulated garlic (again, wtf....I used 3 cloves of regular garlic)
1 container low-sodium chicken/veggie broth
(1 T chili powder, 1 t cumin, dash cinnamon, 1/2 T cocoa powder)
1 cup quinoa
1 t chipotle in adobo, minced (didn't have any - subbed 1 T chipotle hot sauce, and then oomphed it with a few dashes of sri racha)
1 10-oz package frozen cooked squash
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 c fire-roasted red peppers (ummmm....witness what happened to my peppers...EW. I may have cured cancer here, but I opted to toss that jar and just use a fresh green pepper along with the onion....GROSS)

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
pepper to taste
(crumbled aged cheddar)

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, oregano and garlic, cook for 10 seconds (because I used fresh onion, garlic and added a green pepper, I actually cooked for about 5 mins).


2. Add the broth and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the quinoa and boil uncovered over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. I added my extra spices at the same time as the quinoa. While the quinoa is cooking, you can assemble the other ingredients.


3. Stir in the chipotle in adobo, and add the block of squash (I partially defrosted mine in the fridge overnight). Otherwise, cover, turn the heat to high and continue cooking until you can break up the squash and stir it in (3-4 mins).

4. Stir in the beans and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until here is no solid white dot of starch at the centre of the quinoa (1-3 minutes). I added my squash/beans at the same time because I am lazy.


5. Stir in the corn, red pepper, cilantro and salt/pepper to taste. When I tasted it, I added some sri racha and the juice of half a lime (it needed more bite). Cook, uncovered, until the corn is defrosted.


I garnished mine with some 3-year-aged balderson heritage cheddar. OMG. YUMMY. The stew was delicious - I never would have thought to put these ingredients together, but it works wonderfully....I just thought it needed some kick, and I'm happy with the way my mods turned out.



Overall, I think this is a pretty good cookbook if you're trying to eat healthy, or for example, if you need to eliminate gluten, etc (it's NOT a gluten-free cookbook, but uses a lot of gluten-free grains). THere is a nice variety of recipes and I like how it gently introduces you to a large variety of whole grains.

Critiques? It would be nice if there were nutritional info. I know these recipes are healthy, and were I feeling motivated, I could enter the ingredients and find out the exact info myself...but it would have been nice if this book had already done that. And I also find the recipes can overemphasize the salt and underemphasize other herbs and seasonings.

That said, I would recommend this book to any of you who are trying to eat healthy and are trying to look beyond steamed veggies and rice for your healthy fare. Keep your eyes peeled, as I'm sure I'll have more to say about this book in coming weeks. I've got a beach with my name on it and only a few short weeks to get beach-ready!

there's something fishy around here

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As mentioned, the main attraction of the dinner party was a lovely planked salmon dish...this is such a nice thing to have in the summer and it just so happened that I had picked up a number of cedar planks the last time I visited costco (they are expressly marketed for the purpose - I'm sure I paid a premium, but at least I can be reassured that they are not coated in all sorts of ucky chemicals....or I can tell myself that, anyway).

I was peeved with my salmon though (also from Costco). I'd been doing some reading about farmed salmon, so I've also been avoiding that lately in favour of the wild stuff (which is, of course, infinitely more expensive). I picked up some nice fillets of wild salmon, and when I got them home, I turned them over and found out THEY STILL HAD SKIN ON THEM. YUCK. I don't know anyone who eats salmon skin, so I really don't know why they bother leaving it on. How can you have a nice dinner plate, only to end up with wrinkly, rejected, nasty scaly skin left on it. So I had to skin the salmon (really NOT my favourite thing to do), and it looked more than a little butchered afterward. Gross. The final result was delicious though! Highly recommend for seafood lovers!

Planked Salmon Fillets
Paste
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 T maple syrup
2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 T dijon mustard
sea salt
minced parsley/rosemary
hot sauce

salmon fillets

1. Combine all paste ingredients in the food processor. Process until well blended. Taste the mixture - perhaps you like it a bit more acidic, or a bit sweeter, saltier or whatever. Season to your liking. I like mine on the sweet side, particularly because I was pairing it with two side dishes that were not sweetened.

2. Soak your cedar planks for 4-6 hours beforehand (the longer you soak, the longer they resist burning).

3. Arrange salmon on planks and douse with paste mixture. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, keeping a spray bottle handy to extinguish flames. Alternatively, you can cook over indirect heat, but you won't have as much cedary steam going up through your salmon. It's safer, but not as flavourful. Yum.



I paired the salmon with a nice lemon risotto. I used the 'make-ahead' method for the risotto, as I wasn't terribly keen on stirring for forty minutes while I had guests entertaining themselves (and hubs bbq'ing). Basically, it's the same process, except when you've added 3 1/4 c. of the broth, you stop. You spread the semi-cooked risotto out on a baking sheet (use some parchment paper to save washing!) and cover and cool it. You can resume as normal when you want to eat, adding the rest of the broth and the add-ins. This method can be used with any risotto. I stole this recipe from epicurious as well.

Lemon Risotto

5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1.5 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel (zest of about 1 lemon)

1. Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm.

2. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes.

3. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. (As mentioned above, if you want to make in advance, only add 3 1/4 c. of broth and then stop the process).



4. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings. This is a lovely side dish with fish.

The last thing I had on the plate were these beautiful little stacks of eggplant and tomato. I saw the initial picture and was totally sold. The bonus is that these used the same type of basil oil as I needed for the canteloupe salad, so I only had to make it once. Of course, my tomatoes ended up being too big but whatever. It still looked pretty. Woot woot for that.


Grilled Eggplant Stacks with Tomato and Feta

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium eggplants (1 3/4 to 2 lb total)
1 large tomato (about 4 inches in diameter) and 2 medium tomatoes (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
3 oz feta, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
Garnish: finely shredded fresh basil leaves

1. Blend basil with oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in blender until finely chopped. Pour into a paper-towel- or coffee-filter-lined sieve set over a bowl and let drain 20 minutes.

2. Gather together sides of towel or filter and press gently on it to extract more oil. (You will have a generous 1/3 cup oil.) Scrape basil solids into a small bowl and reserve.

3. Preheat BBQ to medium heat. While grill heats, cut off bottoms of eggplants, then cut 6 (1/2-inch-thick) crosswise rounds from each, starting from cut end. Reserve remaining eggplant for another use. Cut 4 (1/3-inch-thick) rounds from large tomato and 2 center slices (1/3 inch thick) from each medium tomato, reserving remaining tomato for another use.

4. Lightly brush eggplant rounds on both sides with basil oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grill on a lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over occasionally, lightly brushing eggplant with more basil oil occasionally if it looks dry, until eggplant is very tender, 6 to 10 minutes.



Make stacks:
1. On baking pan, arrange 4 largest eggplant rounds side by side and spread each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon of reserved basil solids, then top each with 1 of 4 largest tomato rounds.

2. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and top each with about 1 tablespoon feta.

3. Make another layer with medium-size eggplant rounds, basil solids, medium tomato rounds, salt, pepper, and feta, then top with remaining eggplant and feta.



You can make the stacks up in advance and just heat them in the oven (about 350F) for 10 minutes or so. YUM.

moroccan redux, version 1.0

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Couscous.

How often do you eat it? Is it a staple? Is it an anomaly? Do you know what it is?

I can't say I was raised on the stuff, and I also can't really admit to it being a staple (I'm not sure I even have staples....), but it's something that both hubs and I absolutely love.

Funny how my best acquaintance with this north african grain didn't happen anywhere in Africa (never been), rather, in France. And in a university cafeteria, no less. I want to explain a little more about the culture *I* experienced in France before I explain a little more.

I can't pretend to comment about the totality of French culture, but the small microcosm to which I was briefly privy gave me (I think) a decent insight into certain cultural influences. In the 60s (and since) there was a large influx of north African immigrants into France - people from foreign French colonies like Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria flooded the French suburbs. Though the French have staunchly denied these people any sort of real French identity (even second and third-generation immigrants were still generally considered foreigners), there have been some small culinary inroads made into French culture.

Two such inroads are couscous (small pasta grain) and merguez (spicy lamb sausage). These were two items that I seldom see here in Canada but that were all over the place in France. And hence my exposure to them.

When I was trying to figure out tonight's dinner (I generally at least attempt to plan on Sundays), I remembered the merguez I had sitting in my freezer (a random purchase) and the couscous sitting in my cupboard.....and then I found a recipe in my trusty Cooking to Beat the Clock that totally fit the bill.

***Just as a little plug for a fave cooking aid - Cooking to Beat the Clock is about getting meals on the table in less than 15 minutes. Tasty meals....not of the frozen variety. I'm not quite as quick as Sam, but I love this book for inspiration and methodology - a great resource for the rushed and lazy home cook.

So this recipe offers you moroccan inspiration, with a mere temporal price of 15 minutes (give or take). Awesome. I modified the recipe somewhat, but not too much...

Couscous with Merguez Sausage

1 1/4 c instant couscous
1 1/2 pounds merguez sausage (or other spicy sausage - I highly recommend seeking out merguez though!)
1/2 small red onion
1 large tomato
1/2 c roasted red peppers (jarred)
10 black olives (original called for 20 - I don't like olives so I reduced it)
1/3 c packed fresh coriander (original called for mint but I couldn't buy any)
2 t ground cumin
salt
hot sauce

1. Boil about 2 cups of water in your kettle. Measure 1 1/4 couscous into a small saucepan. Once water has boiled, pour 1 1/4 cups of it over the couscous. Stir and cover.

2. Meanwhile, put a large heavy skillet over high heat. Cut the sausage in 1-inch pieces. Add the sausage to the skillet, cover and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn once and cook for four minutes.



3. While the sausage cooks, trim the onion and cut it in quarters. Put it in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Core and quarter the tomato. Quarter the red peppers. Pit the olives.



4. Put the tomato, peppers, olives, and coriander (or mint) in the food processor with the onion and pulse several times until corasely chopped and combined.



5. Put the cooked couscous in a mixing bowl and add the onion/tomato mixture, cumin, salt and hot sauce to taste.



6. Mix and fluff with a large fork. Add the sausage and combine well. Serves 4 - feel free to garnish with a sprig of herb, or an olive or two. :) ENjoy!




Thank you for reading. I know it seems trite to be reading about frivolous food when there is so much violence and nastiness going on....but sometimes I think it's the little things in life that keep us sane, that cover us in the trappings of civilization, and allow us to explore without pain or violence. My heart goes out to all those globally who've been affected by such violence.

grocery-free ingenuity

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Every once in a while, hubs and I go through a little phase where I don't really have any motivation to plan or cook anything at all. This is really a terrible thing for both our waistlines and pocketbooks and it's something I really have to stop doing. I'm not sure why I do it....I don't really like fast food all that much, and I know that it's basically just a slow way of killing yourself.....

I occasionally crave fast food like there is no tomorrow, and then eventually find myself lost in the land of factory-farmed rot and wobbly wobbly people. Uck. And, I realized, but due to my newfound zeal for not eating factory-farmed meat, there's actually very little I can eat from a fast food place. Take today, hubs and I stopped into a Tim Horton's/Wendy's shop.

Do you know what a non-meat-eater can eat at Wendy's? A plain baked potato or a garden salad. So lame. They don't have a veggie burger, and no veggie chili or anything. SO I went to Timmy's, where I had a grand total of ONE choice - a veggie sandwich with cream of mushroom soup (all the non-cream soups had meat in them). Blah.

This reminds me why I need to cook at home....I can buy yummy non-factory farmed meat, and there is SO much choice out there.

On Friday though (and still today) I didn't really have all that much in the way of groceries, so I decided to make something based on what I had in the fridge.....and after a little googling and recipe-tweaking, I am across something that used a record amount of random ingredients - chicken, tomatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, couscous.....so I was a happy camper. I had to make a few alterations to the recipe, and I can't for the life of me remember where I stole it from (apologies to the original author), but it brought a little touch of exoticism into the kitchen.

And a touch that was VERY badly needed after my forays into nutritional purgatory. This had vitamins, vegetables and other things that are SO much better for me than the nastry crap I have a bad habit of hoarding and hoovering....blah.

Hubs and I both enjoyed this recipe, though I think it would have a little more spice, and my bad habit of adding cinnamon to all things to all things pseudo-north-african wouldn't have been amiss here. Overall, I liked it. Not too shabby when you haven't bothered to brave the grocery store for a few days. As usual, there's little authenticity to this dish....rather than recreating the perfect dish, I'm generally more concerned with whether or not a particular dish will be enjoyable. There are many authentic things out there that I'd rather not touch with a ten-foot pole, such as hàkarl, which is an Icelandic dish of fermented shark flesh. So um yeah....I don't necessarily bow down to the gods of authenticity, as necessity is often the mother of invention....not necessarily taste or yumminess.....


North-African-Inspired Chicken and Chickpea Stew
1 T olive oil
4 chicken breasts, chopped
1 t salt (I used fleur de sel)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger
**I measured all of my spices quite generously!
1/2 t smoked paprika
3/4 t ground cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t curry powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper (I rounded it and this added a touch of heat....I could have doubled this and still enjoyed it)
1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes (I just took diced and blasted them with my immersion blender)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 zucchinis, halved and sliced
3 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T lemon juice
hot cooked coucous

1. In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Toss in the chicken (mine was still mostly frozen at this point) and cook until browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.


2. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.


3. Add the broth, tomatoes and about 1 t salt, scraping the bottom of the pot to get any browned bits that have accumulated. Add the zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes, until it begins to soften.


4. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through and zucchini is cooked to your liking. Add the parsley and lemon juice. Serve over couscous and garnish with lemon.



Voila - it's as easy as that! This is a pretty quick dinner that would work for a weeknight....I wouldn't personally serve it to company, because I think it needs a little more tweaking to be awesome, but it's tasty and nutritious, so I won't whine too much. ;) Tonight, I'm about to attempt something a little creative with seafood and pastry....stay tuned for the results and thanks for reading!

a labour of....stuffing?

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There's something about the act of stuffing something that elevates the humble chicken breast, the rustic squash....or anything, really....

When I'm trying to figure out what to serve to guests, I always want to make sure that I'm not stuck slaving over a stove for an hour while everybody else has a great time.

So I found a great solution - send hubs out into the deep freeze to barbecue! I wanted an entrée that was out of the ordinary, but kinda homey feeling. I came up with roasted acorn squash, stuffed with bulgur risotto (with asparagus and peas) alongside prosciutto-rosemary stuffed grilled chicken and topped (or bottomed....you'll understand when you see the pic of the final product) with a cider vinegar reduction sauce.

I could lie and tell you this didn't take quite a long time to put together...but I won't. This isn't really a dish for a weeknight, but I think the squash would make a credible veggie entrée if you used a bigger squash. And the chicken was delicious.....I brined it first, which is crucial to getting a moist, yummy inside and grilled delicious outside. Have I mentioned before how much it totally rocks to have a hubby who will venture outside to barbecue mid-winter? Sweetness.........

Bulgur Risotto with Peas and Asparagus
Shamelessly stolen from epicurious.

5 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups bulgur
4 cups (about) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (don't bother to thaw)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until light golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Mix in bulgur. Add 1/2 cup stock and cook until absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup stock 2 more times, simmering after each addition and stirring often until liquid is absorbed.

3. Mix in asparagus. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time until bulgur is just tender and mixture is creamy, simmering after each addition and stirring often until stock is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

4. Add peas and cook 3 minutes longer. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan, cream, tarragon and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Serve, passing additional grated Parmesan, if desired.

Serves 6 as a first-course. (I stuffed 6 small squash halves and had a TON leftover...which I promptly forgot about and left in the pot to congeal overnight...oops....).


Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with Bulgur Risotto

(for side dishes, use small cute squash, for a main dish, use bigger ones....cooking time shouldn't be too different!)

3 small (or medium) acorn squash
1 recipe bulgur risotto

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Using every ounce of strength, cut the squash in half (it's at times like this that I jump up and down for having a chinese chopper).
2. Using a spoon (or knife), scrape out the seeds.
3. Place cut side down on parchment paper (or silpat, if YOUR hubby didn't cut through it with a butter knife). Bake squash for about 30-40 minutes, until soft but NOT collapsing. :)



4. Fill squash with bulgur risotto. Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Serve topped with grated parmesan!!!!

Chicken stuffed with prosciutto and rosemary, topped with cider vinegar reduction

Chicken:
6 chicken breasts
1/4 cup kosher (coarse) salt
2 T sugar
1 cup hot water, 7-8 cups cold
6 slices prosciutto
1/4 cup (give or take) dijon mustard
2-3 T chopped fresh rosemary (don't use dried - I initially wanted to use basil, but my store was out)
montreal steak spice (or salt and pepper)

1. In a glass 9x13 pan, dissolve the kosher salt and sugar in the 1 cup of hot water. Once it's mostly dissolved, add the cold water.

2. Place the chicken in the brine mixture and let sit for about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, take the prosciutto, and spread each slice generously with dijon mustard. Sprinkle with some fresh rosemary, and roll up into a tight little tube like a cigar.



4. To stuff the chicken (and not have it all fall out!), take a butcher knife and make a hole in the thick end of the chicken (stab it straight in, and wiggle it around, so the chicken has a little slit in it).

5. Take the prosciutto roll and gently (or not so gently) stuff it into the end of the chicken. Make sure that none of the prosciutto is sticking out. With this stuffing method, you should be able to do pretty much anything to your chicken without it falling apart! :) It's a revolution! To season, sprinkle with some montreal steak spice.



6. Preheat the grill to medium heat, and cook for about 25 minutes (or until chicken is completely cooked through - cut to check if you're not sure).

I served this with a tangy, yummy sauce....

For cider vinegar sauce
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup sliced shallots
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
1 1/2 cups beef stock or canned broth

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add sugar. Sauté until shallots are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add vinegar; boil 2 minutes. Add both stocks; boil until liquid is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 40 minutes. Strain.

This sauce never thickens, so you *could* perhaps add a bit of cornstarch if you like your sauce thick. It was nice the way it was, but it was definitely just plain old liquid on the plate...no drizzly beauty here.

Anyway, hubs is getting annoyed with me for bloggin' away for so long tonight, so I shall have to end it here. Watch out for tarte tatin! Thanks for reading!

spice rack roll call...fenugreek?

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Hubs LOVES bugging me about my spice rack. From his perspective, he has little use for my hordes of little bottles, bags, tins and containers...in our kitchen's distinct lack of cupboard space, the spices take up an entire shelf in the pantry. As much as I would love to have some sort of funky rack, I actually have never been able to find a spice rack that holds a reasonable amount of spices....they all seem to hold something like 12 or maybe 16, max.

What I also love is that somehow, most of these spice racks come with spices ALREADY in them....so....how exactly is a newfound plethora of stale spices supposed to solve my spice storage issues????? Meh. At least after living together for over three years, I've now got hubs mostly-convinced of the validity of having a well-stocked spice rack (before I moved in, he had garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper...ah, the glamour).

And tonight's dinner definitely made use of it. Sadly though, as complete as my spice rack is....there was one thing missing. Fenugreek. I'd vaguely heard of this spice before...but never used it or knowingly tasted it. And do you think I could find it? Nope. I checked the discount grocery store, the big crazy grocery store and even the bulk food store (which surprisingly has more spices than I could ever dream of). But no fenugreek to be found....so I had to make the recipe without it.....though I'm still very curious as to what it tastes like and what it would do to my recipe.....

This is pretty closely based on a something I found online a while back. It's an ethiopian-inspired lentil tomato stew....quite tasty. It's not the best thing I've ever made, but hubs and I both enjoyed it and would likely make it again.

Added benefits of this recipe:
- using up spices you forgot you had
- cheap, super healthy and full of "super" foods
- exotic flavours for pennies a plate :)



Ethiopian Spicy Lentil-Tomato Stew
1 c brown lentils
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T fresh ginger, grated
2 T olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small can tomato paste
1 c vegetable stock
2 T sugar
1 cup peas
fresh coriander

Spice Mix:
2 t cumin
2 t smoked paprika
1 t fenugreek (didnt' have it, subbed 1/2 t celery seed and 1/2 t turmeric)
1/2 t thyme
3/4 t cardamom
1/4 t coriander
1/8 t allspice
1/8 t cloves
1/8 t cinnamon
1/2 t cayenne

1. In a medium pot, boil the lentils for about 40 minutes (or until tender). Once they are tender, drain them and set aside. [if you're making rice, start now!]
2. Meanwhile, measure out all your spices. I LOVE these colours. Gorgeous.



3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Once the onion starts to soften, add the carrots.
4. After 3-4 minutes (and before the garlic starts to burn), add the spice mix and combine well, stirring for 1 more minute.
5. Add the broth, tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for about 10 minutes (until carrots start to soften).
6. Add the lentils and peas. And, if you're smarter than I am, you won't let a massive frozen block of peas double your dosage.....oops



7. One the peas are cooked (about 3-4 minutes), sprinkle in some fresh coriander. Yum. I served this over brown rice, but to be more authentic, you could make injera, a wonderful ethiopian flat bread. I had no such time or patience tonight. ;) But it is good stuff.



Thanks for reading! :) This is a great hearty dish for a cold night. Already looking forward to my leftovers tomorrow!

Stuff it.

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On those days of the year when there is nothing I'd rather than literally stay stuffed in my bed all day....it seems only natural that my food should emulate my fantasies. I seriously can't believe how freaking cold it is...my nose froze SHUT this morning while waiting for the bus (which, thankfully, actually did show up; score one for OC Transpo). Anyway, tomorrow we're on to colder and more asphyxia-inducing lows (yay for -28C tonight....seriously!).

I needed something hot and stuffed. Since turkey wasn't exactly a realistic weeknight undertaking, I knew I had to resort to other, perhaps healthier fare.

Stuffed peppers. Sweet peppers are one of the most beautiful veggies out there.....such brilliant colour, great taste.....the only caveat seems to be that mid-winter, they cost more than a lot of meats do. But such is the price to pay for vitamins, health, long life and all that jazz. So I paid (but only in one colour.....has anyone yet been able to figure out how my grocery store can sell 4 kinds of sweet peppers at four different price points? does this actually make sense to someone?).

The recipe I used tonight is very versatile, adaptable, etc.....very easy to take a flavour inspiration and just incorporate it into the peppers. I was thinking Italian tonight. Past iterations have visited texas, morocco, spain, etc. Sky's the limit. And there's no need to stop at peppers - the intrepid soul could also apply this filling to such veggie superstars as zucchini, tomato (not in January in Ottawa though - holy pallid orange crappiness) and portabello mushrooms. And also, while this particular pepper recipe is vegetarian, you could add crab, beef, shrimp or whatever protein source happened to turn your crank. Very versatile. :)

And with no further ado....

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers all'italiano

6 medium bell peppers
1 1/3 cups orzo pasta (or other tiny pasta)
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large zucchini, chopped
12 oz veggie ground round (or meat or shrimp or tofu)
1.5 cups pasta sauce (make it or fake it, it's your choice)
1/4 cup fresh basil
mozzarella, parmesan

1. Set a medium pot full of water to boil on the stove. Meanwhile, core the peppers and cut in half, removing the white from the insides. Arrange cut side up on a baking sheet (again, I LOVE my silpat!). (Whenever your water gets to boiling, cook the orzo to your desired doneness and then drain/rinse).
2. In a large skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until they start to smell fragrant. Add the zucchini and cook until softened (you could also add mushrooms, but I was both lazy and impatient).
3. Add the veggie ground ground and stir to break it up. At this point, add in your orzo, the pasta sauce and the fresh basil, and stir until well-combined.
4. Preheat your oven to 350F. Gingerly scoop the hot filling into the waiting peppers, being careful to NOT:
a) burn your fingers, like I did,
b) fling your spatula (and moderate amounts of filling) across the floor, like I did, and
c) knock over half your peppers and cause even MORE filling to go across the floor....also like I did.
Battin' 1000 today, I tell you....
5) Top the filled peppers with some slices of mozzarella, and some grated parmesan. I like to be rather messy in grating the parmesan, because a secret indulgence of mine is the browned crispy parmesan that sits on my silpat when the peppers come out of the oven. Better than chips! But uh.....don't tell hubs. ;) I just bought another $10 slab of parm today! EEEk!



6)Bake the peppers for 25-30 minutes. Try not to overbake too much, because at a certain point, the peppers that you didn't already upend will lose their structural integrity and will send the last vestiges of filling cascading gently across the silpat (and hence ruining your browned parmesan).

After all the drama, the peppers were totally worth it. And even better, there's so much leftover that I froze six halves for a future night when I'm feeling grouchy like I am tonight, but less ambitious.....



Cheery today, aren't I? :) Thank you so much for reading - I love getting your comments and emails!!!!!!!!!

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And so Vegan Week continued today, and I'm happy to report that it's vastly improved from Day 1. Perhaps I was spurred on from the successful completion of my weightlifting DVD yesterday, or perhaps I just had better food today. Regardless, I think it can be considered a success.

Though it wasn't without its own soy-laced intrigue. For brekkie, I started with a whole wheat English muffin, and topped with my almost-vegan cheese and Yves Breakfast patties. I have to confess to being a little bit perplexed by the idea of almost-vegan cheese...I mean, the cheese is soy-based (i.e., not made with milk) but contains a hefty dose of various milk ingredients. I'm not sure who is supposed to eat this stuff!

I thought the main objectionable ingredient in regular cheese was rennet (i.e., many lacto-ovo vegetarians will eat cheese, but only if it doesn't contain rennet from animals - vegetarian cheese does exist). So why would anyone buy this soy plastic gritty slice of processed garbage? If it isn't suitable for vegans, and most vegetarians can eat non-soy-based cheese (depending, of course, on the availability of vegetarian cheese).....who would willingly subject themselves to that more than once?????

I now have 11 unopened slices. Anyone want them?

The breakfast patties were pretty good though - I didn't mind those at all and would probably stick them in a breakfast scramble with eggs (if it weren't vegan week!). Tasty stuff!

For my mid-morning snack, I experimented with soy again, this time in the form of So Nice Chocolate Soy Milk. I found this in drinking box format and thought it would make a good little treat....21 g of sugar though! Yikes. It was okay. The first sip was not nice, but as I sipped a little more, it got better. ..I just wish it had more of a chocolate flavour (being a sworn devotee of Lindt 70%, I found the chocolatude decidedly lacking).

Lunch was leftover tofu/sweet potato cakes (I know, I hated them yesterday, but I certainly didn't want to let food go to waste!!!!!). It was slightly more palatable today, but it's still not going to see a rerun.

Dinner, on the other hand, was awesome. It was free of processed wackiness, and it was a much more natural take on veganism. This kind of veganism, I can go for.

I made two separate curries and had them over basmati rice (was going to go for brown rice, but figured dinner was healthy enough on its own).

The first curry I made was a mixed vegetable curry....it was spicy, exotic, fragrant and just plain old yummy.

Mixed Vegetable Curry
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T ginger, grated
1/4 c. curry paste (I used Rogan Josh)
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried coriander
1/2 t turmeric
1 t vanilla
1 cinnamon stick
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach, thawed
2 zucchinis, sliced
1.5 c mushrooms, quartered
2 stalks celery, sliced

Okay, okay, I know it looks like a lot of ingredients. But it doesn't take long!

1. In a large pan, heat a bit of olive oil on medium heat. Add onions, garlic and ginger (aka "the aromatics). Sauté for about 5 minutes.
2. Add curry paste, cumin, dried coriander, turmeric and combine well.
3. Add zucchini, mushrooms and celery, and saute/combine for a few more minutes.
4. Add undrained can of tomatoes (you could sub 3 c chopped tomatoes and add a little liquid), as well as the spinach. Toss in vanilla, cinnamon stick and bouillon cube. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes to allow flavours to meld.

To make this curry a full vegetarian meal on its own, you could add a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas or other bean to beef up the protein/fibre.

And voilà!


The other curry I made was a perennial fave of both hubs and me. It is dead easy, really yummy - Red Lentil Dal

Red Lentil Dal
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. curry paste (I used vindaloo - this dish is best spicy!!!!)
1 cup red lentils
4 cups broth
coriander and chopped tomato for garnish

Red lentils are great because they cook so fast!


Anyway, the steps for this recipe are super simple:
1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add aromatics and sauté for about 5 minutes (careful they don't burn - scraping off the residue is a big biatch).
2. Stir in curry paste (I love Patak's) and really, as I said, the hotter the better. You want this baby to burn twice.
3. Stir in red lentils until well combined. Slowly pour in stock and bring to a boil. Simmer away for 15-20 minutes until lentils are soft and turn yellow.

It's that easy. ANYONE can make and love this curry. It's fast and healthy and I would recommend it to anyone!!!!!

Plus, then you can garnish with tomato and coriander and it looks so cute. :)


Is that yum or what....and my friends, this one actually was as good as it looks. You should all make it. The added bonus of making all that food is that I know have five containers filled with leftovers. Woohoo!

So now, I'm absentmindedly watching the golden globes (holy self-congratulatory crapfest....though I'm glad Jennifer Hudson won!) and Little Mosque on the Prairie......but the elliptical is calling, so I should probably publish this post and hop my sore butt onto the elliptical.....

Thanks for reading! And feel free to comment.....I live for feedback and I know you're out there reading....what do you think?

Moroccan Success!

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The in-laws still love me. I think. :)

It turns out that sultry moroccan chicken, partnered with rich red wine and silky crème brulée are complete and total crowd-pleasers. I was still really apprehensive about the chicken last night, but it turned out to be super tasty. :)

My guess-timate of 40 minutes was perhaps a little bit long, so I would check it at 35 minutes in the future.....but I am actually really pleased with the final product. It looked aweosme, tasted awesome and totally blew them away.

I made up a couscous recipe to go with the chicken, and I thought it was a great compliment to the flavours and textures.

Orange almond couscous
2 cups whole wheat couscous
1 cup orange juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 T olive oil
1/4 c slivered almonds
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. raisins
1/3 c. chopped apricots
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. chopped coriander
1/4 c. chopped parsley

1. Bring juice and broth to a boil. Add couscous, stir, cover and set aside (away from heat). Couscous cooks instantly and is ready in five minutes.
2. In a large pan (or wok), heat oil over medium heat. Add almonds, and onion. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, add garlic, cook another couples of minutes.
3. Add raisins, apricot and fresh herbs.
4. Carefully stir in couscous (and make a huge mess on the stove in the process....or is it just me who has that talent....).
5. Stir in lemon juice, heat through. Voila!

Easy, quick, and would be great with many chicken recipes, as well as a lot of fish recipes. I can't really comment too much more on last night other than to say it went perfectly.

I know that one of these days, my guinea pig-esque experimentation is going to bite me in the ass, but seeing as the day has not yet come, I'll continue to whip up crazy concoctions on poor, unsuspecting guests. Muahahahahahaha.....

Procrastination and sleepless nights

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, once again my slothly procrastination has come back to bite me in the behind. Whereas last night I really should have been busying myself with matters of domesticity, I didn’t.

I did not…
…make rice and beans for dinner (as I had planned)
…do the dishes
…fold my laundry
…clean the kitchen
…clean the rest of my house
…vacuum the bunny cage (they are starting to get pissed – nothing worse than an angry rabbit!)

Instead, I…

…ordered Chinese (and accidentally ate a whole chili pepper from the crispy beef….good one MBR….)
…watched TV
…watched a movie (a stupid, but enjoyable one)
…ate chips

Crap.

Therefore, I will now have a very busy night tonight because I have a kabillion things to do. I now have to clean the entire house (hubs has hockey and I owe him one because he gave me a drive this morning), plan tomorrow’s menu, prepare tomorrow’s menu…..yikes.

And this is all my own doing, the eternal domestic un-goddess. Must pull self together in best pseudo-goddess form for tomorrow. ;)

I think I have a menu in mind at least. Since the dinner I thought to have next week is not going to happen any time soon, I still wanted to bring in a Moroccan-inspired menu (to my meat, potato and vegetables inlaws….I’ll keep it mild).

What I’m thinking:
- boneless chicken breast, wrapped in puff pastry, stuffed with chevre and dried fruit and slivered almonds, and slathered in a Moroccan tomato paste. This is my own creation – I think it will involve tomato paste, fresh garlic and ginger and coriander, some turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin. Something about stuffed/pastry things is always impressive, even though it’s not terribly challenging.
- Couscous cooked in orange juice, with raisin, almond, apricot and OJ
- Stir-fried veggies with chick peas
- For dessert, I thought I would do a honey-rosemary crème brulée

The make-ahead tasks for tonight - stuffing and wrapping chicken, chopping veggies, making the crème (the brulée aspect is done tableside with a blowtorch - always impressive!). Tomorrow, I'll just have to throw the chicken in the oven, and cook the couscous. Not too shabby!

On hand, there will be wine, but I think I’ll skip the salad and just have something simple as an appie – veggies and dip I think. Any suggestions? Is this too wacky for m-p-v eaters?

Hopefully all goes well and I don’t faint from exhaustion because it’s definitely gonna be a late night tonight. Thanks for reading! Will update tomorrow….