epic easy homemade balsamic dressing

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So it's January, and many among us are trying to eat a healthier, more wholesome diet.  And this usually means adding the odd salad (either as a side, or as a meal unto itself).  I actually love giant salad meals, and bulk them up by adding seeds, nuts, beans, tuna, eggs, cheese, etc.

The thing that can often trip you up with salad is the dressing.  So many purchased dressings are full of low-quality, filler ingredients.  Now that lil Z is reading, one of the things we do together is look through nutritional labels, and even at 8, she understands that a long list of ingredients, full of things she can't pronounce, probably isn't the best choice.

Case in point, we took a look at the label on her favourite ranch dressing and sure enough, sugar figured prominently, as did all sorts of fillers and other ingredients.

When I don't have time or energy to make my own dressings, I really love the dressings from my local Farm Boy because they have very simple ingredients and taste great (the no-sodium Greek and the Mediterranean are my favourites, but they are all fabulous).

But when I have my act together, this is by far my favourite salad dressing recipe.  It whisks up fabulously, stays emulsified, and best of all, it tastes amazing with fresh crisp vegetables.  It doesn't take long to make and doesn't require too many ingredients.  It also scales up well (if you really loved it, you could make a bigger batch and keep it in a jar in your fridge) so you could make it ahead, or make it for a crowd.

The quality of your initial ingredients does make a difference - make sure you use a vinegar and an oil that you actually really like, as those are the flavours that will come out in this dressing.


Epic Easy Homemade Balsamic Dressing
(single batch is good for a side salad for four people)

1 T balsamic vinegar
sea salt
pepper
3 T extra virgin olive oil (one you really like the flavour of)
1 T dijon mustard (you can go more generous on this if you like mustard, but I find you need at least 1 T for emulsification)

option: 1 t grainy mustard/moutarde à l'ancienne
option: 1 T minced shallot
option: change up the vinegar and oil for a different flavour profile, but do be sure to keep the 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar

1. Measure the balsamic vinegar into a small bowl or cup.  Add a sprinkle of sea salt (I use a salt grinder, but I'd estimate I add about 1/4 t).  Give it a quick stir to dissolve the salt (it won't dissolve in oil).  Add some fresh cracked black pepper.  If you're adding shallot, add it now.

2. Add the oil and the mustard(s).  Use a fork or small whisk to combine until it thickens and is emulsified.  If you're doing a larger batch, go ahead and use a mason jar and shake it.

3.  YUM.  Give it a taste and see if it needs more salt or other seasoning.  If it's a bit thick, you can add either some vinegar, or water to thin it out.

Once you've mastered the basic vinaigrette, feel free to experiment with flavoured oils and vinegars, but again, make sure they are flavours you like (i.e., don't use a stale or yucky-tasting oil because you won't like the result).  I don't use super high-end products, but a nice fruity olive oil is totally worth it here.  :)

'tis the season...for heirloom tomatoes

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In a perfect world, I would eat a wonderful, sustainable, 100-mile diet.  But since I refuse to subsist entirely on root vegetables and preserves all winter, that doesn't really happen, and we enjoy product from around the world all winter long.



But come summer, I really want to do my best to enjoy the fantastic local produce grown (almost literally) in my own backyard (my own backyard having a massive patch of squash, which choked out everything else...maybe year two of gardening will be a bit more varied, hehe).

In the meantime, given my gardening failures, I get a local organic produce delivery from Bryson Farms, which isn't quite in my own backyard (Dekok, Acorn Creek and Shouldice are all closer), but I love the delivery aspect.  Farmers' markets are pretty awesome in theory, but I have a hard time scrambling everyone together to get going on a Saturday morning, and then the markets themselves are pretty crowded (not so awesome with an active two year old), and I never have enough small change.

So my lack of motivation/organization benefits to the extreme from nice farmers who are willing to bring their wares right to my front step.  You pay a premium, but I'm totally loving the variety of vegetables that we've been enjoying.

This past week, I got two containers of gorgeous rainbow heirloom tomatoes - all shapes, sizes and colours.  I knew they would be just perfect for a layered caprese-style salad.  There's no original recipe here - tomatoes + bocconcini + basil + salt + pepper - but I had a little fun with the presentation, and made a tomato pyramid.  I served this to six adults and three kids, and still had a bit left to take to work for lunch the next day.  It looked so pretty on the table, and I love how such simple, fresh ingredients can be showcased to perfection.  This is what eating local is all about, and I was happy to have these yummy tomatoes as the centrepiece for the meal.  :)

stacked heirloom tomato salad
serves 10 - easily made smaller

4 lbs heirloom tomatoes, assorted sizes and colours
2 containers bocconcini (mine came pre-sliced - bonus!)
1 bunch basil, cut in a chiffonade
fresh cracked pepper
fleur de sel

1. Slice the tomatoes with a serrated knife and arrange on a platter.  I find it's easiest if you start with the largest tomatoes, and then work the smaller ones in and around.  Mix up the colours and sizes.

2. While slicing the tomatoes, layer slices of bocconcini.  As you build up the layers of tomato/bocconcini, periodically add a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.

3. When you're done, sprinkle the basil over top.  I recommend keeping the dressing separate if you are in doubt of whether the salad will be finished in one sitting (the vinegar will make the tomatoes mushy).

balsamic-shallot vinaigrette
1/2 t sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 shallot, minced
3 T balsamic vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
1/2 c olive oil

1. Combine the salt, pepper, shallot and balsamic; whisk together.  Add in the mustard and whisk again.

2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until desired consistency/flavour is reached (usually somewhere between 2-3x the amount of vinegar that was used, depending on how acidic you like your dressing).

3. Drizzle over anything and everything.

That's it.  It's so yummy and simple and delicious.  And I had some of the leftover salad stuffed in a wrap with some turkey breast and it was also amazing.

anachronistic potluck goodies - smoke salmon tart, buffalo chicken dip and salads

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I made a batch of freezer burritos today, and was all proud of myself, so I uploaded a pic to my facebook page....and a friend promptly pointed out that I'd labeled them all with January 2013.  *facepalm*



In the spirit of going back in time, let's go back a few weeks to the holidays (or really, it could be going forward in time to your next potluck), as I have a few recipes to share that are great for potlucks of all sorts.

I will shamelessly admit that I like to bring the dish that everyone wants the recipe for.  I like cooking, I try to make food that's appealing, so I score it as a win every time someone genuinely likes my food enough to want to know how to make it themselves.  And I always share the recipe.

But with that said, there are varying types of potlucks and varying types of audiences.  Except for the smoked salmon tart, which is probably best at a potluck where you KNOW at least a couple of people like smoked salmon, I do think most of these dishes will work for most potlucks, and while we all love baked brie and nacho dip, somebody else always brings those things.  So here are a few alternatives to spice things up and broaden the potluck horizons.



Without fail, one of the recipes I get asked for most often is this buffalo chicken dip.  It's not pretty, so I didn't take a photo of my own, though I have shamelessly stolen the one below from the Frank's website (because it's also not my recipe - it's theirs).  This dip is creamy, spicy and filling.  People just gobble it up.  It's also completely and utterly terrible for you, so eat sparingly.


Photo credit: Frank's

Buffalo Chicken Dip

















photo and recipe credit: Frank's, with a few mods


1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Frank's red hot sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
 2 cups chopped/shredded cooked chicken.
1/2 cup finely shredded aged cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Combine all ingredients in a 1-quart baking dish.

3. Bake 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Serve with crackers or vegetables. (I like it with tortilla chips).

To continue in the appetizer vein, a favourite thing for me to make is this smoked salmon tart.  It looks beautiful and fancy, and the best part is that the actual labour involved is relatively low.  It's not fussy to make.  This is ALWAYS a hit with the smoked salmon lovers, and always avoided by everybody else.

But that's okay, because it means more delicious smoked salmon for me.

Smoked Salmon Tart


1 sheet pre-rolled puff pastry (check label - I like PC brand because it is pre-rolled AND made with some real butter - if you don't get pre-rolled, you'll have to give it a go yourself and it could end up not as nicely shaped)
1/2 c high quality sour cream (high fat, and also check the label for stabilizers like carageenan and guar gum - avoid these for the nicest quality and find one that just contains milk/cream and bacterial cultures)
1/2 package cream cheese
1 T dijon mustard
1 clove minced/crushed garlic
dill (fresh or dried - about 2 T/ 2 t respectively)
salt, pepper
4 oz pre-sliced smoked salmon
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2-3 T capers, roughly chopped (otherwise they roll off)
fresh cracked black pepper
lemon slices

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake puff pastry sheet for about 20-24 minutes, or until it is nicely golden brown.  You could try pricking it with a fork and scoring it at the edge to keep it from rising, but as you can see, that is a bit of an exercise in futility.  :p



2. Let puff pastry cool, and in the meantime, combine the sour cream, cream cheese, mustard, dill, garlic and a bit of salt and pepper.  Once the pastry is cool, spread the cream cheese/sour cream mixture.

3. In terms of presentation, I find it easiest to slice the tart at this point (on a cutting board because it makes a big crumby mess) and carefully transfer the pieces to your serving platter.  I think it slices best into 16 pieces, but you could go smaller (25 pieces) or bigger (9 pieces) depending on the size of your group and how much they like smoked salmon.  Top each slice with a piece of smoked salmon and decorate with slices of shallot, capers and fresh cracked pepper.  Adorn the platter with lemon slices.  Done.

And doesn't it look pretty?



My last couple of recipes to share are salads - these recipes are both big crowd pleasers and hold well for a day or two - they are great for picnics or barbecue type potlucks.

The first is a recipe for a kale, wild rice, pomegranate and feta salad that I take ZERO credit for - it's from Lindsay at Pinch of Yum, but I can say that I've made it three times in the last month (pomegranates are in season!) and it's been a hit every time.  I love the texture contrast between the pomegranate, kale, wild rice and nuts, and the salty touches of feta are perfect.  I use pecans in this recipe, because that's usually what I have around the house, and I don't sauté the onion for the dressing (mostly due to laziness). I'm not going to re-post here, because I don't have a lot to add, but look how beautiful it is (and her photos are gorgeous, as you can see here):


photo credit: Pinch of Yum

So that's why you should make it.

Last thing I'm sharing is a VERY simple recipe for greek pasta salad - I love this one because it's ever so slightly outside the yucky mayo pasta salad box, and pretty much everyone will try it and enjoy it.  This comes together really quickly and makes a good-sized batch, so it's great for a crowd.  I usually just purchase greek salad dressing (I love Farm Boy's), but you could use your personal favourite greek dressing recipe as well (I love the FB one because the ingredient list is so short that it's pretty much the same as homemade!).

Quick Greek Pasta Salad

1 lb box pasta (penne, fusilli, corkscrews or bowties work well)
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 cucumber
1 small red onion (if it's really pungent, go easy on the onion)
2 cups small tomatoes (grape/cherry - leave them whole if you want your salad to have shelf-life, as cut tomatoes go mushy)
1 cup kalamata olives
200 g crumbled feta (give or take)
1.5 cups greek salad dressing (give or take)

1. Cook pasta according to instructions for al dente.  When the pasta is cooked, rinse it repeatedly in cold water until it is cool and the sticky starch is gone.

2. Chop the peppers, cucumber and onion to bite-sized pieces.

3. Combine the cooled pasta with the chopped vegetables, tomatoes, olives, feta and salad dressing.

And you're done.  It's that easy.  Amounts on this are very forgiving - if you have more or less of a given ingredient, it will still be great (case in point, I was SUPER short on olives for this batch and it was still a hit!).

Anyway, I know this wasn't the most focused post, but hopefully you've got a few ideas now for potlucks (or even just lunches, because these salads are EPIC).

Cheers and thanks for reading!

cozy, hearty soup & salad

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When it comes to cooking and meal planning, I take inspiration from a huge variety of sources, influences and cuisines.  I like to mix it up.  Sometimes we eat a lot of meat.  Sometimes no meat.  Sometimes complicated.  Sometimes simple.  Sometimes spicy.  Sometimes herbacious.  Sometimes sweet.  Sometimes salty.  The way I see it, the world is a giant smorgasbord of inspirational deliciousness, and I want to help myself to the best.  ;)

Not that I'm selfish or anything.

One of my go-to sites for the last 10 years has been epicurious.com; epi was doing social media and web 2.0 before any of us even knew what that was.  When I first discovered them (and I've been saving recipes since 2001 on there), I loved it because I could see feedback from other people who'd made the recipe (i.e., they allowed comments; nobody else was doing this back then).  I could see reviews from people who'd made the recipe, and best of all, I could save everything in my own personalized recipe box.

Now, pretty much every site (including this one, naturally), allows comments.  And with Pinterest, we've pretty much eliminated the need for a site-specific recipe box (though I will continue to use epicurious!).  And there are hundreds of thousands of blogs and cooking websites out there.  And with this overwhelming amount of choice, it can actually be a bit intimidating to start a recipe search.

So with that in mind, and despite all this endless choice, sometimes I still retreat to my trusty cookbook shelf.  It's not a huge shelf, and I don't let just anyone have shelf space, but I have a few tried and true cookbooks that I keep around because they are fabulous.

One such pair is Clean Food and Clean Start (Terry Walters).  These are seasonally-based vegan cookbooks using natural, healthy ingredients.  First, I love the covers (which is shallow, I wholeheartedly admit, and it looks like the revised edition of Clean Food has a photographic cover, rather than the solid green cover with the half-jacket of the original edition, but the originals are pretty and I like them).  I also love the seasonal approach to cooking, using what's best from each season.  These aren't generally the recipes I serve to guests, as they do tend to have that distinctive wholesome flavour that is not necessarily universally enjoyed (but I love).  Anyway, bottom line, before I ramble too much more, these are great cookbooks for when you want to feel good about what you're eating.

And after a weekend of endless treats and sweets, I really felt like we needed to step back a bit and enjoy something healthy and wholesome.  But still tasty.  ;)

So I took inspiration from the hearty minestrone recipe in Clean Start, and went from there.  My version was not vegetarian/vegan, because I used a combination of chicken/beef broth (it's what I had).  Obviously, this is a very simple substitution.  I used different beans, because I have a massive container of 9-bean mix that I got from Costco.  I just soaked them the night before and let them bubble away for about an hour during the afternoon.  Nothing wrong with canned beans either though.  ;)  1.5 cups of bean mix made about 4.5 cups of cooked beans.



And my salad dressing is not vegan either, but it's really darn good, so you should make it.  I have a hard time with bottled dressings now; I do generally keep a bottle or two in my fridge for when I'm feeling really lazy, but I find the saltiness and added flavourings are just overpowering.  Nothing like the pure deliciousness of homemade salad dressings, bright and fresh with herbs and garlic.  Also, I had buttermilk that needed using up, so this homemade buttermilk ranch dressing was a great way to do that.

hearty minestrone soup
inspired, but modified due to circumstances, from Clean Start; don't be afraid to modify based on what you have available!)


1 medium yellow onion, diced
(3 stalks celery, diced) --> I was out!
1 T olive oil
3 carrots, sliced
3 cups chopped tomatoes (I drained a can and chopped those)
4.5 cups beans (chickpeas, kidney, black beans, etc. --> this is about 3 cans)
1 head broccoli with stems, chopped
1.5 cups chopped green beans (I was out; I chopped up some bok choy instead; any green would work!)
5 cups stock
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 t herbes de provence (or a mixture of fresh herbs, if you have them!)
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper to taste

1. In a big soup pot, sauté onion, celery and carrot of medium heat, about 5 minutes.



2. Add tomatoes, beans, broccoli, stock, green beans/greens, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and herbes de provence.  And lots of pepper.



3.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30 minutes (until carrots/celery are done).  Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 8.

buttermilk ranch dressing


2 green onions, chopped
2 T fresh basil
1 t dried dill
2 T lemon juice
2 T dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t salt, pepper to taste
1/3 c mayonnaise
1/3 c miracle whip/whipped salad dressing (if you only have mayo, use all mayo, but add about 1 t sugar and 1 t vinegar)
1/3 c greek yogourt
1/2 c buttermilk

1.  In a food processor/immersion blender, combine the onions, basil, dill, lejon juice, dijon, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Process until relatively smooth.



2. Add mayo, miracle whip, greek yogourt and buttermilk. Process again.  Taste, and use on salad, or as a dip.  It's super yummy!  I had mine on a mâche mix, but it would be good on anything.  The recipe makes about 2 cups.

Hubs and Lil Z had theirs with garlic toast (SO EASY - make toast, rub with fresh cut garlic.  Voila.  Garlic toast.), but I just stuck with the soup and salad.  It was hearty and filling and I'm very stoked to eat more of it for my lunch today.

winter seafood dinner party

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Before I get into this dinner party menu, just wanted to show you my snazzy new facebook page - just adding another way for you to keep up. I also add some content on there that you don't get on the blog or via twitter. More snark and links and that kind of thing. So it's toooooooooooootally worth liking. :)

I'll apologize in advance for the cruddiness of these photos - my camera battery (all four camera batteries, actually....) was, of course, toast when I went to take prep pictures (so there are none of those). And that's when the light was actually good.

So unfortunately, these pics are a result of overhead kitchen light. But I swear the food is just as delicious as normal, so read on......

I was having some friends over for dinner, and I wasn't really sure what to make - the only restrictions I had were no peanuts, and that one of the diners was not a fan of big bloody masses of meat. Fine by me anyway, as I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be steering clear of steak tartare these days.

So I went with a seafood theme, and tried to stay a little bit seasonal (not that you can really eat *seasonal* food in Ottawa in January...).

For an appetizer, I opted to make some coconut shrimp - I was inspired from a recipe in the Kraft What's Cooking holiday magazine (I know...heinous, but I was inspired, what can I say?). So I took out the Shake and Bake, and the pre-made sauce, and made my own version with panko and a sour cream sauce. It was really delicious, but the shrimp are best right out of the oven, so they are nice and crispy.

I did find that the panko adhered well and really gave a nice crunch to the shrimp, which is unusual in a non-deep-fried appie. I served these with some venison pepperettes (courtesy of my bro), and some red and green pepper strips. I like to keep appetizers relatively light, and not too filling, because I just want to get people geared up for some gooooood eatin' later in the evening.

Coconut-Panko Shrimp
makes about two dozen

1 lb large shrimp (26/lb), peeled and deveined. Take off the tails, nobody eats them and they leave a mess
1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted (toast in a frying pan for 5-6 minutes on medium, stirring often and watching like a hawk)
1 cup panko
1 t curry powder

1 t garlic powder
dash cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c low-fat sour cream
2 T indian curry paste
1/4 c chopped cilantro

1. (If you are baking right after assembling, preheat your oven to 400F).

2. Combine coconut, panko and seasonings in a shallow bowl.

3. Dip shrimp in egg (I actually just tossed the whole batch of shrimp in with the egg because I'm lazy like that).

4. Coat shrimp in coconut-panko mixture until evenly coated. TIP: have one 'wet hand' and one 'dry hand' - use one hand to grab the slimy eggy shrimp and use the other to help toss/pretty the coating mixture. The coating will adhere better and you won't end up covered in eggy coconut goo.

5. Lay each shrimp on a baking sheet. Don't let them touch. I baked mine on a silpat.

6. Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes. Mine were perfect after 10 minutes (just pick one and cut through to make sure it's pink and opaque the whole way through).

7. While shrimp is baking, mix together sour cream, curry paste and cilantro.

Enjoy! It's awesome and pretty easy to put together.

I came across a really intriguing roasted cauliflower salad recipe on epicurious, and pretty much followed the recipe exactly (though I halved it because it was a huuuuuuuuuuuuge recipe).

Half of the recipe was just about perfect for 6 appetizer servings. I'm sharing my version below, but I've linked to the original. I figure most people are likely to need 4-6 servings of salad, rather than 12ish.

You can do all of the components in advance (i.e., the cauliflower, chopping the lettuce). I dressed each salad individually and this worked well.

Roasted Cauliflower and Radicchio Salad

stolen and slightly modified from epicurious


1 small head cauliflower cut into 1-inch-wide florets
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
9 large leaves of romaine, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 small head radicchio, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

parmesan cheese for grating on top

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Toss cauliflower with 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and roast, turning over with tongs halfway through roasting, until tender and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes total. Cool in pan on a rack, then transfer to large bowl.

3. Whisk together vinegar, shallot, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl, then add remaining 5 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. (FYI - this does not emulsify...just whisk before drizzling)

4. Add romaine, radicchio, parsley and dressing to cauliflower and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nuts and parmesan.

I loved the richness of the nuts and cheese with the deep roasted flavour of the cauliflower. The acidity of the dressing really made it fabulous. Great salad. It's a bit labour-intensive, but I think it's wonderful for fall/winter and would make a great meal with a grilled chicken breast or something.

For soup, I went back to seafood.....I've made this mussel-fennel bisque before. I'm not going to re-post the recipe here, because I make it pretty much EXACTLY as written.

The only changes I recommend is just including all of the fennel in the soup itself, and skipping the browned fennel cubes (too much work). I think you could also reduce the cream by half. The seafood broth with rice is so rich on its own that I don't think 1 c of heavy cream is fully necessary. It's so yummy though. I love this soup. It's rich and delicious and really just the perfect seafoody-indulgence. With bread and salad, it would make a great meal.

For the main, I had some salmon hanging around in my freezer and so that's where I started. I ended up with another epicurious winner, this salmon fillet recipe with a creamy horseradish sauce. I just made a few small changes (I baked my salmon at 400F for 12 minutes, because I"m lazy and because my bbq is under about a metre of snow and ice. Baking is great for dinner parties, because you just pop the dish in the oven, and then go back to your guests - no fuss! I marinated the salmon for about two hours, which was great.

I can also attest that the leftovers are PHENOMENAL made into a salmon salad - I just combined my leftover salmon with the leftover sauce, added some minced onion/green pepper/celery and it was perfection in a sammich. YUM. I'd make this again - it's super easy and quick to come together and the sauce was delicious.

I served the salmon with this butternut squash dish - it's simple squash wedges, roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with pepitas and mint. It was a simple dish, but I really liked it as well. I think the serving estimate is a bit low (4 people ate most of the squash), but I also baked my squash over an hour to get it nice and soft and caramelized.

That said, I have a squash PSA. WEAR GLOVES WHEN CHOPPING BUTTERNUT SQUASH. The internets have not come to a consensus on why this is, but with some squash and some people, skin will react. After I chopped the squash, the fingers on my right hand started feeling numb. Then they started feeling tight. And swollen. It really kinda freaked me out. And then the skin that was feeling tight cracked in about a million places (sorry, I know that's gross). It seems it's like some sort of chemical coming from the squash that did it to me. Anyway, the moral of the story is....wear your damn gloves when you chop that squash. And then you can avoid freaking out about your bizarre reaction. #learnfrommyfail

Last, I wanted to finish with something pretty simple, and on the lighter side of desserts. I've made passionfruit pavlova before, so I just made a variation of it this time and it was sooooooooo fabulous.

I followed a different meringue recipe this time, and I think the oven temperature was too high....my meringues really did brown quite a bit. But they were still yummy, so I don't think it was a big deal. Also, rather than filling with whipped cream, I opted to fill with the most decadently delicious coconut yogurt in the world. Even at nearly 10% fat, I figured it was a lighter choice than the 35% whipping cream. And man, it's sooooooooooo good. Instead of a simple passionfruit drizzle, I added some pureed mango (just 3/4 of a large mango, a bit of superfine sugar, and a splash of water, pureed together) to amp up the volume. Passionfruits are $3/each and don't really give a whole lotta pulp each. It was a great balance and the tropical flavour of the passionfruit really came through nicely. I would make this again and again. Perfect easy dessert.

So that's my menu....I wanted to keep it on the simpler side, and not ultra-indulgent. I thought it balanced really well and the flavours were really good. YUM. Any of these recipes would be great as part of another menu as well.

Thanks for reading - and don't forget to check out DNM on facebook!

bbq tastes of summer

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One of the many things to love about summer is that you just can't go wrong when you invite people over for a barbecue. Nobody expects anything fancy (most are content with burgers and hot dogs), and anything you do that's a bit outside of the box looks extra fancy as a result.

For example, tonight's dinner was nothing crazy - bbq'd pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, salad and dessert - but having a little fun with the execution of the dinner made it super delicious.

Of course, things would have been helped had hubs not practically petrified the pork on the grill (you know that memo from the FDA last week, where they said it was safe to cook pork to 145F? hubs burned it). I was surprised that despite it's inner temperature reading of 180F (no, not joking), some parts of the pork were still not bad.....definitely not juice, but still edible. The thinner parts were chewy and hard (yuck), but the thicker middle parts were workable.

I'm so obsessed with cooking magazines that I took the chance to use two of my latest - June 2011 Clean Eating and Early Summer 2011 Food & Drink - they absolutely did not disappoint, and you'll see the recipes for southwestern cheddar potato wedges, salad with endive, feta, avocado and mint, and passionfruit pavlova following. They were all such delicious twists on ordinary...I felt compelled to share them.

For the main, I opted for an asian-inspired (more pan-asian than any specific geographic location, hehe) pork tenderloin. Aside from charring, I thought the recipe would have benefited from longer marinating. I marinated about 3 hours, but I think that the flavours would have better permeated the pork with an overnight marinade. It was good though...I mean really, when there are meat and fire....it's hard for anything to be especially bad.

A little tip, when you are entertaining, make sure you have all of your garnishes ready to go before company arrives. In this instance, I had crumbled feta, cilantro, glaze for meat, grated cheddar and minced red peppers ready to go for last minute additions. It makes you look more organized and makes the whole meal flow a lot better.

Honey-lime dressed salad with avocado, endive, mint and feta

from Early Summer 2011 Food & Drink (will be online here soon)

As soon as I saw this combination of flavours, I knew it would be delicious. It's light and yummy and fresh...the mint adds that little bit of something extra, and it's all wonderfully balanced with the rich avocado, bright mind, sharp feta and yummy honey lime dressing all playing off each other. Can't go wrong with this. I'm sure it would be fine without the endive though - it was good, but you wouldn't be missing anything if you felt like not buying endives)

DRESSING:

1/4 c olive oil

3 T lime juice

1 T honey

2 t dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

SALAD:

1 large belgian endive (optional, I think)

1/2 cup mint leaves

8 cups greens (I used red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or mixed greens would work well)

1 large ripe but firm avocado, sliced

4 oz feta, crumbled

1. Combine dressing ingredients. Set aside (can be made in advance and fridgified)

2. Slice endive in half lengthwise. Cut out and discard core. Thinly slice. Coarsely tear mint leaves.

3. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss. Add dressing. Toss. Eat immediately (will not keep).

Delicious. I think it would be great with a grilled chicken breast on top, or with a nice piece of fish, if you wanted to make the salad into a meal on its own).

Southwestern Cheddar Steak Fries

stolen and lightly modified from the June 2011 issue of Clean Eating

Potatoes are inherently yummy, so it's hard to go wrong, but this is like the love child of a potato skin and a roasted potato....and it's actually not too bad for you. YUM. I reduced teh amount of smoked paprika (and subbed sweet spanish paprika) because I find that smoked paprika tends to completely dominate all recipes. A little bit goes a long way. If you don't have smoked paprika, you could get some smokiness by using smoked salt, a drop of liquid smoke or some chipotle powder. I think they would be good even without the smoke though.

1 lb red or yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise into wedges

1 T olive oil

1/2 t smoked paprika (I used bittersweet)

1.5 t sweet spanish paprika (not the cheap grocery store stuff)

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t sea salt

1 oz finely shredded aged cheddar

1/3 c finely chopped red pepper

2 t minced cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper/silpat. In a large bowl, combine oil with paprika, cumin, garlic and salt. Toss potatoes with spice mixture. Place potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet.

2. Bake in centre of oven for 10 minutes. Flip and stir potatoes, and bake for another 10 minutes.

3. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with cheese and red peppers. Bake another 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.

Asian-inspired grilled pork tenderloin

stolen from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry

I've changed this recipe a little bit, because I like to marinate my pork to infuse the flavours a little more. I would marinate this overnight for maximum yum factor.

1/4 c hoisin sauce

2 T lemon juice

1 T dijon mustard

1 T honey

1 T toasted sesame oil

1 T low-sodium soy sauce

1 T grated ginger

1 T minced garlic

[1 t lemon zest....I omited because I juiced my lemons and was too lazy to zest them after]

2 pork tenderloins

1. To make marinade/glaze, combine all ingredients except pork in a bowl. Mix. Pour 2/3 of marinade over pork. Reserve the rest of the marinade to use as a glaze/sauce.

2. Let pork marinate 24 hours (I say this is crucial...mine only marinated for 4 hours and the flavours were not permeated enough).

3. Grill pork to desired doneness (FDA recommends a temperature of 145F, with a rest time of at least three minutes). Brush pork generously with marinade during laste five minutes of cooking. As mentioned above, hubs grilled to a temp of 180F. I let it rest for 10 minutes....it was still edible, but I think anything over 160F is really kinda overdone. Slice into thin slices and serve.

You could use this same recipe with either pork chops or chicken pieces and I think it would be equally great. The leftovers are awesom in stir fry, or in wraps or on salads. I was lucky enough to find pork tenderloin at half price today, so we royally stocked up.

Passionfruit pavlova

from Early Summer 2011 Food & Drink (will be online here soon)

I've written about pavlova before....for the uninitiated, it is a dessert consisting of a baked meringue, whipped cream and fruit. This is a relatively simple pavlova, and I think it's incredibly delicious. That said, I also found it too sweet, so I'm providing a recipe NOT based on what I actually made, but tweaked slightly to proportions that I am confident would yield a more balanced dessert.

Overall though, this is amazing...passionfruit is one of the most wonderful flavours in the entire planet - it's so intoxicatingly tropical....if you've never tried if before, this would be a most decadent initiation.

MERINGUE:

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1/2 t cream of tartar

3/4 c superfine sugar (just take regular and whiz it in the food processor)

1 t cornstarch

1 t white vinegar

CREAM & FRUIT

1 c whipping cream

2 T sugar

1 t lemon zest

1 T lemon juice

2 ripe passion fruit

1. Preheat the oven to 250F (120C).

2. Trace an 8-inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper using a marker. Line a baking tray with the parchment paper, marker-side down (so the marker does not get on your meringue).

3. Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until they are foamy. Slowly pour in the sugar while whipping and continue whipping on high speed until the whites hold a stiff peak and the sugar is dissolved (no longer feels gritty between your fingers). Fold in the cornstarch and vinegar.

This is the point where I'm thankful to have my beautiful Kitchenaid mixer:

4. Spoon the whites onto the parchment paper and try to make them look snazzy with a spatula. I tried and failed, - you can see.

5. Bake the meringue for 75-90 minutes, until the exterior is dry, cracking the oven door if the merinque starts showing signs of browning (I think mine browned a bit....it was still delish). Once out of the oven and cooled, the meringue should feel dry on the outside and peel away from the parchment paper easily. If still a little soft, return to the 250F oven for about 10-20 minutes. Cool the meringue on the tray before removing.

6. Whip the cream into soft peaks and beat in the sugar, lemon zest, juice and chill.

7. Just before serving, spoon the whipped cream over the meringue, and spoon the passion fruit seeds over the meringue - all you have to do is cut the fruit in half, stir the seeds with a spoon, and drizzle over top.

Voila. Tropical perfection. Slice and serve like a cake - serves 8.

One final tip, given that this is a bbq-themed post. You can bbq bacon. Go do it and thank me later.

That is all.

virtuous (almost) vegetarian food

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The last couple of days have totally served to remind me of WHY I've hardly blogged at all since I went back to work....holy crap....I get home at 6:30/7. Scramble to throw something on the table by 7:30/8. Then eat, tidy a bit. It's 9. Then I need to work out....by the time I'm done, it's usually 10:30, and I need a shower and I need to go to bed. Not a whole lot of time for loafing, photoshopping, photo-uploading and blogging. But dammit, I'm going to blog this year.

So it's 10:45, and I really should be showering and going to bed (damn you Chalean Extreme for kicking my butt everyday). But instead, I've parked myself in front of the computer, because I figure that probably at least half of my readers have perhaps made a resolution to eat healthier, and I've got a couple of recipes that could potentially be useful. And I took pictures of them.

And I promised I would share.

I've waxed poetic about cauliflower soup before, so when I encountered this recipe, while perusing my new Clean Start cookbook (a gift from family...not from a company), I was very intrigued. The combination of roasted cauliflower and roasted garlic seemed pretty much unassailable, so I figured I would give it a try. I served the soup with a chef salad and a yogurt-based green goddess dressing (recipe follows). The combo was great, and was also equally great at lunch today. This is a delicious simple recipe - easily kept vegan (though I used chicken stock, as that's what I had in the cupboard....as an aside, I do have a fantastic new method for vegetable stock that I hope to share shortly!).

My only beef with the Clean Start cookbook, which is full of gluten-free, vegan recipes (without being preachy, which is also awesome), is that there are no calorie calculations or nutrition information. While the book is not specifically a 'diet/weight loss' book, the recipes definitely form part of a healthy lifestyle...one that could lend itself well to weight loss. So that's the one thing I would change about this book....sure, I can easily plug a recipe into nutritiondata.com (and it's free!) and THEN plug the calorie information into fitday.com (also free!), but I'm lazy. So I wish it were in the book.

Roasted Cauliflower and (Roasted) Garlic Soup

stolen and lightly modified from Clean Start

2 heads cauliflower (about 10 cups chopped)

3 T extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit extra

1 garlic bulb/head (the whole thing)

1 cup diced sweet onion (I used vidalia)

2 T mirin (very very sweet rice wine check asian section of supermarket or sub half honey/syrup, half sherry/red wine)

(2 t sea salt) - I omitted this

4 cups stock or water (I used chicken stock - I would add the salt if you use water)

2 T fresh thyme leaves (I subbed about 1 t dried thyme)

1. Preheat oven to 450F (original recipe calls for 350F and 1 hour of roasting time...I was hungry and impatient).

2. Toss cauliflower with 1 T olive oil and spread out on a cookie sheet (I line with parchment paper to avoid sticking and scrubbing). Cut top off garlic, drizzle with olive oil and wrap loosely (but seal tightly) with foil. Place both cauliflower and garlic in oven and roast for about 30 minutes or so (stir the cauliflower every 10 minutes to prevent burning...if it starts to burn, turn the oven down a bit). Alternatively, if you have more time, use the lower temperature (350F) and roast for longer. Your choice. :)

3. Remove from oven and set aside. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out roasted cloves, discard skin, and set aside.

4. In a large pot, saute onion in 1 T olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add roasted cauliflower and garlic, mirin, salt and stock/water (also add thyme at this point, if using dried). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes (or until cauliflower is REALLY soft).

5. Remove from heat and puree (either with immersion blender, normal blender or food processor...your choice. I prefer immersion blender.

6. If using fresh thyme, add it, and some fresh pepper. Feel free to garnish with thyme. Or be lazy like me, and just grind a little pepper over it.

Voila. You are done. The original recipe says to simmer for another 20 minutes, but I was really hungry and this turned out just fine. You could simmer for longer though. I think my cauliflower heads might have been a little on the large side, so I added a bit of water after pureeing to thin the texture a bit.

Yogurt Green-Goddess Dressing

1 cup (not chopped or packed) of mixed fresh herbs. I used equal parts dill, basil and cilantro. It was epic.

1 cup plain yogourt (greek/fat free/not so fat free/whatever)

1 T maple syrup

juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2-3T?)

1-2 T olive oil

1 T dijon mustard

pepper

1 small minced clove of garlic

(salt) - I didn't add any as I'm trying to cut back

Combine ingredients, puree with kitchen gadget of choice. Mine was on the runny side (my herbs were still pretty wet from being washed), but the dressing was so flavourful, it didn't really bother me. I served this on spring mix, chopped veggies, 8 croutons (yes I counted....that's a serving...ugh) and 1/2 oz grated aged cheddar. It was a delicious salad.

I don't know the exact calorie count of this meal, but it was satisfying and tasty. I thought the garlic and cauliflower went really well together, and the salad gave some nice crunch and texture, and the little crouton and cheese bits gave me just enough sodium and unctuous deliciousness to make up for the relative vegginess of this meal. Two thumbs up. Hubs agrees.