Even though the big first planting weekend of the year is a month and a half to two months away, it makes it seem closer to see the little sprouts of what's to come peeking out at me against the snowy background of our windows. The snow is getting less and less, and my excitement about digging in the dirt is growing every day. Get ready, in the next couple of weeks we will be posting our garden plans so that you too can anticipate the kind of fresh ingredients that will show up as ingredients in our summer recipes.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Spring Sprouts
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bento Week! - Friday
My camera died on me, so I wasn't able to take photos on Friday. The only downside to having a camera that charges via USB is me losing the cable half the time. Luckily, the battery lasts a very long time so I don't often have to deal with this. So instead of Friday's lunch you get Monday's... masquerading as Friday's.
Friday's lunch:
- Pork & Asparagus Stir Fry (20g pork & 60g asparagus)
- 2 quail eggs, hard boiled
- kabocha miso mash (1/4 squash)
- 1/8 small canteloupe, cubed
- 2 small chocolate chip cookies
The kabocha miso mash takes about 5 minutes to make in the microwave. Just cut the squash in quarters, wrap in cling film and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash with a small knob of butter and a tablespoon+ of miso (per full squash) to taste. This works with butternut squash as well, as it has a very similar flavour to kabocha.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bento Week! - Thursday
I'm being a bit sneaky here, because I actually didn't bring a lunch today - I had dinner plans so only brought fruit for a snack. This is one of last week's lunches; the fish is leftover from the previous evening's dinner and then I cooked the vegetables in the morning before work. While it might seem like a pain cooking in the mornings, it is just as quick as putting together a good sandwich or salad, and because I enjoy cooking anyway it just makes me look forward to lunch all the more.
Thursday's lunch:
- 1/3 piece misoyaki fish
- grilled mushroom, zucchini & asparagus tossed in sesame oil with sesame seeds
- mandarin orange
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bento Week! - Wednesday
This is basically a "dinner for lunch" kind of bento. I have class tonight and won't have a chance to get home for dinner after work, so I've brought a pretty big lunch. The sandwich has a leftover pork cutlet from last night's dinner, apple slices cooked with a knob of butter, and brie. I am anticipating lunch already, and I've just had breakfast!
Wednesday's lunch:
Bento 6
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 herb ciabatta bun with pork cutlet, apple, lettuce, brie & wholegrain mustard
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bento Week! - Tuesday
I have been craving cold soba for weeks now, and finally gave in. It's really best in summer, but this winter is dragging on for so long that I just can't wait. This is quite a large bento, and has room for a snack as well as lunch.
Tuesday's lunch:
-65g soba with dipping sauce
-1 blood orange, sliced
-1 medium carrot
-cucumber & wakame pickles
The recipe linked above for the pickles is from Just Hungry - I love being able to make them in only a couple of hours!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Bento Week! - Monday
I have a love of cute things, so it is no surprise that I adore bento lunches. I certainly don't put a lot of effort into them, though; while the complicated character bento are amazing to look at, I have no patience to do it for myself. All I want is for my lunches to be colourful and tasty.
Monday's lunch:
- 1/2 cup edamame with sea salt
- 3 small onigiri with nori (about 3/4 cup cooked rice)
- large lettuce leaf
- 3/4 cup strawberries tossed in rice wine vinegar
For once, I didn't make my lunch in advance, so this was a quick 5 minute lunch. I make my onigiri (rice balls) in advance and freeze them, so I always have something to fall back on when I haven't prepared anything or don't have any leftovers. They are just wrapped in cling film to freeze and defrosted in the microwave before packing.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Almost Pepperoni & Mushroom Pizza
My fridge is pretty much empty tonight, and I was way, way too tired to walk the the 2 (long) blocks to Sobey's. To give you an idea of just how empty my fridge is: the fruit drawer contains 1 granny smith apple, 1 lemon, and 1 wrinkled pomegranate. So, when I got home from work I did some raiding around and found in the freezer half of a sausage. Yay~ dinner!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Urban Diner: A Fun Breakfast Spot
Urban Diner is one of those places that I have driven by many times and never stopped in. It is just off of 124th Street in the West Central area of the city, in the part of town sometimes called "High Street." I pass it most often on the way to Paddy's Cheese Market, which you should definitely stop at if you are eating in the area. The Urban Dinner is a bright, funky space, perfect for weekend brunch with your friends. I see that the have a great little patio out back, so I will definitely have to return once the warmer weather has arrived to try that out.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Green Tea Sugar Cookies
I looove the flavour of matcha, so with St. Patrick's Day coming up I thought it would be a great time to try adding it to some cookies - only using half of my dough in case they weren't to my liking. Luckily (or not), they turned out to be so moreish that I have had a hard time keeping my hands off them.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Soft Sugar Cookies
Here is my family's recipe for sugar cookies - and I have never found another that makes a soft, crumbly cookie like this one is. Other recipes always seem to produce a pretty crisp cookie, but since I grew up with the soft kind I am just never satisfied with anything else. This is also a great way to keep kids busy... if you don't mind them ending up covered in icing by the end of it.
P.S. Come back tomorrow for a delicious St. Patrick's Day variation on these!
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Seriously Easy Quiche
More asparagus... but this is the last of it for this week. I have never tried making a quiche before, but I was certain it couldn't be too difficult - and I was right! I was feeling pretty impressed with myself as I ate this.
Because Boursin (I used the regular garlic & herb, but I am sure the others would be tasty as well) has so much flavour, I literally did not add anything else to this. Just the asparagus, cheese and eggs, and bam! Instant quiche. Next time I'm entertaining, this will be making a reappearance in appetizer form, possibly with courgettes instead of asparagus.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Think About Gardening
I know it seems like gardening, and the resulting fresh produce is miles away from what you see out your window today, but now is the time to jump on the gardening train. We are fortunate in that Brooke's parents (my in-laws) live on an acreage, so we will each be stealing a plot of land out there. In addition, I will be planting as full of a garden as possible in my normal sized backyard. Right now we are planning what will be planted and where, as well as getting a start on some items that require longer than what our growing season provides. The above photo shows preparations for starting leek seedlings. Yay! Stay tuned this spring as we feature what we are doing in our gardens, things we make from our gardens, and all sorts of helpful resources for people to buy more locally sourced food.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry
I bought a giant bunch of asparagus when it was on sale, and now I feel like it's all I've been eating for the past week. In attempting to do something a bit different from what I normally have (either roasted or Norm's Jamies's version), I threw this together last night. If you wanted to do a spicy version of this, you could replace the sesame oil & sesame seeds with chili oil & crushed dried chilis. Or, presumably, it would be just as good with green beans or broccoli.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Grown-up Egg McMuffin
On Saturday morning I had a craving for an egg mcmuffin - but not the regular greasy (yum) kind. I wanted something a bit more grown up. Because it was snowing like crazy I definitely did not want to leave the house, so I just made do with what I had. It turned out to be perfect... and almost ridiculously delicious. I poached the egg instead of frying it, and added goat cheese, sage, and tomato. I am sure this one will be staying in my repertoire.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Homemade Skinny Fries
No, they won't make you skinny (wishful thinking!), they are skinny. Skinny and delicious!!! This is yet another of my husband's "signature" recipes, taken, of course, from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. They are a bit of a flavour twist on regular fries in that they have a lemon and rosemary seasoning to add a bit of interest. I love slightly gourmet versions of non-gourmet food.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Chahan - Easy Peasy Japanese-y
It seems like most of our posts recently have been about quick meals that use up leftovers. And nothing is changing today, because this does both. Basically, you can put anything you want into it as it seems to taste good regardless of the meat/vegetable combination you use. I have even used hot dogs, and it was still good.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sausage and Feta Pasta
Yup, still in the cooking slump. Pasta is right up there with stir-frys in terms of being an easy and flexible alternative for a week night dinner. It is even easier when you have made homemade pasta recently, as it cooks even faster than the dried stuff (even from frozen, you are only looking at about 4 minutes). I hit up the farmers market this Sat in an attempt to get something that I knew would be relatively fresh and locally produced so that I could get rid of some of my winter flavour blahs. Although buying meat this way can be a bit more pricey than the store, I kept it very affordable by opting for sausage. I have never made my own sausage (I don't have the stuff to do it, and honestly there are so many good ones at the local farmer's market that I don't see the need to). As the star of tonight's dish, I had some sundried tomato and chive sausage. I wish I had noted which farmer it was from, but I didn't. It was just over $6 for 10-12 breakfast sized sausage, so not bad for meat.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sesame Tonkatsu - Breaded Pork Cutlet
I am trying to get out of my February rut... but I am still feeling pretty lazy about cooking lately. Most of the meals I make are of the quick and easy variety, but I suppose anything is better than making no effort at all. Hopefully the warmer weather (and better produce!) will bring back my inspiration.
With the sesame and pepper, this makes a nice change from a regular breaded pork chop. I normally use a mixture of black and white sesame seeds just to up the prettiness factor. Not so healthy, but super tasty!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Simple Stir-fry
We all have those days. Those days when you feel like you have no energy to make a decent dinner, no ideas for something different, and no good left overs to toss in the microwave. I seem to have more of those days through Feb/March. I think it is just plain old fatigue that sets in. How can you get jazzed about cooking when you live somewhere like Edmonton where at this time of year fresh produce seems like a distant memory? Not only are there few fresh local ingredients to work with, but even going to the store seems like a huge endeavor, requiring car pre-heating, and then dashing through cold parking lots just to get in. It is times like this that people all catch colds and/or the flu, and times like this that I fall back on the basic stir-fry.
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