Po'Boy Sunday Sandwiches

Turkey and cranberry sausages are everywhere right now and it makes me want to make delicious, sloppy, chewy festive sandwiches this afternoon.

I'm roasting a couple snauzzies at 400˚ in a roasting dish with a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom. The plan is to cook the sausages, slather some fresh, crusty French baguette with some horseradish and mayonnaise and then drape the sausages with some caramelized red onions (with a little balsamic and brown sugar to make them nice and sweet) and fat slices of tomato. Top with cracked fresh pepper and tuck in on the balcony in the sunshine, in December.

Will follow up with pictures.

Try it.

Ethereal Cheese Biscuits

This recipe is courtesy of my dear friend Thea's Mom. I was by myself last week when I made them for the first time, and I was sitting on the couch, clutching at my heart with tears in my eyes, they were that good.

Seriously.

Oven to 450˚.

2 cups flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 cup cheese.

I mixed the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Separately I mixed the milk and oil. I mixed the wet into dry until just combined and then gently added the cup of raw milk, aged cheddar. I turned the dough out onto the counter and patted into a disc and then cut it into 8 pieces. I decided to shape them into circular biscuits instead of wedges. I just folded the point around to the side and patted it into a fat disc. The trick is handling them as a little as possible! Don't grip these biscuits up or you'll regret it!

Bake on a greased sheet for 8 minutes until golden and perfect.

Wait at least 2 minutes after they come out of the oven or the melted cheese will burn your tongue.

I learned that the hard way.

Enjoy!

Simple soup, simpler.

I couldn't get enough of the last soup that I made, but the last time I made it, I was hungrier and didn't have time to make stock.

A few hours before dinnertime, I got two chicken breasts ground and mixed them with 4 cloves garlic, a good piece of ginger, a few green onions, cilantro, and some fresh chilies, all minced. I added a good splash of each soy and fish sauce. I mixed this well and then put it in the fridge for a couple hours.

I used store-bought stock for this soup and it was just fine. I really like the Pacific brand, both the chicken and the beef broth are delicious and not too salty. I brought the mixture of the two to a boil in a large stock pot. I reduced the heat to medium (still bubbling, but not violently) and started dropping in the chicken in small balls. In the original recipe of this soup, I took the time to roll each of the chicken balls. It was time consuming, they looked impressive, but if you're in a pinch, drop them in by the tablespoon into one palm, shaping it into somewhat of a round shape and then toss them into the hot broth. They will float to the top when they are done cooking, usually about 8 minutes. I like to do it in two batches, removing the cooked ones before starting again. I set these aside and then added a couple of thinly sliced onions to the stock, as well as a splash of soy sauce.

Adjust the seasoning to taste, pepper and salt make the world go around. Serve the chicken at the bottom of the bowl with the hot broth and onions over top.

Hellllllloooooooo delicious!!

Feel Good Simple Soup

Even when I am at the sickest of sick, I always seem to have enough strength in me to make chicken broth and turn it into some sort of comforting soup. There is something deeply therapeutic about standing over a stockpot full of chicken, vegetables and garlic, breathing in the salty plumes of steam. I came down with a flu on Tuesday and wanted nothing more than a perfect bowl of something chicken. I had roasted a chicken on the weekend (lucky me) and decided that a good broth was the best place to start.
After a slow-moving morning of lemon ginger tea and snoozing, I plunked the chicken bones in a stockpot with a large, quartered onion, three carrots cut into chunks, and a few ribs of celery, cut into large pieces. I also added about 5 cloves of garlic, with the skin still on. I filled the stock pot up with cold water, enough to generously cover the bones, turned the heat onto medium high, and waited for it to come to a boil.
Snooooze, sip, read.
I'm reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being right now, can't put it down. Thank goodness for riveting literature when one is ill!!
After the stock came to a boil, I turned it down to simmer (medium low) and let it cook away, uncovered for about 2 hours. When I woke up from my nap my apartment was filled with the comforting smell of nourishment and steamed up windows. I strained the broth into a bowl and let it cool for a couple of hours. The fat formed a film on top of the broth, and I just skimmed it off with a spoon.
After I make chicken stock I always sit in this place of possibility: what kind of creation will come out of this batch?
I wanted something quick, easy and that would get my blood moving. Lots of ginger and garlic. I decided to use the template of the Vietnamese Beef Ball soup that I can make in my sleep and would jab someone with my elbows to eat (it's that good) but I made it with ground chicken instead of beef, and I was really lazy about rolling them into balls. Good news: it turned out great.
I mixed a pound of ground chicken with lots of minced garlic (5 cloves), ginger, fresh chilies, soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, minced cilantro and minced green onions. I brought my stock up to a boil, and reduced it to just a bit higher than medium. For the first round of chicken balls, I did roll them, but even by the time I had rolled enough to fit on a plate, I was getting lazy and really just spooning them onto the plate. I slid about 25 balls into the hot, bubbling broth, stirring occasionally until they rose to the top. I removed them with a slotted spoon and set aside. For the second round, I couldn't be bothered to roll each one out, so the process looked like scooping up the chicken mixture on a spoon with my right hand, using my left palm to shape it into a sort-of ball, and then dropping it into the broth. It turned out fine - gave the soup a sort of rustic look (or an "I'm really sick and lazy and my balls look sloppy look"- I'm not quite sure). When those were finished cooking, I removed them and then seasoned the broth. I used soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper and lime juice. Remembering that the chicken balls would be salty, I kept the broth simple. I added a bit of bok choy and torn up basil leaves, and cooked them until crisp and tender. I served the hot broth poured over the chicken balls, with the greens piled on top, and some beansprouts as garnish.
I impressed myself with this one. The broth was rich and complex, the chicken was fresh and bright, with the ginger and cilantro giving it a good zing. The fresh lime livened up the soup and the sprouts provided that gratuitous crunch that I can't seem to get enough of. I ate it for dinner last night, breakfast this morning...and I'm fairly certain I am going heat some up for a spot of lunch. The perfect, feel-good soup!!

End of the Week Fridge Fry

Status of my belly: Hungry.
Status of my fridge: Mostly empty.
Solution: Getting really creative.
Result: Surprisingly delicious.

So I came home from work tonight, ravenous and ready to put my feet up for the night.
20 minutes, I tell myself. Make something in 20 minutes and you'll make it.
First thing I do is measure out 1/2 cup basmati rice, rinse it a couple times with cold water and put it in a small pot with just under a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to low. Timer set for 15 minutes. I open the fridge, and it's pretty sad. I take a deep breath and looked closer: Swiss chard, dijon mustard, shallots, a lemon, a leek, butter, fresh chilies, garlic...so I just started slicing.

I heat up a wok and add some butter and a little olive oil on medium high heat. I throw in the sliced shallots, chilies, some minced garlic, salt and pepper. Smells warm and sweet and golden. I add the chopped red stems of the chard and the sliced leeks. I cook these until soft and fragrant, about five minutes. Then I toss in a spoonful of dijon, stir and then a good, healthy squeeze of lemon. I finally throw in the sliced chard leaves. I cook for a couple minutes and pour onto a bowl of hot rice.

I'm scraping the bowl with chopsticks as I finish typing this post...

Who would have knew that could have come out of a 'mostly empty' fridge?!

Sausage and White Bean Soup (and my love for pork sausages)

The man in my life doesn't eat pork, so when he goes out of town...well..I pork out. I don't think the absence of regular pig in my diet is such a tragedy, it's pushed my culinary creativity to new limits. When I am out for breakfast, though, there's always an order of crispy bacon on the side.

Often times my inspiration for food comes to me while I am napping. Yesterday, for instance, I awoke with sausage and white bean soup on my mind. I could not stop thinking about the creaminess of the beans mixed with the salty richness of pork sausage. I hit the grocery stores with intention and let the inspiration flow. I chose some beautiful Swiss chard to green up my soup, navy beans, leeks, carrots, celery and mini farfalle pasta noodles.

My favourite butcher in this city is Jackson's on West 4th avenue. It's a historical landmark in Kitsilano - it's been there since 1911. The butchers there are friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. The man helping me didn't even judge me for drooling over the sausages. I had my eyes on the stacks and stacks of pork sausages behind the squeaky clean glass. I chose hot italian and chorizo for my soup and got a litre of turkey stock (three cheers for thanksgiving living on!), a half litre of chicken stock and a half litre of lamb stock.

I am a huge proponent to finding inspiration for dinner as one shops. I could practically taste the clear, rich, flavourful broth in my mouth as I walked out of the butcher shop. Maybe it was Thanksgiving weekend, leaving me totally breaded out. I probably ate my body weight in stuffing on Monday. Regardless, I wanted something light yet dramatically satisfying. This was going to be it.

I hurried home and got to chopping. I chopped 4 cloves of garlic, an onion, 2 leeks
(I cut the tough green ends off, sliced them lengthwise, cleaned out the sand, and then sliced them thinly) 4 carrots, 5 ribs of celery and 2 chili peppers. I heated up a large stock pot just past medium head, added a good healthy glug of olive oil and then added the garlic and chilies. I fried this for maybe 30 seconds before adding the leeks and the onions. I cooked these until they were soft and translucent and then added the carrots and celery. I like chopping all my vegetables for soup small and in uniform size. It makes the soup look fancy and it assures that everything cooks evenly. I chopped three chorizo and three hot italian sausages up and added them to the pot next. After a few minutes I added the three types of stock, brought the soup to a boil and reduced the heat to medium low. I also added a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, salt and pepper. I let this simmer for about half an hour, then added about 1/2 cup of the mini farfalle noodles. I always overestimate how many noodles I'll need, and then the soup ends up sucking up all that beautiful broth I work so hard for. This time I was not so foolish. 1/2 cup looks like nothing, but those little noodles plump up!! When the pasta was cooked al dente (still a bit of bite to it) (Italian for 'to the tooth'), I added the sliced chard, cooked it until it was bright green and tender. I seasoned the soup with a bit more salt and pepper before serving it.

Now, I have to admit, sometimes I really impress myself. This was most certainly one of those times. Please, make this soup, share it with your friends and family. Nothing like a warm bowl of nourishing soup on a cold, Autumn night to keep you warm. Try it, love it, learn it, share it.

Happy Cooking!

September Squash Soup

Hitting the streets tonight with this recipe. Keep your eyes open!!

September Squash Soup

Cut one butternut squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Place face down on a baking sheet and bake at 350˚F until soft when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large stockpot on medium high heat, with a bit of oil, sauté finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger and chili pepper. Season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of curry powder. Next, add finely chopped carrots and celery. Cook this for five minutes, or until vegetables soften up a bit. Scoop out the squash from the skin and add to the vegetables, cooking for about one minute. Add 4 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable), bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for twenty minutes.

Blend soup with a hand-held mixer, blender or food processor until smooth.
Return to stockpot, adjust seasonings to suit your fancy and stir in chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Voila, perfect squash soup!


Try it, love it, learn it and share it.

Friday Night Snack ( Golden Delicious Peanut Butter Crunch Cookies)

This peanut butter cookie recipe is dangerous. They turn out with just the right crunch to chew ratio, golden brown delicious and you won't be able to stop yourself from becoming an uncontrollable cookie eater.

I'm just warning you.

Golden Delicious Peanut Butter Crunch Cookies:

Sift together 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

In a separate bowl, beat together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed, and 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, until it's smooth, fluffy and pale in colour. Mix one egg with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with a fork and then add to the peanut butter sugar mixture.

Add the dry into the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Roll into small (one teaspoon) balls with the palms of your hands and place on a greased cookie sheet. Use a fork to make lines on the top of the cookies if you feel like being fancy. Bake at 375˚ for 10 minutes.

You won't regret the decision to make these cookies...Made my Friday night a whole lot sweeter.

The Morning Bird

Roasted a chicken this morning while it was still morning crisp outside...
My apartment smelled like heaven.

I brined the chicken last night (covered it in a stockpot with about 1/2 cup salt dissolved in enough water to cover the bird) which is something I've never tried before. Let me tell you - it paid off. This might have been the juiciest bird I've ever roasted.

Roasting a chicken is easy:

I poured the brine off, patted it dry, rubbed it down with butter, under the skin and all over, and then generously seasoned the bird with salt and pepper. I drizzled it with olive oil, put it in one of my stainless steel pans and into an oven at 400˚. I cooked it for about half an hour and then turned the heat down to 350˚. I took it out when it was golden crispy, and the juices ran clear when pierced with a knife in the thigh, about two hours.

I ripped the meat hot off the bird, crispy and juicy and perfect. One of my favourite things in the world is ripping hot chicken off the bone, straight out of the oven, when the skin burns your tongue but it's too good to stop!!

Sorry to my vegetarian friends. I felt like an animal writing that, but it's best I'm honest with all of you. I love roasting chickens for that reason the most.

I ate it with refried beans, a tomato salad, with cilantro, lime juice, garlic, olive oil and salt, with crusty french bread on the side.
It was super. Really, really super.

I got challenged to a chicken cook off today by my friend Christine. Location and time to be determined. After this chicken...I'm feeling pretty confident.

The creamiest, most delicious, breakfast rice.

I got a care package in the mail yesterday from my sweet mom, and it had all the ingredients plus this recipe for sweet, breakfast rice. I made it this morning and was blown away at how delicious, satisfying and lovely this meal was!

Put 1 cup of organic sweet brown rice (do not compromise on the rice - it must be sweet rice, not white, but brown and organic - Lundberg) in enough water to cover generously overnight in the fridge. You can skip this step if you forget but the rice will take a little longer to cook.

In the morning, drain the rice and put in a pot with a heavy bottom and add about 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, and turn down to low but softly bubbling. Cover with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes to one hour.

You can stir this rice as you don't want it to stick to the bottom of the pot but not for the first half hour. If you notice the rice getting dry you can add more water. Towards the end of the cooking time, you can add some raisins, dried cranberries, cherries or chopped dates.

The rice will start to get very creamy. When it is done turn the heat off and let it sit for about 5 minutes. You can add more water at this stage to keep it the consistency you like.

Put in a bowl over sliced bananas and strawberries, top with some chopped, roasted hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts, a bit of maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar and some soy, rice or dairy milk.

Chew slowly. If you have leftovers and want to reheat, just add more water. You can also put the whole thing - rice, dried fruit, nuts, milk, in the fridge for rice pudding. Make sure there is enough liquid - the rice soaks it up.

Serves 4.

It was INCREDIBLE! I mmmmmm'ed my way through the whole bowl.

Thursday Night Burgers and Slaw

I got inspired to make nice, juicy, fat hamburgers tonight. Jamie Oliver's recipe in his cook book Jamie's Dinners is fabulous, and I more or less followed his lead. He is, after all, an expert.

I took two pounds of extra lean ground beef and mixed in with my hands one minced yellow onion, 4 minced cloves of garlic, a good lug of olive oil, a whisked egg, one cup of bread crumbs (I just used the butt end of a loaf of bread and whizzed it in my magic bullet) (store bought ones are fine too) a big spoonful of dijon mustard, a pinch of cumin and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. After everything was combined, I shaped them into six burgers and put them in the fridge for about half an hour.

While the meat was chilling, I finely sliced up red cabbage, radishes, carrots and green onions. I mixed them in a bowl and then made a tasty dressing that my dear friend Kimi taught me how to make:

It's all done by taste, so play around with it and find out what ratios of what work best for your palette. In a jar with a lid, combine some tahini, miso, grated garlic and ginger, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and a bit of warm water. Shake it up until smooth and creamy, adjusting to taste.

Pour this over the slaw and mix until coated evenly.

Take the burgers out of the fridge and cook them however you'd like. If I had a barbeque, I would grill them up on that, but they would be lovely fried in a pan with a little oil until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick they are. Drape a few slices of cheese over the burgers in the last few minutes of cooking so it melts all nice and lovely.

Serve on crusty kaiser rolls, ciabata buns or brioche, with lots of mayo, mustard and ketchup, big, juicy slices of ripe tomato and crunchy lettuce, perfect slaw on the side!

A glass of cold, bubbly gingerale goes quite nicely with this meal..

Sunday afternoon treats

I woke up with banana bread and peanut butter cookies on my mind. So, I made a hybrid.

I used the old recipe from my eldest sister's first boyfriend's grandmother for perfect banana bread. It's a family classic and something that all of us hold dear. I have memories of peaking under a tea towel in my Mother's kitchen at the perfect golden loaves, resting until they were cool enough to eat, the whole house filled with the warm aroma of baked bananas and the sweetness of bread.

Here it is:

1/2 cup butter mixed with 1 cup sugar (I like half golden brown and half white) until smooth and fluffy. Add two eggs and 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter and mix until ultra smooth. Add 3-4 mashed, ripe bananas and completely mix in.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 3/4 c all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt, in that order.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until all the flour is combined.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325˚ for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Wait about 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven to cut it, or your slices won't be lovely and sharp and crisp.

I like it with a nice pad of butter smeared on it and a hot cup of orange pekoe tea. That's my kind of Sunday treat.

Today tasted nice

I ate beautiful things today: Things that made me 'mmmmmm' out loud.

For breakfast I made fancy oatmeal. The oatmeal itself was basic: 1/3 c quick oats, 2/3 c water, a pinch of salt and a couple shakes of cinnamon, bring to a boil, reduce and stir for 2 minutes. The fancy happened when I sliced up a banana and fried it in a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I spooned those piping hot bananas into a deep bowl and topped them with the steaming hot oatmeal. Then I poured over some warm milk, chopped roasted almonds and brown sugar.
It pretty much tasted exactly how Saturday mornings should taste.

Then tonight I got creative with my left overs. I roasted a beautiful chicken the other night and I still had a bunch of the nice meat left over, so I decided to make shredded chicken tacos with refried beans and guacamole.

I chopped up a white onion, three cloves of garlic, half a jalepeño pepper, and a large tomato, all into a fine dice. I heated up a saucepan on medium heat, added a bit of oil when the pot was hot and added the onions, garlic and peppers, seasoning with salt and pepper. After a couple minutes when the onions had softened, I added a generous pinch of ground cumin and the tomatoes. I cooked that for another couple minutes and then added a can of pinto beans, including the liquid. I brought the mixture to a boil, reduced the heat and cooked for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Then I mashed the beans up with a fork until almost smooth, leaving a bit of texture in them.

For the chicken, I sliced some onions, peppers and mushrooms, and minced up a clove of garlic and a small red chili. I added the onions to a hot, oiled pan and cooked until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Next came the mushrooms and some salt and a minute later the peppers. Then I added a chopped tomato and about a cup of shredded, cooked chicken. I seasoned it with cumin, chili powder, and a bit of pepper. I sauteed this chicken combination for about 10 minutes, until the chicken was crunchy and golden.

Quick guacamole with ripe, smashed avocado, crushed garlic, lime juice and salt.

I made one hard and one soft, layering the beans, then the chicken and then the guacamole, topped with a crisp cilantro garnish.

One word: yum.

Actually, two words: Try it!

Have you eaten a peach lately?

It's almost the end of the summer, and I hope all of you are indulging in the last of the juicy peach crop. The peaches are so round and ripe and swollen at this time of year that it is guarenteed to result in juice running down your chin and arms if you pick the right rosey coloured stonefruit.

I just had one. Biting into it for the first time gave me goosebumps.

Do it, go get a peach. Slice it down the middle and pick the pit out. Step your body away from your hand and bite in. Slurp accordingly.

<3

Guerilla recipe posting number 2: success

I hit the streets with a recipe for spectacular stir fry tonight. I started at city hall and posted my way down Cambie street, sharing the love of tasty noodle bowls with the world around me.Look for posters coming to your neighbourhood soon! Try this one out - tell me what you think of it!

Mix fresh chilies, soy sauce, fish sauce, minced onion, garlic and ginger, canola oil, sugar, salt, basil leaves and a bit of cornstarch together in a bowl.

Heat a wok or large pan on high; add some oil to the pan and then the sauce paste. Fry for 30 seconds.

Add thinly sliced chicken, pork, beef or tofu. Fry 3 minutes until partially cooked.

Add sliced mushrooms, fry until soft. Add sliced green onions and savoy cabbage. Fry one minute. Add baby bok choy, separated and sliced. Cook one minute.

Add fresh torn basil leaves and stir to coat with sauce.

Serve it up on top of rice noodles splashed with rice vinegar and sesame oil. Top with a squeeze of lime juice, crunchy bean sprouts and fresh cilantro.

Tuck in and enjoy a feast.

The Importance of Breakfast

Read this is John Robbin's May All Be Fed...touched me deeply.

"If you take the time to make yourself a breakfast that fits your mood and needs, and the kind of day you have ahead of you, you set in motion a wave of self-care and responsibility that remains with you throughout the day."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in making the change to eat whole, healthy and energy-rich foods, and the why's behind why this change is essential for the continuation of our life on this Earth.

Let me know what you think..

The Revolution has Arrived

So, I was feeling confined by my blog, thinking to myself, 'What about all those people who don't know about the delicious things I'm eating? How will they know about Royalty Monday breakfasts?'

Ah ha! I had one of these moments - the kind of moments people yearn for. These moments that sometimes come out no where and flood you with what I can only describe as some sort of a charge. It's like you got plugged into something that has no limits. When this particular moment came to me, it was as if someone had removed the top portion of my head, and that allowed me to channel this light in, flooded with ideas.

Then it came to me, as if it had been addressed right to me:

Guerilla Recipe Posting.

It was so simple: Bring the recipes out into the streets and put them where people can see them. Create a buzz. Share the word that good food is easy and will fill you with joy.

So I did it. On Monday night, I posted the recipe for An Exciting Breakfast and

The Perfect Hash Browns for one:

4 nugget potatoes, 2 cloves garlic, one small green or red chili, 2 green onions, salt and pepper and 2 tsp oil.
Dice potatoes into small cubes and mince the garlic, chili and onions.
Heat the oil up in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add all ingredients to the pan and stir often. Season the potato mixture with salt and pepper and cook until golden and crunchy - about 8 minutes. Garnish with flat leaf parsley if you feel like getting fancy.
Eat this with your breakfast and feel strong!

I bought myself a staple gun and packing tape, got 200 copies of the recipes and hit the pavement. I had someone tall with superb taping skills help me slap up the posters around the city in strategic places. We hit corporate buildings, public sidewalks, bus stops and side lanes. We finished off at City TV, posting them right in front of the main entrance, dodging from the night time security guard. What a rush! I felt like such a badass.

My goal is to create a following within the community. I am committing to posting easy, delicious, inspiring recipes weekly, around the city. I'll post them online as well! Look for the HUNGRY? Try This: in bold letters around the city, bus stops, lamp posts, corporate buildings...you get the picture.

Spread the word! If you try a recipe and love it, tell me about it! Post here what works for you and any variations you may be inspired to try.

The revolution has arrived! Come, join the movement. Guerilla recipe posting coming to a city near you soon...!

Breakfast for Royalty on Rainy Mondays

I woke up to the smell of fresh rain this morning and a strong craving for something sweet to accompany my morning tea.
I sat on my balcony, sipping earl grey, imagining the perfect breakfast.

Then it came to me: Berry Pancakes with Butterscotch sauce.

I went to the Flea market yesterday and picked up a couple pints of really extraordinarily fresh strawberries. I made little free-form tarts last night with those berries and some blueberries, all wrapped up in a really simple pastry! I had some of the filling (sliced strawberries, blueberries, lemon zest, a couple teaspoons of sugar and a bit of cornstartch -- to thicken it) left over, so I just spooned that onto the pancakes after they had been in the pan for about a minute. As soon as bubbles appear on the outer edges of the cake, flip it over.

I recently went back to Calgary and during my visit I got some new Teflon pans. I feel so spoiled every time I add something to these new pans and feel confident that I won't be scraping it for hours later. The pancakes were so perfectly golden and evenly toasted this morning, I was speechless.

Here's what you do:

Separate 3 large eggs into two bowls. Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks. In the other bowl, combine the yolks with a scant cup of all purpose flour, a heaping teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole or butter milk. Mix until smooth batter. Gently fold in the egg whites in, mixing gently so you don't squash out all the air.

Pour your batter into a medium high, non-stick pan. Spoon on some sort of filling, cook for another minute, watch for the bubbles, and flip. Jamie Oliver insists that fresh corn in pancakes tastes 'absolute pukka!', which I am assuming is delicious. He says to drizzle it with a little maple syrup and eat lots of bacon on the side.

I made a on-the-fly butterscotch sauce by melting a little butter (maybe 4tbsp?) in a small sauce pan on medium low, and then adding a few scoops of golden brown sugar. I stirred often until the butter was melted, and then added a splash of cream and some vanilla, mixing with a fork and keeping on the heat until smooth and glossy.

I poured that over the hotcakes and felt like a Queen on a Monday.
Try it, treat yourself, treat someone else. Spread the word, we can all eat like royalty!

My Love Affair with a Juicer

I'm practically dating my Breville Juicer.
The day it came in the mail, I carried it home on my head, 15 blocks in 30˚ weather. The things we do for love.
Since my Breville came into my life, I can barely remember what my days were like before I juiced. I feel the days when I don't juice now. I think about the juice all day long, what sorts of fruits I'll whiz together and imagine what it'll taste like. Even as I write this I am thirstily gulping down an electric orange, frothy concoction of golden delicious apples, pink grapefruit and carrots. It's life force in a cup.

I've tried oranges, pears (!!!), peaches, strawberries, blueberries, lemon and of course, apples, carrots and grapefruits. I haven't branched out yet to the vegetable juices. I think I need some guidence.

Any one have any favourite juices? Tricks? Tips? Feel free to give this new, enamoured juicer your thoughts.

Until then, I'll be in the kitchen with Breville.

I've been a slack Alice

I've haven't been giving this blog the love it deserves.
I haven't been sharing the beautiful things I have been eating with all you lovely people.

That's got to stop.

I've eaten so well today, I want everyone to know about it.

I'm making a fried tofu sandwich right now, one of my all time favourite comfort foods. Just toast some toothsome bread and spread with mayo, mustard, tomatoes, sprouts and lots of salt and pepper. Slice some extra firm tofu into 1/2 inch slices and fry in a little oil over medium high heat until crispy. I like putting a little soy sauce and maple syrup in a bowl and marinading the tofu for about 5 minutes before cooking.

Stack the sandwich up, and squish it down a little.


Divine!!!

I swear, you'll hear from me soon!!

An Exciting Breakfast

Hungry?

Try This:

Smash up one avocado.
Add a chopped cilantro, green onions, a tomato, a clove of garlic, one small chili and the juice of half a lime.
Season with salt.

Toast and butter two slices of nice bread.

Heat up one can of Heinz beans in tomato sauce until bubbly.

Fry two eggs in hot canola oil until they are puffed up and golden, flip and fry for one more minute.

Spread avocado mixture on one slice, beans on the other. Top each with an egg.

Never be bored with breakfast again.

Try it, love it, learn it, and share it.

Hot Weather Eats

Today was the first day of the real summer heat.
Makes me want to eat fresh, crunchy and spicy things!!

Been enjoying Vietnamese steak salads as of late. Easier than you can even possibly imagine.

Step 1: Marinade strips of beef (any cut you like) in soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and minced ginger and garlic. Chilies too if you like it hot. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes-2 days

Step 2: Stir fry sliced onions with a little bit of oil in a pan on medium high heat until softened. Add beef and marinade and cook until meat is tender and cooked. Add cracked black pepper.

Step 3: Fill a bowl with mixed greens, sliced basil, mint, cilantro, cucumbers and carrots. More chilies here if you love the heat.

Step 4: Top the salad with the beef and sauce, squeeze some lime juice and crack some pepper over it.

TUCK IN!!

Celebrate Red

It's Canada Day and I wanted to eat something red.

There seems to be a lot of red in my life lately. I'm officially addicted to the tiny, sweet, little local strawberries that are everywhere and perfect. They are so sweet that they make my tongue dance in disbelief.

I made this strawberry cake the other morning for breakfast. I think cake for breakfast should be law. I like this one for the spongy, soft cake on the bottom and the crumble on top, with a layer of luscious strawberries in between. I burnt my mouth on it...more than once, because I simply couldn't wait to taste it.

It was worth the sensitive tongue all day.

Strawberry Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Sift these together and set aside.

1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp melted butter

Combine these in a bowl until well mixed then add to the flour mixture and beat for two minutes until totally smooth.

Pour into a greased pan (I used a 9-inch pie pan) then top with 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries.

Top with the Crumb:

1/2 flour
1/2 brown sugar, packed
1/4 butter

Mix these until they resemble a mealy texture and pour evenly over the berries.

Bake at 375˚ for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly.

Happy Canada Day, celebrate the red in your life.

Easy Peasy Carbonara Tuesday

THE QUICKEST FANCIEST LUNCH:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add any dry pasta that you please. Today I used fusilli.
2. Heat a lump of butter up in a small saucepan on medium high heat and add 1/4 onion, chopped finely.
3. You can add whatever you want in this step re:meat. I used a little left over ground beef, but you can keep it classic and go with some chopped up bacon or pancetta. Whatever you choose, fry it until it's golden and then reduce to low.
4. Whisk 2 egg yolks and a good splash of cream together, and by splash I mean about 1/2 cup.
5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the onion mixture saucepan. Add the egg and cream, a good crack of pepper and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Stir until the sauce thickens a bit and gets nice and glossy. I garnished with some flat leaf parsley to be fancy.

YUM!

The Sandwich Quest

I've been on the hunt for the perfect sandwich.

I had the most confused 'pulled-pork' sandwich at a restaurant called Chill Winston the other day and to say that it left a bad taste in my mouth would be a euphemism. Truth be told, it just made me feel really sad.

It could have been great. It had the foundation straight: pulled barbecue pork and caramelized apple spread on a toasty baguette. Check.

Here's where it got weird: Vietnamese condiments were a part of this sandwich. Pickled carrots, cucumber and small, spicy chilies topped my wanna-be southern shredded meat.

I tried, unsuccessfully to eat this poor, sad, confused 'wich. It had me distraught all day. I got so caught up dreaming about what it could have been...

I know how a pulled pork sandwich is supposed to taste. It should be saucy, not dry, and it should have deep, golden brown colour resulting from hours of slow cooking.

This meat did not possess either of these qualities. It was beige, dry and completely underwhelming. It wasn't even the messy affair that required a wet nap to clean up the sauce up to my wrists like I was hoping for.

So the other morning I kept pushing back breakfast thinking that maybe I could find a date to go to my favourite spot, Bandidas. The Alan's breakfast (bowl of mixed greens, pinto bean mash, guacamole, fresh tomatillo salsa, fried eggs, cornbread muffin tops with honey butter, pleaaaaaase) was calling my name. Alas, no luck on the date, so I hit the streets with my heart set on a sandwich that would make me forget about the Chill Winston Experience (C.W.E).

I went to a long-time favourite local's spot called Paul's Place - The Omlettery, on Granville and W7th Ave. The omelettes here are exceptional, no questions asked. The colour on the perfectly cooked egg outside is golden yellow, with the fillings inside always fresh and a perfect crunch. To make sure you always get the omelette you ordered, the kitchen thoughtfully places a definitive piece of whatever is inside, on the top. It acts like an affirmation: 'Yes! I am the chorizo and corn egg roll--up that you ordered!'

Today, though, I had sandwich on the mind. So, I went out on a limb and ordered the Big Bubba Breakfast Club:
Triple decker sourdough bread topped with egg, fried mushrooms, avocado, cheese and sprouts. It sounded great.

It was definitely not stupendous. It didn't even make me forget about the C.W.E.
The yoke was hard, so there was none of that perfect, golden dribble to dip the 3 pieces of bread into.
Strike number one.

The crusts of the bread were hard and sharp and cut my mouth, while the bread in the middle of the sandwich was soft and almost on the edge of soggy. It wasn't up for the job to support the Big Bubba Club. It didn't know there would be so much to hold up.
That warrants strike two, no?

The cheese was orange and generic and the whole thing was pretty boring. I am a fried egg sandwich connoisseur and this was no fly egg sarnie.

I left with resigned lamentation at Vancouver sandwiches' inability to impress me. I was daydreaming about days when I lived down the street from the mom and pop Italian deli, Pepinos, that made sandwiches that would make you weep with joy. The roasted turkey with roasted red peppers, eggplant, cheese and shredded lettuce with the house sauce? I'll take three please. Brown bread, and an cappucino on the side, please.

Where is Vancouver's Pepinos? Do you know? Will you share your sandwich secrets with me?

Yesterday I came home from a long day of work on my feet feeling exhausted and hungry. A friend offered to make me a tuna sandwich and I gratefully accepted.

Please believe it was of the best tuna sandwiches I have ever eaten. It had small chopped onion and jalapenos, miracle whip and lots of mashing up until it was smooth. The best part was that it was on top of Texas-style, soft, thick, fluffy, white bread. It was the kind of sandwich that brought me right back to childhood memories, working a booth at the Waldorf Christmas Faire, frantically looking around for the saviour of a sandwich man, who carried around trays of tuna, egg and salmon salad sandwiches. They were like gold.

A sandwich always taste better when you are hungry, and they almost always taste exceptional when someone else makes it for you.

I can tell you, while I was inhaling that soft, perfect sandwich, the memory of the C.W.E floated off into the distance. Always trust, the answer's usually closer than you expect.

The Best Chicken Things: Part Two of Two

So you've been stuffing your face full of chicken for the last two days and now you have these bones just begging to be turned into a beautiful broth.

Broth is something that I like to always have in my fridge or freezer. It's easy to make a lot of at one time, and it makes a hot meal in minutes with the addition of whatever you have on hand.

After making sure all the meat has been picked from the chicken, put it in a deep stockpot and fill with cold water.

As I said, I wanted to try something new this time, so the stock is the first place to lay down the 'theme' of your flavours. This is the platform to set the tone for whatever you'll be making with the broth. The combinations are limitless, a real opportunity to get creative. Here are my two favourites:

Asian: Add lemongrass (smash it on the side of the counter first) , charred red onion (put it on your burner for a bit to darken it up) star anise, peppercorns, garlic and ginger.

Classic: Carrots, onions, celery, garlic, peppercorns, bouquet garnis (parsley thyme and bay leaf)

This time though, I wanted to impress myself. Try something fresh and new. I could feel the potential of this soup.

When it comes to cooking, the creation process for me is an ongoing affair. All day long I think about the next meal I'll prepare. I love the ritual of entering the kitchen. I can't begin to cook unless the kitchen is clean and I have a sharp knife. I asked for a global chef's knife for my birthday when I was 12. I get panicked if I have to cook with a dull knife. It makes the most profound difference in one's ability to prepare dishes with ease and comfort. I like a wet cloth under my cutting board to keep it from slipping around, too, if we're on the subject of kitchen rituals.

The stock: This time I put onions, celery, garlic, and carrots into the pot, as well as a few bay leaves, a couple whole jalapeno peppers and a big stick of cinnamon.
I brought it to a boil, skimming off the foam that rises to the top, then turned the heat down to medium low and let it cook for about 2 hours. The longer your stock simmers, the deeper the flavour, so if you've got the time, use it.

I strained the broth and set aside, reserving about 2 cups to soak some rice in. I used jasmine rice and let it sit in the stock, covered, while I prepped the veggies for the soup. I used a cup of uncooked rice and it ended up soaking up more broth than I anticipated. Remember that it will swell and break up, making the soup thick and lovely.

I chopped a whole red onion, a few cloves of garlic, and some more jalapenos, all fairly small. I took some red and green peppers and cut them into big chunks, quarters, and roughly chopped some carrots as well.

Heat the stock pot over medium high heat, add a glug of oil, add the garlic and chilies and cook for about one minute. Next add the onions and cook until translucent and aromatic. Add the peppers and carrots next, and another stick of cinnamon. Pour your stock over the veggies, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook it for about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I made a little tomato salsa to garnish (tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, garlic, lime juice and salt) and fried some corn tortillas to crispy in a hot pan with some canola oil and salt.

The soup was pretty divine. Try it out and let me know what you think. I've made a fair few chicken soups and this one might take the cake.

The Best Chicken Things: Part One of Two

I've done it.

I made a chicken soup that was better than my Mother's (sorry Mom).

I wanted to try something completely different this time when tackling the weekly pot to sustain me through the work week. I do curry all the time, and the classic chicken soup can get really comfortable, really quickly. If this is what comes out of trying something new, you'll be lucky to eat the same thing twice out of my kitchen.

First though, let's start with the chicken.

Roasting chickens has become one of my favourite Sunday activities. I love every part of it - from rinsing and patting it down to ripping of pieces of crispy skin when it's fresh out of the oven. There is something unspeakably comforting about the smell and ritual that comes with roasting a bird. I had no idea how impressive it was until I cooked one for some friends at school: "What do you mean? Like, gravy and everything?"

You have to start with a good, plump bird - organic is a must, it's worth the extra dollars.

(Check out Jamie's Fowl Dinners on youtube - never eat farmed fowl again!)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you are prepping the chicken.

Rinse the chicken, inside and out, and remove (but don't throw away) the giblets (usually just the neck, sometimes the heart or kidney or lung) and pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Put the giblets in a small sauce pan and cover with cold water (about a cup) and keep on medium low heat. Don't be grossed out by these little nuggets of flavour. They are the backbone to the gravy; they provide the foundation for the drippings to do their magic gravy business on.

In a blender, food processor or bowl, mash up 1/2 cup soft butter, 4 cloves garlic, 2 small chilies, and whatever herbs you like.

Line your roasting dish with thick slices of onion, skin on is fine, chopped carrots and celery. Drizzle a little olive oil and a couple teaspoons of water on top. Make an even surface so the chicken sits just right.

Crispy skin junkie like me? The secret lies in the separating the skin on the bird from the flesh, allowing the air to get in between and really crisp it up.

Oh! It just so happens you have a smooth creamy butter packed with flavour to smear in between.

There are two sections on top of the bird, one on either breast, that the skin will lift up easily in. There is a piece down that middle that won't come up, keeping the two sides separate. Grab a handful of the butter and mash it under the skin, really rubbing it into the meat and getting into every curve of the bird. The skin on the legs will come up too, but be careful because it rips easily.

I like to rub the top of the skin down with the extra butter, salt and pepper the top and a little drizzle of olive oil.

I also really like to roll a lemon around, slice it in half and stuff it in the cavity. The flavours in the cavity are up to you: quarters of onion, garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs...get creative.

Pop the chicken in the oven and roast for half an hour, then turn the oven down to 350. Every so often (30 minutes) take the chicken out and using a long utensil, tip it up so the juices run into the roasting dish. These essential juices will be the base for the gravy.

I'll just say, cook it until it's done, because honestly, I have no idea how long they take. It totally depends on your oven, the chicken, where you live...

When you poke the leg of the chicken and it runs clear, the legs wiggle easily and it looks done, it probably is. But use a thermometer if that makes you feel more comfortable.

Take the hot lemon out of the cavity and save for people to squeeze over the chicken.

Pour the contents, veggies and all, of the roasting dish into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, turn down to medium low heat and add a couple tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly. Cook it for a couple of minutes to lose the flour taste. Now's the time to add the 'giblet broth' that has been simmering all this time. Add a little at a time, remembering that the flour will thicken it.

Strain, smashing all the veggies against the sieve to get every last drop of perfect flavour out and then return to the saucepan. Simmer until it's as thick as you like. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour on everything.

No big deal, just a perfect roast chicken.

monday night stirfry

compensation

I'm having a hard time translating my on the go food journal to online posts.
Here's what i have been up to lately...