I still exist! I'm going to go ahead and assume most of our readers have jumped ship under the assumption that we did. I'm still here, still cooking and baking, still eating, just have not been posting thanks to my little one's need for attention and her love of my laptop (I need to keep it hidden or risk losing keys). This is an oldie from the summer, but I wanted to pop something up during nap time so that I can try and get back into blogging. Nothing fancy, just took some leftover BBQ salmon (BBQ'd with butter, lemon and dill) and flaked it on top of spinach and mixed salad greens from my garden. I added some dried cranberries and goat cheese because I like adding those to most salads, and then topped with a quick balsamic dressing. Yay for posting! I hope to keep it up over the next little while again since I have realized a few recipes I use a lot need to be added.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Salmon Salad
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Chicken, Fig and Mushroom Wilted Salad
This salad is perhaps the opposite of healthy. It is, however, extremely delicious. Also incredibly easy - made up on the fly, as it was - providing you have some pretty obscure ingredients to hand. Luckily, I had stopped by the Italian Centre on the weekend and noticed fresh figs (which I had not previously tried) and my freezer has goodies like the pan scrapings from a roast goose. Fabulous, and under 10 minutes to make.
Chicken, Fig & Mushroom Salad (serves 1):
100g chicken thigh or breast, cubed
large handful crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 onion, sliced
1 fresh fig, quartered
very large handful spinach leaves
1 tbsp goose fat
1/4 cup goose pan scrapings
salt & pepper
The pan scrapings and goose fat meant I did not have to spend any time worrying about flavouring for the meat. To start off, I melted the goose fat in a fry pan and cooked the onion and mushrooms until softened. Those were set aside and the pan scrapings were added to the pan with the chicken until cooked through. The spinach was topped with the mushrooms and onion and those were topped with the chicken. Then I added the fig and some good bread to mop up the drippings, and had a lovely al fresco dinner.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Avocado Pear Salad
A few weeks ago I was over at Court's for a family dinner and forced(!) onto salad duty. Without any pre-planning, we had to work with what she had on hand, and also work around preferences that include no balsamic vinegar and no strong cheese. Surprisingly, this was a hit with everyone. I say surprisingly because Court's husband claims to not like pears or avocado, and my dad claims to not like avocado and cheese.
Avocado Pear Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce
1 avocado, chopped
1 pear, chopped
goat cheese
Sweet Vinaigrette: (my new go-to)
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
salt & pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mango & Papya Salad
Summer weather calls for easy summer flavours. The other day I read an article indicating that North Americans get most of their "phytonutrients" from sources that are not as rich as they could be. One of the switches they recommended was to eat more papya instead of oranges, so last time I was at the store I went and bought me a papya. What to do with a papya though.... Well, mangos were on sale as well, and I regularly get avocado and feta, and that's all this salad takes! It tastes so tropical and fresh, and the saltiness of the feta keeps it from being too sweet. This is the way summer should taste, and this is the amount of time summer cooking should take. I plan to have this with fish next time I BBQ.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Asian Inspired Turkey Salad
I'm back! Well, really I was always here, just not posting because I thought staying home with a baby would leave me tons of time to do a correspondence course through the University. All you mom's out there are probably laughing hysterically and wiping the tears from your eyes at the thought. I know, I know, that was a ridiculous move on my part. Anyhow, I now have a huge back log of photos to edit and write up for posting. This is something I made after Christmas with some of the left over turkey I was given (new moms are given tons of free food). I saw Jamie Oliver make it on the Food Network, and decided it looked good. It was actually pretty great!
Asian Inspired Turkey Salad:
• 2 large handfuls of brown turkey meat
• 1 large handful of cashew nuts
• 1 handful of dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons ground five-spice
• a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked (I left this out)
• a bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked (I used parsley instead, since that is what I had)
• 4 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves such as chicory, rocket, spinach, watercress (a mixture)
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (I used chilli powder)
for the dressing
• juice of 1 clementine
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 pomegranate, halved
• ½ red onion, peeled and coarsely grated
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated
Shred the brown turkey meat into thin strips using your fingers and put it into a dry pan on a medium heat. Add the cashew nuts, dried cranberries and five-spice. Give it all a good stir then let it toast away while you get on with your salad. Give the pan a shake every now and then to make sure nothing catches.
Add the mint and most of your coriander leaves to a bowl with your mixed salad leaves. Make your dressing in a separate bowl by mixing the juice from your clementine and lime. Squeeze the juice from one of your pomegranate halves through your hands to catch any seeds then discard them. Stir in your grated onion. I tend to use 3 parts oil to 1 part acid when I’m making dressings, so look at what you’ve got in the bowl so far then pour in 3 times as much extra virgin olive oil. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil.
Squeeze in all the juice from your grated ginger then throw away the pulp.Give this lovely dressing a really good stir, and have a taste. If you want more salt, add a splash more soy. If you want more acid, add another squeeze of lime juice. Drizzle over enough dressing to coat the salad leaves then use your hands to toss and dress them.
Add the honey to the pan with the turkey meat and stir through until coated. Turn the heat up to full whack for the last few seconds to really crisp up the meat mixture. At this point, make sure your guests are all at the table and ready to eat so you can serve the salad as soon as the hot meat hits the salad leaves. Toss half of your pan-fried ingredients through the salad leaves and transfer to a serving platter.
Spoon the remaining nuts, cranberries and crispy meat over the top of the salad and add another drizzle of dressing. Hold the remaining pomegranate half over the salad and knock it on the back with a spoon so the seeds pop onto the salad. Garnish with a nice sprinkling of fresh red chilli, any remaining coriander leaves and serve right away.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Creamy Mushroom Soup
After the overindulgences at Christmas, I don't really feel like cooking a lot. (And even the thought of sweets makes me slightly ill!) This is an easy, homey dinner that makes great leftovers as well. You could easily omit the dried mushrooms, but they seem to give the soup an even richer depth of flavour... along with the cognac, which is my new "secret" ingredient in almost everything. I like to keep the texture of this quite rustic, rather than making it a puree.
Mushroom Soup (serves 4):
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock 
1 litre water
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
24 oz button mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 leek, finely chopped
salt & pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1/4 cup cream
3 tbsp cognac
Bring the stock, water, and dried mushrooms up to a boil in a large soup pot. While that is heating, fry the butter, leeks, and mushrooms until softened and browned. Dump that to the hot water and cook for about 1 hour, adding salt, pepper, and thyme to season. Pulse with an immersion blender until it's to your desired consistency, then add the the cream and cognac and bring it back up nearly to a boil.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Marc's Creamy Salmon Miso Soup
I have been dreaming of this since I saw it 9 months ago on No Recipes. Mine doesn't have the lovely glistening fat that Marc's does, since it is so difficult to find salmon belly in land-locked Edmonton (and I didn't bother making the trek to any specialty shops to check for it). Still, it was ridiculously good and 
incredibly simple to make. I luckily had most of the ingredients on hand so only had to pick up soy milk and parsnips. And what was even better is that I got all the leftovers to myself!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Fall Salad
I know frequently fall arrives and all thoughts turn away from fresh salads and towards pasta and roasts, but it is actually a great time to incorporate some of the last findings from your garden into a nice salad, and it can even be a warm one if you feel the need. I went for lunch at Earl's the other day with a friend, and they had an arugula, beet and pear salad on the menu, and I used that as an inspiration for this salad. For mine though I tried to crank up the iron (last three weeks of pregnancy!) and use up some of my second batch of spinach.
Fall Salad:
A good batch of spinach
Half a ripe pear
A sprinkling of pecans
One large beet, cut into chunks and boiled until soft
Half a steak, pan fried and sliced to top
Dress with a bit of lemon juice and oil, and goat cheese coulis (which I just made by microwaving a bit of goat cheese with a bit of milk so that it could be drizzled like a dressing).
With the beets and steak being served warm, as well as the goat cheese coulis, this made a really satisfying lunch on a chilly day. I will definitely be bringing it back as a lunch choice through the winter.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
"English" Onion Soup
Jamie:"There's something so incredibly humble about onion soup. It's absolutely one of my favourites but unfortunately I only ever get to make it in the restaurant or for myself as the missus thinks she's allergic to onions. (She's not, because I whiz them up into loads of dishes without her knowing!)
"If you have the opportunity, get hold of as many different types of onion for this soup as you can - you need about 1kg in total. Sweat them gently and you'll be amazed at all the flavours going on"
(Serves 8)Ingredients:
A good knob of butter
Olive oil
A good handful of fresh sage leaves, 8 leaves reserved for serving (we used thyme)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
5 red onions, peeled and sliced
3 large white onions, peeled and sliced
3 banana shallots, peeled and sliced
300g of leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced
Instead of all the above we used close to 1 kg of whatever onions we had (regular and dividers) from the garden.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 litres of good-quality hot beef, chicken or vegetable stock (we used beef)
8 slices of good-quality stale bread, 2cm thick (as you can see there was no skimping on this)
200g freshly grated cheddar cheese
Worcestershire sauce
1. Put the butter, 2 glugs of olive oil, the sage and garlic into a thick-bottomed, non-stick pan. Stir everything round and add the onions, shallots and leeks. Season with salt and pepper. Place a lid on the pan, leaving it slightly ajar, and cook slowly for 50 minutes, without colouring the vegetables too much. Remove the lid for the last 20 minutes - your onions will become soft and golden. Stir occasionally so that nothing catches on the bottom. Having the patience to cook the onions slowly, slowly, gives you an incredible sweetness and an awesome flavour, so don't be tempted to speed this bit up.
2. When your onions and leeks are lovely and silky, add the stock. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. You can skim any fat off the surface if you like, but I prefer to leave it because it adds good flavour.
3. Preheat the oven or grill to maximum. Toast your bread on both sides. Correct the seasoning of the soup. When it's perfect, ladle it into individual heatproof serving bowls and place them on a baking tray. Tear toasted bread over each bowl to fit it like a lid. Feel free to push and dunk the bread into the soup a bit. Sprinkle with some grated Cheddar and drizzle over a little Worcestershire sauce.
4. Dress your reserved sage leaves with some olive oil and place one on top of each slice of bread. Put the baking tray into the preheated oven or under the grill to melt the cheese until bubbling and golden. Keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't burn! When the cheese is bubbling, very carefully lift out the tray and carry it to the table. Enjoy.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Zucchini Salad - From Ground to Plate
There is something so satisfying about this time of year. I can have zero plans for dinner, and then go out and pick my own dinner straight from the garden and be eating 15 minutes later. This zucchini, basil and goat cheese salad is a great example of that!
I find that once zucchini plants start producing, you really go from famine to feast in the course of a few days. All of a sudden, you just can't make enough zucchini bread to keep up! Knowing that I was going to book club after dinner, and would be fed well again there, I wanted to just have a quick dinner that got a few extra greens into my tummy.
Zucchini Salad:
1 medium zucchini
3 basil leaves
Goat cheese - the more the better
1 cherry tomato as a garnish/to add color
oil and vinegar to dress
salt and pepper to taste
All I did was slice the zucchini lengthwise in widths as close to even as I could manage, brush them with oil oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss them on the BBQ for a couple of minutes a side. They cook quickly, and I find that nothing makes food look more appetizing than some pretty grill marks.
Once cooked, arrange on a plate and top with crumbled goat cheese, basil leaves and tomato garnish (I only had one little ripe one), and dress with oil and vinegar. So quick, easy and delicious and a great way to make sure you are using the zucchini that are popping up like crazy!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Spice Up Your Spinach Salad
My garden lettuce is still in miniature, but the spinach has been up for weeks and seems to be growing faster than I can eat it. After a weekend of overindulging I've been off desserts and dairy, so here's a rare salad that doesn't include cheese. Topping my spinach is a quick dressing of pureed mango with curry powder, fresh ginger, and a little olive oil. The remainder of the mango was sliced and added to the salad along with steamed chicken breast. For dessert, a handful of raw almonds... so healthy I'm feeling a little too angelic now.
Monday, June 22, 2009
A Modified Greek Salad
When my brother Norm (Court's husband) told me he had been making Greek salad with celery instead of cucumber, I was sceptical to say the least. But he has definitely won me over with this, and I've made it for lunch at least three times in the last week. The celery gives it a delicious crunch and it feels extra fresh. And check out my adorable mini-beer! It's only 135ml - just enough to accompany my light summer meal.
Greek Salad for One:
2 sticks celery, chopped
1/2 red or orange pepper, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 small red onion, chopped
30g feta, cubed
drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar
pepper
Monday, June 15, 2009
Another Spinach Salad!
Apparently Brooke and I are eating similarly this week! Both of us jumping on the salad train, and mixing in some fruit and cheese. My spinach is the first of my garden crops to be ready. I love that about it, you can plant it two to three times in a season as short as ours, and see it come up plentifully over and over again. In honor of my favorite salad green, I present the following easy peasy salad recipe.
Baby spinach greens (one bowl full, washed)
A hand full of dried cranberries
A couple tbsp of toasted pine nuts
Feta to your taste (I like tons!)
Top with simple extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or your fav.)
This is so quick and easy it frequently appears on my lunch table when I come home for lunch during a work day. The toasted nuts, salty feta and sweet cranberries are lovely in contrast to one another as a topping, and spinach tastes fantastic when eaten pulled fresh from the garden.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Grilled Peach & Feta Salad
It feels like summer is just around the corner, and with summer my appetite for salads has returned in full force. I seem to hardly eat salad at all in the winter months, but lately I have found myself often having them for 2 meals a day. It doesn't hurt that almost any combination of greens & fruit works, especially with the addition of cheese.
Grilled Peach & Feta Salad (serves 1):
2 handfuls spinach or other greens
1 peach, sliced
red onion
40-50g feta or chevre
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
pepper, chopped mint
Warm peaches are extra delicious, so I grilled the slices on the hob for a couple of minutes and then tossed them into the salad and seasoned with pepper and fresh mint from my balcony garden.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Creamy Courgette and Brie Soup
With the horrible weather over the weekend, and the fact that my apartment was freeeezing, I decided to make soup for lunch. We have mentioned the Fresh Food Fast cookbook before, and this is another recipe from that book. This was my first go at making it after hearing Court rave about it a couple of years ago, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The creaminess comes from delicious melted brie - so I'm pretty happy I made a full pot and have the leftovers all to myself.
Courgette & Brie Soup (serves 4-5):
2 knobs/25g butter
1 medium/250g onion
3 smallish/200g potatoes
1 garlic clove
1/8-1/4 cup white wine
300ml vegetable stock
2 medium/500g zucchini
200ml milk or cream
125-200g brie
1 tbsp fresh basil, or to taste
salt & pepper
Melt the butter and then add the finely chopped onion. Soften for 5-7 minutes, then add the cubed potato, minced garlic, and wine and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and zucchini and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potato is cooked (around 25 minutes). Add in the milk and brie and heat until the cheese has melted, then add the basil and heat through.
If you want to reduce the calories, this was actually quite good even without the milk and brie - just as a broth with vegetables.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Beef & Leek Udon Soup
This soup is so quick and easy to make that I seriously made it before work this morning. It's about 15 minutes from start to finish, and that's including boiling and chopping time. The only thing that needs to be made in advance is the kaeshi, but that can also be purchased at most asian grocery stores - I usually have it on hand all summer, as soba is one of my favourite quick summer meals. I am looking forward to a tasty and healthy lunch today!
Beef & Leek Udon Soup (serves 2):
200g dried udon noodles
1 tbsp vegetable oil
150g beef, sliced thinly
1 leek, thinly sliced diagonally
1 inch chopped fresh ginger
50 ml kaeshi
600 ml water
2 tbsp miso
pepper
Bring a pot of water to the boil then add the udon noodles and cook for 6 minutes. Empty the noodles into a sieve and run through cold water, then set aside. In the same pot, heat the oil and saute the beef and leek for a couple of minutes, then add the ginger, kaeshi, and water. Slowly mix in the miso, ensuring there are no lumps, then add the noodles and heat for another 2 minutes. Once the miso is in, make sure the soup does not come to a boil.
This makes 2 generous servings, and you can top with pepper to serve.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Egg & Toast Salad
I really did not feel like cooking dinner last night, but I also didn't feel like having plain eggs & toast... which is about all I had in the house that was quick. I decided to make this boring weekday dinner into a salad - all the while thinking it was going to be horrible. It happened to be a great variation, and a good way to make dinner a little more seasonal.
Egg & Toast Salad:
3 poached quail eggs
2 large handfuls salad leaves
1/2 english muffin, toasted & brushed with olive oil
grated parmesan
Dressing:
whole grain dijon mustard
sea salt
red wine
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tofu & Wakame Miso Soup
Miso soup, I feel your loving... If you're confused, check this out. But I really do love miso soup, although I don't love paying the crazy prices they charge for it at Japanese restaurants. Once you start making it at home, you realize how cheap and easy it is to make - and there are endless variations on it.
Miso Soup:
1 cup dashi stock
wakame seaweed
soft tofu
1-2 tsp miso to taste
I normally draw the line at making my own stock, simply because I don't have the space to store it and there is only so much you can do from scratch. Since I have no problems with a little msg, dashi granules are fine with me. Also, bonito flakes are super expensive, so making dashi stock can be a little cost-prohibitive in Edmonton. For one cup of water, use 1/2 tsp dashi granules. Heat the stock to boiling over medium heat, and while this is heating toss in the wakame. Once it has come to the boil, remove from the heat and in a large spoon mix the miso with some of the hot stock to thin out the paste, then mix everything together. Add the tofu then return the pan to the heat until it is nearly boiling. Remove & serve immediately.
Alternately, instead of using dashi stock some miso has dashi already mixed in with it. If you check the ingredients on the back, it should say bonito or かつお.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Poached Beet Salad
I have been thinking about this salad for months now, since I tried a version of it in late January at Muse in Calgary. With the warmer weather here (hopefully to stay!), I am finally starting to crave salads rather than hearty winter fare. This salad kind of bridges the gap between the two; the beets give it a warm earthiness and the slight bitterness in the arugula somehow manages to keep it feeling light.
Poached Beet Salad with Chèvre:
5 small beets, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 large handfuls rocket
goat cheese
2 slices cooked bacon, cut into fifths (optional)
balsamic vinegar to dress
The only thing that takes any time at all is poaching the beets - this will take at least 40 minutes, but it's fine to do that a day ahead. Peel and quarter the beets (I wear plastic gloves to do this, else my hands would be pink for the next few days) and put them in a pan with the red wine and balsamic vinegar. Bring everything to a low simmer and keep an eye o
n it for the next 40 minutes. I was not paying attention, and about 3/4 of the way through the poaching I went in to check on them and the cooking liquid had thickened and burned - smelling awful and covering the beets in a thick black coating. Luckily, rinsing them off took away all the bad taste and I was able to clean out the pan, replace the cooking liquid, and keep going. While this is finishing up, cook the bacon strips if you are using them (I didn't this time) and then cut into 3cm pieces.
Let the beets cool, then plate and top with the arugula and bacon and dress with balsamic vinegar. (My photos were taken prior to adding the dressing.) I rolled my goat cheese in fresh ground pepper, but it definitely could just be crumbled into the salad. I really liked the cute little spheres though, and it only took a minute to make it look a lot prettier.
Later, with my leftovers, I tried making appetizers on top of pieces of croissant... AMAZING! There is no doubt that these will be making an appearance the next time I entertain.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Ochazuke
I've been knocked out by bronchitis for the past week and have completely lost my appetite. I have only been able to eat things with very mild flavours, so this is perfect. It is my ultimate comfort food when I'm not feeling well.
Ochazuke:
3/4 cup cooked rice
green tea
I've been eating it plain like this or with crumbled senbei (rice crackers) on top, but you can top this with many different things. Check it out here!
