salmon-potato cakes

Borrowing from this Jamie Oliver recipe and this random recipe from Food.com (there are a ton to choose from), I made salmon-potato cakes. In the spirit of it all, adapt to your taste.

salmon-potato cakes
makes 8 cakes, serves 4

2 russet potatoes, cooked and mashed (approx. 2 cups mashed potatoes)

1 213g (7.5oz) can of wild Alaskan salmon
small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tbs onion, minced and sauteed in olive oil
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
less than 1/4 C flour
3/4 C breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
lemon wedges for serving

After mashed potatoes have cooled, combine all ingredients. Evenly divide and form into cakes, then fry in a little olive oil over medium-high heat. Even though the salmon and potatoes are cooked, there's raw egg in there, so be sure to cook through (4-5 minutes per side). Also, a crispy golden crust is nice. Serve with a spritz of fresh lemon.

mushroom fontina pizza

Do you love mushrooms? Yeah, me too. And Jeff is a completely reformed mushroom-disliker. Since the kid digs 'em too, mushroom pizza is a clear winner.

Head over to Annies Eats for a fantastic recipe (and waaay better pictures.) I simplified the recipe a bit, but hers is great inspiration.  I used my go-to cornmeal pizza crust recipe.

I guess she largely borrowed from this recipe over at Pink Parsley. It was that blogger who said that this is a 'wine-worthy dinner'. I agree. Not that beer can't be fancy, but this pizza, with its roasted mushroom pesto and sauteed mushrooms topping, is definitely more involved than the average pizza n' beer night.

But the hassle is relatively minor and was worth it. It makes for a deliciously salty, earthy pizza that, by the way, goes great with a simple arugula salad.

Which reminds me. I love arugula. It's so bitter and peppery and I find that it complements a lot surprisingly well.

But I digress. Mushroom fontina pizza. Yum.

cruciferous veg

Have you ever hearrd a two year old ask for more brussel sprouts?

Yeah, neither had I. In fact, I had never asked for more brussel sprouts. But we received some little beauties from our farm share and I was forced to try them again. Dee-licious. (Have you ever seen brussel sprouts growing on their stalk? Funny looking things.)

Okay, boiling or steaming is absolutely not the way to prepare these in my opinion. Not after you've tried them roasted in a little lemon juice, minced garlic and plenty of salt (Elise's recipe here). This is much like the cauliflower recipe on the same recipe blog, which we've made a few times.

Sorry, no pictures. We ate them too fast -- and that's the honest truth.

Head on over to Simply Recipes to see 'em and make 'em.

pazzo for pizza

Hey there, peeps. Please excuse erratic my erratic posting of late. A baby happened, summer happened, and well, you understand.

But speaking of cornmeal...

Humdrum it may be, but I have a soft spot for cornmeal. I love cornbread, swoon over cornmeal pancakes, and I can't resist a pizza with a cornmeal crust.

And so, as it happens from time to time, we've been eating quite a lot of pizza lately. My go-to crust recipe is this one from Martha Stewart (but I sub half the flour for whole wheat). I like that it freezes well. (One friend of mine uses tortillas brushed with olive oil for an even easier, crispy pizza crust.)

My simple tomato sauce is usually a few of my jarred tomatoes, a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, and some dried basil and oregano. We tend to keep toppings a simple fare of sauteed veggies, sometimes sausage, and some cheese grated over the whole mess.

Other nights we get more creative, with fresh goat cheese ricotta from our friend 'Farmer Dave', bacon, sauteed leeks and peppers, and fresh tomatoes to make it pretty.

But back to cornmeal. Know any good recipes? I'm all ears.  

italian fries

Well summer finally arrived to the west coast and we're enjoying every minute of it -- beach picnics, a little road trip, frozen yogurt star pops (three cheers for my new star pops!), a ton of fresh fruit... the usual summer drill.

There's been some knitting (more on that soon), but no sewing, because my machine rolled over and died. I'll get around to having it fixed/buying a new one one of these days. But first, there's canning to do, and sand to play in... and I must convince you to make these fries.

I don't think it will take much convincing because these fries are like nachos -- cheesy, herby, crispy carbs -- but with potatoes. 'Nuff said.

You'll find them in LSQ's Mad Hungry cookbook, or on the MSL website.

baked egg rolls

I had been craving the salty crunch of egg rolls ever since I talked with my awesome sis-in-law the other day. She was making egg rolls for dinner and just like that, I had to try to make my own. The power of suggestion is indeed powerful. (Thanks for the great idea, Ada!)

I did a little online searching, taking techniques and tips from Steamy Kitchen and from good ol' Emeril (he's annoying, but he's got some winners -- ever try his key lime pie?) This recipe is kind of cobbled together and improvised, so some measurements are approximate.

baked pork egg rolls

makes a lot (for the freezer)

2 packages egg roll wraps (6x6" square)

1 lb ground pork

cayenne pepper (I didn't measure, but I'll assume 1/4 teas)

salt

1 14oz package of prepared coleslaw veggie mix

3 green onions, finely chopped

2 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs cornstarch, divided

1 Tbs sesame oil

vegetable or canola oil

In small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and soy sauce. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Cook pork, sprinkled with a dash of salt and the cayenne pepper, until no more pink remains (about 5 mins). Add the coleslaw mix and saute for a couple of minutes. Clear a space in the center of the pan, then add a bit of vegetable oil and saute ginger and green onion for about 30 seconds. Drizzle in sesame oil and stir all ingredients together. Once vegetables have started to wilt, add soy sauce mix and stir to coat well. Remove from heat and spread on jelly roll pan, letting cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cornstarch slurry by stirring 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1/2 cup water.

Have a couple of damp tea towels ready to cover prepared egg rolls and the egg roll wraps while you are working.

Working one at a time, put 2-3 tablespoons of cooled pork mixture on a wrapper, and using this technique and your cornstarch slurry, prepare all of your egg rolls. Put completed egg rolls on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and keep covered with damp towel. Brush with vegetable oil on all sides, and then bake until nice n' golden, 20-25 minutes. Serve with Chinese plum sauce.

Freeze any leftovers separately on a cookie sheet before putting them in a plastic bag together. To cook from frozen, we've been microwaving them, and their okay that way, but I'm going to try popping them in the toaster oven next time to see if I can retain some crunch.

chicken with mushrooms and rice

I was craving cream-of-mushroom comfort, minus the cream of mushroom can.

chicken with mushrooms and rice

serves 4

1/2 onion, finely chopped

pinch of dried thyme

1 1/2 C brown rice

3 C low-sodium chicken stock

2 handfuls of dried mushrooms

4 chicken pieces, bone-in

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together onion, thyme, brown rice, dried mushrooms, and stock. Pour mix into 9x12 baking dish.

Meanwhile, pat chicken dry and season with pepper. Nestle chicken pieces into brown rice mixture in baking pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake, until chicken is done and rice has absorbed most of the liquid, about 1 hour. Garnish with fresh parsley.

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

I had a mason jar full of quinoa in the fridge for... I don't know, a year. But after making this dish a couple of times, and then trying variations of it a few times, all my quinoa is gone. Must buy more.

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

from my friend's cookbook that I can't quite remember the name of -- I think it was called The New Grains

serves 4

1 chicken (3 1/2 - 4lb), cut into pieces

1 garlic clove, bruised

salt and pepper

2 Tbs unsalted butter

1 1/2 teas vegetable oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

2 ripe medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/2 C home-made or low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 C quinoa

1 teas chopped fresh tarragon

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Rub chicken with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken pieces until well browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet. Add the shallot and saute, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as it cooks (so much flavour in those browned bits!) Return chicken pieces back to skillet and sprinkle with vinegar, cooking until the juices have almost evaporated. Add tomatoes to the pan. Pour the stock over the chicken and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.

Rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain. Add the quinoa to the juices around the chicken. Continue to cook, covered, until the quinoa is tender (10-15 mins). Sprinkle with fresh tarragon and parsley. Serve.

royal mussels and fries

For my brother, eating like a king means daily breakfast meats. You know, bacon, sausage and the like (although really, what else is there besides bacon?)

And it's got me thinking about what food -- however simple -- makes me feel like I'm living high on the hog.

I think I've figured it out. Good quality seafood.

I'm not sure why mussels feels like an extravagance for us when, for 9 dollars total, we each get a huge bowl of mussels. But it does feel indulgent -- and we feel like kings.

Throughout this entire meal of simply prepared mussels with french fries and mustard mayo and some roasted veggies, both Jeff and I couldn't stop ooing and ahhhing, loudly enjoying each bite, and filling the space between bites with declarations of never moving far from the ocean.

If you could bottle the ocean (I mean, obviously that would be quite easy but I'm talking about essence of that salty air) in a bite, that would be these mussels, cooked in white wine, butter, garlic and onion. It's almost too simple.

And the best pairings? French fries and mustard mayo for dipping. Hands down. It will take you on a trip to France before you've even had a moment to think about what to pack. We enjoyed ours with a Duvel beer -- a Belgian for the full experience.

This is from Gourmet, so I'll just send you on over for the recipe.

Pssst, Glenda. Don't make this at home. Just come over to our house on Saturday night!

squash and lentil curry

Man, I'm on an Indian kick and boy, do I love curry. I'm finding that curries are very forgiving of my lack of knowledge about Indian spices. They're great for dinner, and maybe even better for lunch the next day. What's not to love?

This recipe is one I adapted from this curried soup recipe from Gourmet--adding a couple extra spices and using more veggies but less onion (and adding less water, of course.)

squash and lentil curry

serves 6

3 Tbs vegetable or canola oil

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs minced peeled ginger

1 Tbs curry powder

1 teas cumin

1 teas garam masala

1 C red lentils, picked over and rinsed

3 1/2 C water

fresh cilantro

plain yogurt

basmati rice

Heat oil and butter in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until beginning to soften, then add garlic and ginger. Saute the aromatics a couple of minutes before adding squash, carrot and celery, seasoning the pot with a bit of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown (15-20 mins.)

Stir in curry powder, cumin, and garam masala. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add lentils and water and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender (25-35 mins.) Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over basmati rice. Top it all off with a small handful of fresh cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt.

indian beans and rice

When someone says rice n' beans, I usually assume we're talking about Mexican food, but that just shows my ignorance because it's a super common dish around the world. This Indian version, called rajma chawal (pronounced 'chavel'), is made with kidney beans and it's got umpteen layers of flavour.

In their new cookbook, Vikram Vij and his wife say it felt silly to write down a recipe like this, one so common in an Indian household. But I'm glad they did because I needed help with the spices. They encourage folks to play around with the amounts of spices to find a combo that works for their families. We made the dish as written and it's fairly spicy, but so delicious I doubt we'd change a thing.

rajma chawal

from Vij's at Home

serves 6

1/2 C cooking oil (canola, olive oil, ghee, your choice)

1 1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)

2 Tbs finely chopped garlic

2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger

1 1/2 C chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 Tbs chili powder (mild Mexican)

1 tsp turmeric

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ground cayenne (optional, but in my opinion, essential)

1/2 C plain yogurt

5-6 C water, depending on how soupy you want your curry

3 14-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

5-6 C cooked basmati rice

Heat oil in a medium pot on medium-high. Add onion and saute until slightly dark brown, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute, then add ginger and tomatoes. Stir in spices -- chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cayenne -- and saute this masala together until oil glistens on top, 5-8 minutes.

Place yogurt in a small bowl. To prevent curdling, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the hot masala into the yogurt. Stir well, then pour yogurt into the pot. Saute for a couple of minutes, until the oil glistens again.

Add water, stir, turn up the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans, stir and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to medium and cook for a few minutes, until beans are warmed through.

Serve over rice, adding a dollop of plain yogurt if you wish.

mild chicken masala

Need an excuse to buy some garam masala? Look no further!

I've got just the meal plan for you. It's easy and tasty. If you're afraid of spicy heat, don't be scared. It's a 'family style' recipe from Bon Appetit designed to introduce kids to Indian cooking. So, no heat, just subtle Indian flavours.

Here's the deal, I barely strayed from the original recipes so I'm just going to link to them here...

easy chicken masala -- Really, it's easy. Marinate, then bake. That's it.

caramelized cumin-roasted carrots -- Your basic roasted carrots, but with cumin tossed in with the olive oil and salt.

cucumber raita -- That cooling yogurt & cucumber spread that's so great on everything from naan to chicken.

And I served all of the above with some store-bought naan (but here's a recipe for whole wheat naan that I've been meaning to try) and a pot of basmati rice. (Basmati has a unique fragrance and texture -- don't settle for long grain white if you can help it.)

What comes next? Soup!

Since we had chicken, carrots and rice left over, I made soup. If you'd like to do the same...

Thinly slice the roasted carrots, remove the cooked chicken from the bone and dice, and finely chop 1 small yellow onion. In a medium saucepan, saute onion in a bit of olive oil. Add in 1 tsp ground cumin. Cook for 30 seconds or so before adding carrots, chicken and 3 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low. Add cooked basmati rice, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through chopped fresh cilantro and serve in bowls with a dollop of plain yogurt and a dash of cayenne pepper.

It just occurred to me that the amounts of onion, cumin, etc will depend on how much leftovers you have. (Sorry, I'm slow.) So if this recipe is going to be at all useful, you should know that I used 1 tsp cumin, 1 small onion, 3 cups broth, and a small handful of cilantro, to about 1 cup sliced carrots, 3 drumsticks, and a couple of cups of rice.

on the list

Between hitting the nog, I want to to make this chili and its scrumptious-looking biscuits. Who thought to put the biscuits on the chili? Genius.

And while I'm wishing I had more time...

how about this darling quilt? think of the advent calendar possibilities

these little fortunes for New Years Eve

honk if you love cardamom and pulla as much as I do

keep meaning to make my own yogurt -- 2011 will be the year

wish I still had photoshop, I'd be making calendars with this cute template

my hot chocolate needs a gingerbread house its own size

ginger beef

Dinner last night was Elise's stir fry ginger beef. I was delighted by how the cumin and honey in the marinade made it through to flavour the final dish. Highly recommended!

veggie chili

Fall is definitely here and I, for one, am ready for it. Ready for some comfort food, ready for these cold sunny days, ready for a fire in the fireplace, ready for a warm bowl of chili...

Oh, look! A warm bowl of chili!

I warn you, this recipe makes enough for an army, or a freezer-full. But it's so good you'll be glad you've got extra on hand. Trust me. Start chopping.

Yeah, I should mention that this isn't a 'quick, it's 5 o'clock what are we having for dinner tonight' recipe (I mean, just look at that ingredient list!) No, this is a lovely vegetable-filled recipe that requires a bit of slicing and dicing. Nothing difficult or tricky, just chopping. Your efforts will be rewarded with layers of flavour and deliciousness.

It is known in our house as 'Kim and Larry's chili' because they are the friends who got us hooked. I'm not sure where they got this recipe, but I hope they don't mind me sharing...

veggie chili

serves at least 12

1 1/2 C dried beans (black, pinto, red, your choice)

4 C water

3/4 C bulgar

1 1/2 C boiling water

2 Tbs oil (or more if necessary)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 C celery, finely chopped

1 C carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" coins

1 C squash, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" cubes (we use butternut squash)

1 C eggplant, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 C mushrooms, halved or quartered

1 red pepper, cut into 1" squares

1 yellow pepper, cut into 1" squares

1 zucchini, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1/2 teas Tabasco sauce

3 Tbs chili powder

2 Tbs cumin

1/4 C (or 1 Tbs dried) each of fresh basic, dill, and oregano

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

2 28-oz cans tomatoes

3 C V-8 juice

2 oz tomato paste

1 C niblets corn

grated Monterey Jack cheese

First, bring beans to boil in water, then simmer until tenter. Strain, saving liquid. Also, soak bulgar for five minutes in boiling water, then set aside.

Saute vegetables (garlic, onion, celery, carrots, squash, eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, sweet potato) in oil for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add spices (Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, basil, dill, oregano, jalapeno, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes) to vegetable mixture, and saute 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, V-8 juice, tomato paste and beans. Add a tablespoon of the beans' cooking liquid, and add more to taste. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, for 30 minutes. Add corn and soaked bulgar to the pot and cook until heated through.

Serve in bowls, topped with cheese.

roasted cauliflower

I think we can all agree that cauliflower is not a photogenic vegetable. But trust me, when it's roasted with a bit of lemon juice and garlic, then topped with parmesan cheese, it shines. Head over to simply recipes for the deets.

kale chips

Who here manages to get their recommended share of green leafy veggies? Now that I've discovered kale chips, we'll be gobbling down bunches of the stuff with grins on our faces. I could very well look like Popeye in a couple of months.

kale chips

serves 3-4

1 bunch kale

olive oil

salt -- I used fine-grain sea salt, but I've heard seasoning salt is good too

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash your kale and dry it well (I love my salad spinner.) Tear into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat well. Spread on large cookie sheet that's been lined with parchment paper or one of those non-stick mats. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the kale is deep green, crispy, and not yet charred. Timing is everything -- I recommend you start watching it more closely after 10 minutes even though my last batch took almost 20 minutes. Enjoy warm from the oven -- and go ahead, lick your fingers!

finger lickin' good

Usually, when I'm going to roast a chicken, I make, what we have lovingly dubbed, a 'Jorge' (long story.) While we don't make a habit of personifying our food, Jorge is an exception.

Making Jorge consists of filling his cavity with lemon and rosemary, massaging his skin with olive oil, salt and pepper, and putting him in a pan with a little white wine and chicken broth to keep him moist. Jorge is reliably tasty, but this new recipe is... oh, so good. I'm at a loss for words to describe and do justice to just how good this roast chicken smelled as it was cooking and just how good it tasted.

The recipe comes from Saveur, a great foodie mag with lovely photography. The original recipe is Sara's Roast Chicken with Sage and Garlic. I substituted the sage for some fresh lemon thyme I had on hand and tweaked a few of the ingredients, but mostly I followed the recipe, so I'll encourage you to jump on over there.

Since my picture of the finished product was not as appetizing as Saveur's (not surprisingly), here's my bird ready for the oven. Make the leap to see how delicious it looks when it's done. Seriously, it's like one of those scratch n' sniff photos.

summer bean salad

Whenever I see beans in a salad, I fear that they've been drowned in vinegar, like all of the poor beans in three-bean salads everywhere. You know the salad I'm talking about? It's been on American picnic tables for decades. The one made with canned green beans, canned wax beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, raw onion, and usually raw green pepper, all soaked in vinegar and sugar. Need I say, its appeal is lost on me.

This, however, is just a very simple, very summer, bean salad. Vinegar not included.

summer bean salad

serves 4

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

In serving bowl, stir together the beans, tomatoes, and dill. In small bowl, whisk togthether a couple swigs of olive oil and the lemon juice (and come to think of it, 1/2 teas of dijon mustard would've been good whisked in as well.) Season with salt and pepper, and adjust lemon juice/olive oil to taste. Pour dressing over bean mixture and stir. Enjoy on the patio with a glass of iced tea.

oven beef stew

So apparently the trick to getting beef stew to turn out is to cook it for a longass time.

After making one too many stews with disappointingly tough meat, I did a little research. (Which is kind of like reading the instructions after you dig them out of the garbage.) Some folks swear by a slow cooker, but I just used my oven. This recipe gets the job done in two hours.

beef stew

cobbled together from a few different recipes

serves 3-4

1/2 lb beef stew meat (about 1 1/2" chunks)

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teas flour

handful of dried porcini mushrooms

3 celery stalks, diced

1-2 carrots, diced

2-3 yukon gold potatoes, diced

1 bay leaf

a couple pinches dried thyme

salt and pepper

3 C beef stock

handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Place oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Pat dry the beef stew meat in some paper towel and generously season with salt and pepper. In small bowl, put mushrooms to soak in 1 cup of warm water. Once mushrooms are soft, lift out with slotted spoon and roughly chop. Reserve soaking liquid.

In a large dutch oven (a.k.a. a big, deep pot with a lid that can go in the oven) over medium-high heat, heat a bit of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned beef to the pot and fry, turning, until browned well on all sides. Remove meat from pan and set aside.

Add a bit more olive oil to the pot and saute onions, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the onions soften. Add garlic and saute another minute or so. Add flour and mix well. Pour in slowly about 1/2 cup of the broth. Stir to dissolve the flour and then add remaining broth, bay leaf, dried thyme, mushrooms, and the mushroom's soaking liquid. Depending on how soupy/stewy you want your final product to be, you can add a bit more water or broth to the pot at this point if it looks like your veggies will be too crowded.

Once the broth has started to simmer, return beef to the pot. Cover, and place in preheated oven. Bake for one hour. After one hour, remove from the oven and add prepared veggies -- the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover again and return to oven. Bake one hour, or until meat is completely cooked and softened (for me, that's been 50-60 minutes.) Remove from oven, remove bay leaf, and stir through the fresh parsley. You could leave the beef in large chunks at this point, or roughly shred each chunk with a couple of forks before serving.