Friday, November 28, 2008

Groovy shrooms

No, it is not what you are thinking. You will not get to see a picture of me ingesting anything that causes a chemically-induced euphoria. I did; however, stumble onto an old favorite completely by accident the other day. In fact, it was one of those situations where I had completely forgot it was something that I used to eat at home until I realized I was going to make it for dinner.

Isn't that weird how your memory can just block something out until - wham - it comes right back to you like an old forgotten memory?

Well, mushrooms on toast isn't something particulary "dear" but making it did bring back a few memories about home. I am sure that Sandy will appreciate it when she makes it at home herself.

I actually started making a pasta sauce with mushrooms until the shrooms on toast overtook my plans... here is goes.

Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Saute about a half a cup of finely chopped onion in it for a couple of minutes. Add about a cup of sliced fresh musrooms and saute until tender. Sprinkle the entire thing with 1 tablespoon of flour. Add one can of mushroom soup. stir untill blended and warm. Add about a half a cup of milk (cream can be substituted if you feel you need the additional comfort). Stir again and add milk to the consistency you desire. It should be relatively thick... thicker than gravy - more like a thick chili.

THEN - get some nasty white processed bread - 2 slices - toast them and slather them with butter (you need the butter - it offers a hint of flavour that you would miss if you put the sauce on dry toast) Put on a plate and spoon sauce over top of each slice. Serve open-faced and eat with a knife and fork.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Shirley's Greek meatballs


This isn't really a baba recipe and likely would have counted as something exotic if made in the 70s but a good friend of ours invited Nathan, Grace and I over for dinner when Jason was away and this is what she served. Now I do not have the exact recipe and the one that I am posting is not exact in and of itself - but it is worth trying and was definitely good.

1 lb ground beef
1 egg beaten
1/2 to 1 cup soft, fresh bread crumbs
a good heaping tablespoon or more of greek seasoning (I used clubhouse brand)
Combine the above together until well mixed but don't over combine or meatballs will be tough.
Then add 1/2 to 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese (again, I lean toward more is better)

Form into meatballs that are about the size of a golfball or slightly larger. Put on a broiler pan or seasoned stoneware pan and bake at 375 until browned somewhat on outside and internal temperature reads 165 F.

Serve alongsige a greek salad and some greek potatoes if you like

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Purple Haze


Thought I should show you all my gardening creation for this year - purple carrots. Actually, I had a theme going on with purple carrots and blue potatoes. I was trying to get back to nature but I am not sure if I was that successful if I resorted to using genetically modified seed??!! Noentheless, both taste awesome and are a worthwhile venture if you want to try to grow something. The purple carrots are great for raw eating but the do not really cook up that great. Still taste good but the purple and orange kind of meld together post-cooking.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The day I became a BABA

So there was one day in August where I apparently decided that since my ass and thighs make me appear as though I may be an old-fashioned baba (sans babooshka), I may as well act like one.

So,one Friday AM in the dead of summer, I got up and picked beans and beets and peas and carrots and some potatoes for good measure in mom's garden. I then beetled home and began processing my creations for - what I thought would be a winter supply of veggies. HA! At about 8 pm I was heavy into chopping and blanching beans and realized that after 1 hour of planting, some hoeing, 75 days of waiting, 2 hours picking, 1 hour cutting, 30 minutes blanching (that would be 10 batches of 3 minutes each) and 15 minutes of stuffing beans into bags, I ended up with FOUR MEDIUM freezer bags of beans. Honestly, it makes one wonder how those on the farms managed without an 8th of the conveniences that we currently have. Our ancestors must spin in their graves knowing that we complain of how difficult it is to make supper when, in fact, supper nowadays means dethawing some pre-made stuff...but I digress...

Anyway despite the small amount of vegetables I managed to freeze, I actually made myself proud by not only completing that but also by making beet top rolls (can't let them go to waste) and making mom's borscht.

Like Sandy's, the borscht was awesome but seemed to miss something even after a review of the recipe with mom (and some quick corrections/additions) - it must be the mom-love because it was good but....

The beet rolls were a hit and I wished I had a picture as I am sure that no one out there believes that I actually made them. The trick is to let the beet leaves wilt before you try to roll in the rice filling. Leaving them out in the sun for an hour does the trick. I was excted to make another version from my friend's in-laws' family that involves rolling bread dough within beet leaves and cooking the whole thing in cream (very heart healthy, I know) but the deer at my parent's place managed to eat the remaining beet tops -likely saving me from yet another 5 pounds of BABA-ass that I did not need.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The proof is in the pudding...or the borscht!

We were lucky enough to have some lovely home cooked foods on our recent visit back to Edmonton. Mum served up some of her borscht. Husband event admitted to me that he loooooved hers (it's true it's super hard to beat....just Mum's speacial touch!). This picture of my father-in-law shows that the proof is in the pudding or borscht tasting!!!
I also scored TWO bags of perogies; carrots, potatoes, beats, and onions fresh outta the garden. Good news is that we were still under Air Canada's weight restriction of 50 lbs (but barely!).

Pork Chops with Mushroom Sauce

Fall is a good time to try this recipe. This meal is rich, creamy, and filling for a cool, fall night. Plus, this was super easy to make and is a great recipe for a quick pork dinner. The other night my girlfriends and I were lamenting about easy meals, but unfortunate how so many of them that taste so good involve a can of soup. The irony is that yes, it involves a can of mushroom soup. It is quintessential 1970s recipe making at its peak involving one of the usual suspects: Campbell’s, Miracle Whip, Imperial Margarine…

Anyhow, here’s how it goes:
fry pork chops in a couple of tablespoons of butter mixed with a bit of oil (to prevent burning - don't think you need to do this if you use marg).
Once brown- remove to plate or corning ware dish and put in 1 large chopped onion and fry until soft. Add chopped mushrooms - around 2 cups I guess or you could add a can of mushrooms instead. fry until wilted add 1/4 cup flour to the top of the onions and stir around. add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and some milk or cream to thin to desired consistency. Mom obviously adds cream.... it is much better with cream or even 3 % milk.

I started out trying to make this recipe with a modern twist. I wanted to use up some forest dried mushrooms I’ve had sitting in my cupboard and was trying desperately to avoid “the can”. I floured, salted and peppered my pork first. After browning the meat, I removed from the pain and added onions and deglazed with some cooking sherry. I made a rue and added my soaked dried mushrooms, some of their juice to enhance the flavor, and awaited the ultimate mushroom sauce taste test. In great anticipation I put the spoon to mouth only to taste and feel underwhelmed. I discovered I was longing, more like, yearning for the soup can mushroom sauce flavor after all. That was all I needed. I added good ol’ reliable Campbell’s and must say the result was a good old meets contemporary mix. Not quite like I remembered but veeeeerrrry close.

This is great served with rice or broad noodles or potatoes. I do; however, love the rice and mushroom sauce combo so much that I can just have the sauce and go straight to the carb and the fat (skip the meat). Bon appétit!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Borscht

I love it. My mum makes an awesome Borscht. Heck, my father (well, he was our resident the soup maker) even makes an awesome borscht. So, I had to admit I was a little intimidated to try my own...



It was so good and just like I remember.


To top it off, I was able to use fresh baby beets and green beans from a neighbour's garden on the Sunshine Coast. How great is that? (I could have even used fresh peas, but didn't have it in me.) I wouldn't recommend the baby beats, though. Lot's of peeling and hard to cut up. But they were tasty! Rubber gloves are a must.

I'll eat my borscht with sour cream as it should be eaten, but prefer mine naked.

Car tried this recipe awhile ago and has a funny story from the recipe giving end of things. Speaking of recipes, we are attempting (yes, a solid try!) to get back into recipe testing again. Looks like we will finalize this by 2020...

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Welsh Cakes

Back in the saddle (again!) with some official recipe testing.

Yep, I made it to Choices and found currants. Yep, the Welsh Cakes were as a I remember them.
It isn't a recipe that I would race to try again or ever for that matter; however, they are good if you are looking for a good, sweet, but not too sweet, alternative for a biscuit or cookie alternative to have along with afternoon tea on Mother's Day (which is this upcoming Sunday).

2 cups flour
2 tbsp white sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup chilled butter
½ cup currants
2 large eggs

Mix together flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture looks like small peas. Add currants. Beat eggs well and add to flour mix and blend to make dough. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness and cut into rounds. Bake on top of greased skillet for three minutes on each side. Flip when brown. Serve warm or cold, with or without butter.

Not sure if I would recommend this for the cookbook or not. Maybe Sis had better luck with her lemon/blueberry version...

Next recipe? Borscht...

Braised Lamb Shank

In my attempt to re-institute dinners at the table, I whipped up a real Sunday night meal. I made Chambar's Braised Lamb Shank (with honey, figs, and cinnamon) from their recipe that was featured in the Vancouver Sun; Salad Niçoise (from rebar, the modern food cookbook --- such a yummy salad!!!); and couscous. The lamb sounds fancy but was super easy. Amazing flavours. The salad took the most effort with roasted red pepper, baby potatoes, beans, and roasted beets served atop a bed of greens, but was worth the work. Amazing dressing, too. The rebar cookbook is chock full of salad recipes and I want to try every dressing. Overall, the meal was a big hit that we both enjoyed sharing and it felt really good to put it together.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Vancouver Restaurant Awards

Vancouver Magazine published their 19th Annual Restaurant Awards. What inspiration! Reading about Chef of the Year: Pino Posteraro at Cioppino's makes me want to reserve dinner there tonight. Read, drool, and enjoy.

Oh god, not once a month

Well, I suppose it's better than nothing!

I am going to tackle the infamous Welsh Cakes recipe this weekend. I think my local Choices Market will indeed have currants; however, like Big Sis mine may be made with a twist [read: dried cranberries] since I don't feel like exiting the condo right now. The clouds outside are suffocating me. That may change later.

I've noticed "the twist" is what we do a lot. It looks like our cookbook will have the family favorites plus emphasizing the new generation! the sign of the times! the oobergay the istersay!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

My kingdom for a currant!

Are currants that rare of a commodity in our current day or have I forgotten how to navigate a grocery store?

Seriously - what is the deal?

I cannot find a currant to save my life - hence the welsh cakes recipe will be - wait for it - dried blueberry and lemon welsh cakes. How is that for the bastardization of a recipe?

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Omnivore's Dilemma

I fellow foodie gave me this book: The Omnivore's Dilemma - A Natural History of Four Meals. I am 20 pages in and loving it. Such an interesting read so far. I have learned that essentially we are walking corn.

Hopefully our little Passing Perogy fun will resume after its early 2008 hiatus. I am checking in on the Big Sis about what fabulous family recipe we should tackle next. Recipes of the Spring persuasion may be nice as it feels right around the corner! (NOT: it is snowing in Vancouver today).

Friday, February 22, 2008

Batter Blaster



Yes, yes it is: Organic Batter Blaster. Pancakes that come out of a can. And yes, husband bought this from the U.S. when he was there in January.


They taste okay. They burned super easily. It was novel to try, but don't run out to the store. Stick to Blender Pancakes.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Etta's Eggs Bennie with Dungeness Crabmeat and Chipotle Hollandaise

Hello? Yummy surprise!!! I just got my Tom Douglas e-newsletter and he included a recipe for this benny that I had one Sunday for brunch at Etta's in Seattle.

You know, I had seen Tom Douglas in a fleeting moment cruising over Iron Chef America. I remember seeing this chef prepare and talk about things in a way that just, I dunno, reverberated. I never did get to figure out who he was at the time cause I didn't get to see the whole episode. Then one day when we were looking for a good brunch place before hitting Pike Place Market in Seattle, we stumbled upon Etta's. Then I saw his face on a cookbook they were selling at the restaurant on all that is crab cakes and I thought "Oh my god! It's him!!!!" Best brunch ever. Baked goods were amazing, too. I would love to check out his other restaurants, but in the meantime will enjoy:

Etta's Eggs Bennie with Dungeness Crabmeat and Chipotle Hollandaise
For a luxurious winter brunch, try this customer favorite from Etta’s menu. The blender hollandaise is a breeze and you can make it as hot and spicy as you like. If your Valentine’s date turns into a sleepover (lucky you!), this is a great, sexy breakfast for the morning after. For 2 servings, make the full amount of hollandaise (because that works best in the blender) and cut the rest of the ingredients in half.

Serves 4
For the chipotle hollandaise:1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)2 egg yolks2 tablespoons very hot water2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice1 teaspoon seeded and minced canned chipotle en adobo, or to tastekosher salt.

For the rest of the eggs bennie:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter4 ounces spinach leaves, washed, dried, and stems trimmed (about 8 cups loosely packed leaves)6 ounces fresh crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell4 English muffins, split and toasted8 eggs, poached

To make the hollandaise, place the 1 cup of butter in a saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Put the yolks in a blender and blend for a few seconds. Slowly add the hot water to the yolks and blend a few seconds more. In a thin steady stream, gradually add the hot butter to the blender, blending until the sauce is emulsified. (You can pour the melted butter from the saucepan into a Pyrex measuring cup to make it easier to add it to the blender. But be sure to add the butter to the blender container while it is still hot.) Add the lime juice and chipotle, and season to taste with salt. Keep the hollandaise warm, over a pan of hot water or in a thermos.

Put the 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the spinach leaves and cook gently a few minutes just until they begin to wilt. Push the spinach to one side of the pan and add the crab. Heat the crab very gently for a moment, then remove the pan from the heat.
Put the split, toasted English muffins on 4 warm plates. Top each muffin half with some of the spinach, then with the warm crabmeat. Then top each muffin half with a poached egg. Ladle hollandaise over each egg and serve immediately.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Turkey Chili

I made this recipe for the large Haney family Christmas. I had lots of requests for the recipe, so I e-mailed it on but realized I should also post it. Here it is! I made both our family recipe of beef chili and this turkey chili in order to have enough to feed 15, plus some non-red meat eaters. The recipe is a twist on a turkey chili I read of Rachel Ray's on her web site. It is quite healthy, very tasty, and freezes well.

Turkey Chili
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1.5-2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce (or about 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper instead, my preference)
1 large onion, chopped roughly
2 large peppers, any color (I like red or orange myself!), chopped
1-1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini
1 can of mixed beans with juice
1 small can of sweet corn (reserve the juice)
1 can tomato soup plus 1/3 can of water

Heat a pot over medium to medium high heat. Add olive oil and the turkey meat. Season the meat with: grill seasoning and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, Worcestershire, and hot sauce/cayenne. Break up the meat into small crumbles. Brown meat 5 minutes, then add the chopped onion, peppers, and zucchini and cook 10 minutes more. Add tomato soup and water and bring to a bubble. Add beans with juice and the canned corn (reserve the corn juice) and let chili simmer 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and spice heat level to your taste. If it needs to thin out, add canned corn juice. Remove from heat and serve. Serves 8-10. Freezes well.

I also sometimes add a bit of brown sugar (not more than 1 tablespoon) so it is a good mix of richer sweet (but not too sweet!) and heat.

I realize now that I don't think we have even officially recipe tested our family beef chili. Carlyn finds it average, but everyone loved it. I think it's a keeper. Car, did you want to try the beef chili and compare?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

XMAS Recipes cont'd

Today's posting is another one of my recipes for the XMAS dinner that we had. This one is the amazing: Maple Pecan Orange and Green Salad with Pecan Garlic Dressing. I received the recipe from a friend of mine about 7 years ago who, in turn, had found it in the 5th annual recipe contest with the Edmonton Journal. Here it goes.

1/2 head romaine lettuce
1 bunch of spinach
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup pecan halves

In a non-stick skillet combine pecans and maple syrup. Cook on medium heat until pecans are coated with syrup and carmelized. Remove and cool on a plate that has been coated with cooking spray. Tear greens and put in bowl with oranges, onions and pecans. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
8 pecan halves
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste.

In a blender combine all ingredients and process until well blended. Add dressing to salad mix and serve immediately.

Personal notes: I used more pecans and more maple syrup when making this recipe. Plus, I kind of toasted the pecans in the skillet prior to adding the maple syrup to ensure that I had the "roasted" flavor.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

French Onion Soup -the recipe

Serves one (jason doesn't like it so I never make it for him)

1 large onion or 2 medium ones sliced (into rings)
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder to taste
1.5 cups beef broth or OXO to make that amount with water
1 slice of white bread
1/3 cup grated provolone, mozza or swiss
Sprinkle of kraft grated parm or real parm

Saute onions in butter in saucepan over medium heat until wilted and carmelized. add sugar and garlic powder and saute for a minute or two more. Add beef broth. Salt and pepper to taste. simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes to blend flavors. Meanwhile toast the toast and grate the cheese and preheat oven or toaster oven to broil. Place soup in oven proof bowl, top with toast and grated cheese. Place under broiler and broil until cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and top with additional parmesan cheese if desired. Serve.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

French Onion Soup starts it off

It’s a new year, a new day…ready to divide and conquer family recipes and take them to the ultimate food tasting level at Vancouver and Sherwood Park’s Test Kitchen.

Car sends me our latest quest: French Onion Soup. This is a good way to ease into 2008. A soup! A soup comprised of onions and broth, pretty easy – so I think to myself. This soup is actually one of the easier comfort foods I can think of making; however, on Sunday the task proved to be a bit more challenging. Believe it or not, I hadn't made this before even though it is one of my favorites.

First off, I need French Onion Soup bowls. I mean, how can you make this soup without the bowls? I barely, I mean barely made it into a kitchen store as its closing that afternoon, and probably paid double what I needed, however they are nice, good quality bowls that would be put to the test in mere hours!

The recipe Car provided was for one serving, but hey, it’s easy to double a recipe – so I think to myself. Well, only if you can read the recipe correctly...

After cutting up my onions, watching them carmelize, and taking in the fragrant mouthwatering smell, I get out my beef broth. Mmph-- 25% less salt. I already know I am not going to like less salt in my broth for this one, but that’s alright because I can always adjust the seasonings when done. Just then I add too much garlic salt. Hah! I was doubling and then miscalculated my doubling of what I read. Apparently can’t read.
I eventually end up tweaking and adjusting ad nauseum between various amounts of salt, OXO(because 25% less salt doesn’t cut it!) and sugar. It was reminiscent of a bad hairdo that you can’t leave alone and you keep adding too much product until then it feels like you need to wash and start over. Well, I guess it wasn’t that bad…but at the time it felt like it. The recipe testing pressure was too much! Then to top top off the average experience thus far, I had Romano cheese to melt on top which wasn’t any of the cheese options that Car provided like swiss, etc. I did; however, get the toasted french bread right.

In the end, I felt like a cheat on this recipe test but it was all worth it when the spoon hit my mouth. Yummy, cheesey, onion tasty goodness.

French Onion soup - naked


The most recent culinary challenge was the creation of my french onion soup. As it is January - the month of resolutions of fitness and weight loss - I elected to make the soup without the bread and cheese on top. Yes, I know that I just took all of the fun out of this recipe - but you know, it was really good anyway. And now it is my new recipe: Naked onion soup

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Rotato Express

Unbelievable! In only 20 seconds (yes, 20 seconds because I timed it) the potato goes from with skin to skinned:
Okay, so I have to admit...it's a kitchen gadget I asked for this Christmas. I was prepared to be unconvinced about the value, because how hard is it to peel a potato? But I really don't like peeling potatoes or apples, so I wanted to give it a try and Santa delivered. I thought to myself -- quit being lazy, but, really, how different is this than an electric can opener?
Well, I tried it for the first time this week and I am a believer. I don't think I would try anything to gnarly on it, but I like what it did. It is quick, easy to use, and the peel is nice and thin. I actually think thinner than I usually do which reduces potato being wasted and I hate waste. Nice!

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Paula Deen's Boursin Cheese Potatoes

Here is the veggie side dish that we did for the XMAS dinner. How could one resist Boursin cheese potatoes... Like a scalloped potato with all of the goodness that one needs to make some hefty new year's resolutions not to be so hefty!

3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint heavy cream
one 5 oz package of boursin cheese
fresh chives or parsley for a garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and slice potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds (I used a mandolin to ensure that they were even). Toss potatoes with salt and pepper. Heat cream and cheese together on the stovetop until cheese has melted. Layer half of the potatoes into a 2 quart baking dish (better with a deep dish than a long flat one). cover the potatoes with half of the cream mixture, then layer the last of the potatoes on top. Finish with the last of the cream. Cover and back for one hour.

Note: as I was lacking oven space, I used the slowcooker for this dish. Cooked for approx 5 hours on low....think that the oven option might be better results but this was great in a pinch

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Nigella's Chocolate Berry Pavlova

Over XMAS time Jason and I hosted a dinner for the inlaws and Jason's cousins. The menu turned out pretty well and I was asked to share some of the recipes. I thought that this would be as good a forum as any so I will slowly proceed to do so over the next few days (as I grab snatches of time between Grace's needy crying)

First up (I am going backwards) is dessert. It was a Chocolate Berry Pavlova from Nigella Lawson's book, Forever Summer. It is super easy but looks super impressive.

For the chocolate meringue base:
6 egg whites
300 g of sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder sifted
1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
50 g of dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form and then add the sugar one spoonful at a time until stiff and shiny. sprinkle over the cocoa, vinegar and chocolate. Fold everything together gently. Then mound on the parchment paper in about a 23 cm diameter (personal note: do not exceed this diameter or it will spread too much. You also might want to draw the circle on the paper prior to doing this). Place in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 300 F and cook for 1 to 1.25 hours until meringue is crisp on edges and dry on top. When you push the center is should give slightly. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar to cool completely.

For topping:
500 ml whipping cream
500 g fresh berries
2-3 tbsp of coarsely grated dark chocolate

When ready to serve, beat the cream until soft and thick. Pile it on the meringue. Then pile berries on top of that. Finally, grate the chocolate over top of the berries.

It is tremendous

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

God Bless and Happy New Year

January 2008: Dine Out Vancouver

Hawaiian Elk Chili

So I made this recipe recently for some Ground Elk that I had in the freezer. It is an awesome little chili - kind of a sweet and . sour sort of thing. Thought it would be good with ground beef or turkey/chicken so I thought I would pass it on. I can't take credit for it though, it came from the Alberta elk association.

1 to 1.5 pounds ground elk
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper
2 cans pork and beans
1 cup ketchup
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp mustard
3 tbsp vinegar
1 can pineapple tidbits in syrup
1 tbsp chili powder
1 can kidney beans

saute onion and ground meat until browned. Drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and either bake in oven for 45 minutes or simmer in crockpot for 1.5-2 hours. Freezes well.