Normally when I have people over for dinner I don't do the old-school Sunday dinner roast and potatoes (mostly because I am terrible at judging roasting times and I have a fear of serving overcooked meat). I finally decided to take the challenge however, and luckily Canadian Beef has a website that gave me exact cooking times by weight to acheive lovely medium-rare goodness. I wanted to change up the sides though, so I modified this pie slightly from Donna Hay's Seasons, which I received as a Christmas gift and is one of the most beautifully shot cookbooks I have ever seen.
Kabocha, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pie (serves 6):
tomato paste
1 small kabocha/butternut squash, peeled & sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 roll PC puff pastry (1/2 package), thawed
spinach
150g goat cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
Using President's Choice pastry over Tenderflake is practically a necessity. PC comes in 2 rolls which are very easy to use, rather than the flat blocks that take forever to roll out yourself.
Preheat oven to 200C/390F. Cook onion and squash 15-20min until tender and set aside to cool. Roll out pastry to about half it's original thickness, then cut in half and place one half on a lined cookie sheet or baking pan. Spread with tomato past then top with the remaining ingredients. Place the second half of the pastry on top and press or roll the edges to seal. Brush with the egg and bake 30 minutes until golden.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Kabocha, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pie
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Salmon Salad
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.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Simple Pork Wrap
Celebration! I have a new computer! My old one crapped out a while ago, and I am finally getting going with my new one, but it will take some time to transfer all my photos and files over. Really it's great though because I have so much spare time to do stuff like that - haha. I have now put that task on my husband's to do list. As seems to be the case all the time now, I have been keeping things simple on the cooking side. The other day I made a pork tenderloin crusted in rosemary, thyme, oregano, and whole grain mustard. I love making little roasts because they leave me with great leftovers for lunches. I made a little variation on an old favourite proscuitto sandwich of mine.
Basically the elements end up being very similar. I used sliced pork instead of proscuitto, a pesto wrap instead of the ciabatta bun, stuck with the apple and sharp cheddar, and added in a mix of spinach and baby kale from my garden. Simple, healthy, and easy to eat with one hand (which is a major bonus for me these days since I can now do most things around my house one handed).
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
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sobagetti
I found this in one of my Japanese cookbooks when I was looking for something quick that didn't require leaving the house for any ingredients. I always have bacon on hand (frozen in sets of 4 strips), and found some chopped spinach in my freezer from last summer's harvest. Soba is high in essential amino acids and antioxidents, as well as being one of my favourite kind of noodles. It has a nice bite to it and is takes less than half the time to cook that regular pasta takes. This was a little bit western and a little eastern, but mostly just delicious.
Soba with Bacon & Spinach (for 1):
100g soba noodles
2 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces bacon, cut in 1/2 cm strips
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
50g chopped spinach
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt & pepper
In a fry pan with olive oil, cook the bacon until crispy. Add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes before adding the spinach. Flavour with soy sauce, salt & pepper. While you are doing this cook the soba noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain and toss with the spinach/bacon mixture.
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.
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.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ratatouille Tarte
As mentioned last week, I took the Ratatouille I made, and used some of it in a tarte. Really, a tarte is pretty much the same as a quiche for all intents and purposes. In this case I threw some goat cheese in with it because who doesn't love goat cheese with roasted veggies? I served it up with a nice little spinach, bacon, pine nut and goat cheese salad for lunch when my mom came over. Isn't this such a girls lunch?
Ratatouille Tarte:
Buy or make a pie crust (I buy, I am crap at pastry)
Add your fillings (ratatouille and goat cheese) so that they cover a good deal of the bottom of the tarte, but don't pile up above the rim of the crust.
Mix up eggs and cream at a ratio of two eggs per quarter cup of cream so that you get a consistency that isn't quite the same as an omelet. Give it a good whip so that it comes out light and fluffy. The amount you need will depend on the size of crust you use - I made two at once (and froze one after baking), and used seven eggs in total.
Bake in a 400 F oven until it is set (about 40 minutes). I cover it in foil for the first half and then uncover it to brown for the second half.
Throwing an extra in the freezer after they are done baking is a great way to have a little snack on hand for when you get surprise lunch guests, and all you need to do when you are ready for it is throw it in the oven covered in foil at 350 until it is reheated.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ratatouille Nicoise
I swear that Monday morning after the long weekend I woke up and it was dark in the morning. I know it makes no sense that this would suddenly be the case, but it was like fall arrived that very day. This weekend is supposed to be warm enough to make it feel like summer still, but the cool nights will not allow us to be tricked like that. It is fall, winter is on the way, let the mourning begin. On the bright side, I have some fall "crops" that are performing well. As is always the case, all of a sudden I have a zillion zucchini. What to do? Of course I have shredded and frozen many baggies full (pre-measured) so that I can make zucchini bread through the winter, but when I say I have zillions, I mean I have zillions. Last year I spent a couple weeks of the summer in France (along the Basque coast), and while there I picked up a lovely little cookbook that appears to be the equivalent of the Betty Crocker one here. By that I mean it was the one everyone was given back in the 70s when they got married. It has a great recipe for Ratatouille Nicoise that I whipped up, and then used to make a ratatouille and chevre tarte (to be posted next week) based on one I ate there. It wasn't quite like being there, but it was the best I could do without the expensive plane ticket.
Ratatouille Nicoise (translated from French, probably badly):
3 onions
4 eggplants
4 zucchini
500g tomatoes
2 peppers (I used red)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
salt and pepper
Peel onions and then cut all the veggies into strips. Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish - I can just see all the French ladies using their le cruesets - and then saute the onions for a minute. Add the other veggies, the salt and pepper and the bouquet garni and cover to simmer in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The recipe doesn't give a temperature, so I went with the ever popular 350 F. Don't forget to take out the bouquet before serving (or at least don't scoop it out into someone's bowl, they will be confused).
Nothing feels more french to me than using a bouquet garni. When I was staying there, the woman who was hosting us seemed to use a bouquet of fresh herbs in every dish she cooked and I swear it made everything seem twice as delicious. If I don't have string with which to tie the herbs up together I often use non flavoured dental floss.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Garden Leeks
The leeks are finally ready! I am pretty excited about these, as it was our first attempt at them and we started them indoors from seed. For a while it seemed they wouldn't make it, but it turns out they just take a long, long time to get established. We got lazy though, and didn't mound up enough dirt around them so only the very bottoms are white.
I made these this morning to put in my lunch - and while this looks like dinner it really only took about 10 minutes to make. I am in the process of moving house, so nearly all of my pantry is packed up and the only things left are salt, pepper, and whatever is left in the fridge/freezer. I boiled the leeks for 4 minutes in water with some japanese pickling liquid I happened to have in the fridge. Yes, that sounds strange to me too. Once done, I drained the liquid and in the same pot added some butter and salt & pepper to quickly brown them up. While I was working on the leeks I quickly fried a pork chop. This lunch was based on the fact that I had defrosted meat in the fridge that needed to be cooked, and not much else in the house at all.
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 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.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Eggs and Soldiers
Breakfast in less than 10 minutes! A soft boiled egg, 5 spears of asparagus, and a slice of toast: this is a nice sit-down breakfast that is also quick and healthy. I cut my toast into dip-able spears as well so I wouldn't miss out on any of that liquid yellow heaven.
For a soft boiled egg, 
bring a small pot of water to a simmer then add the egg and cook for 6 minutes. While the egg is cooking, make a slice of toast and with 3 minutes left on the egg drop the asparagus into the pot of simmering water to cook. When the timer goes, everything is ready to eat. Once done, drop the egg into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Remove & serve.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Asparagus and Goat Cheese Omelets
All I did was brush the asparagus with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and roast it for 3 minutes at 500 F. Then I folded them into the middle of an omelet with a sprinkling of goat cheese. I also topped the omelets with a bit of crumbled goat cheese because goat cheese is so tasty, that a little extra never hurts. Look at the little ends waving to me from inside, proud to have been the ones up early enough to be cut prior to the snow. I know, I need to move past this! 
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, 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.
Pork & Asparagus Stir Fry (serves 4 as a side):
3 tbsp vegetable oil
450 g asparagus
200 g finely chopped pork
2 garlic cloves, squashed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
ground pepper
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
In a bowl, mix the pork, soy sauce, cornstarch, and pepper and let marinate while you prepare the asparagus (break off the woody ends and cut in 5cm/2" lengths). Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add the asparagus. Cook for around 3 minutes, until done but still firm. Remove the asparagus, add the remaining oil to the hot wok and then add the marinated pork and whole garlic cloves. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the pork browns, then fish out the garlic. Add the asparagus back to the wok, pour over the sake, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and stir to combine.
This also makes a great addition to a bento (I'm going to have a good lunch today!). The one pictured below has 1 serving of the stir fry, 2/3 cup rice, 2 hard boiled quail eggs (with sesame seeds & salt in a furikake shaker), and 2 small chocolate chip cookies.
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.
Stir-frys of all sorts were a staple when I was back in school. You can make noodles or rice once, and then use the left overs for days, and that leaves you with one pot a day for cooking something to put on top. The elements are always the same: a meat (sometimes that gets skipped), whatever veg happens to be in your crisper, and a sauce so that it is all pulled together somehow. Today I was lucky enough to have left over coconut rice, so I didn't even have to make that.
I started by chopping up a pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is such a great lean protein. It is still really inexpensive compared to other meats, and my favorite part is that one small tenderloin is perfect for a meal for two and leftovers. Next, I rummage around for the veg. I have some baby corn, broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper, and onions - not too bad really - stir-frys can be really great nutritionally, which helps with the above mentioned cold/flu problem. The key to a good stir-fry in my opinion is a hot pan. I sometimes use a wok, but other times just use a really large frying pan. Add a bit of oil, and toss the meat in until it starts to brown a bit. Once browned, add the veg one at a time, starting with the one that will require the most cooking. I allow enough time in between to allow the pan to get nice and hot again. At some point a whole pile of garlic and grated ginger go in as well. Finally, right at the end, I throw in the sauce. If the pan isn't hot, the sauce will stay watery instead of getting that nice stickiness that makes it like the take out you get.
Sauce:
Garlic and ginger to be added with veg (I used 6 garlic cloves and about a teaspoon of finely grated ginger)
1/4 chicken broth
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
The last three ingredients should be mixed in advance so that the cornstarch is all dissolved, and not in little clumps that will otherwise turn into dumplings. The sauce is very flexible in being altered to your own personal taste, but these proportions will give everything a nice coating of flavor. I also like to throw some sesame seeds or cashews into the pan at the very end for a second.
Who could ask for a meal that is faster? It's a great fridge cleaning meal that incorporates a lot of veggies - the food group we probably skimp the most on through the winter.
