Soup. Rain. 'Nuff Said.

I am officially back to working full time since having Theo, er, 18 months ago.  After the first week I'm feeling good, a little tired and overwhelmed but good.  It really is an adjustment for the whole family though when both parents work and babe is in 'school', life seems to go by so damn fast. I'm always rushing it seems, rushing to daycare so I'm not late for work, rushing home before Theo falls asleep so he can eat dinner and go to bed at a reasonable time, throwing in a load of laundry while taking the dog for a whizz, anything I can do to save a minute here and there.  I'm not complaining, well sorta not complaining, I don't think at this stage I'd have it any other way.  I'm finding I just need to prioritize this time on the weekends just the way I want it.  60% snuggled with Theo and Simon reading, singing, cuddling, playing at the park/library or some such location, movies/damages, treating ourselves to a dinner out, watching Wiggles (a incredibly mind numbing children's show), 30% cooking, baking, reading blog recipes, grocery shopping and 10% doing the hated tasks; figuring out what's rotten in my kitchen, washing disgusting diapers, cleaning the bathroom, picking up toys and putting them in their designated basket just to have them dug out and dumped on the floor five minutes later...ugh.

My new strategy is to take my Sunday and do some meal planning/meal prepping and bulk cooking, so far, so good.  I made the below recipe, adapted from this great cookbook, last weekend and it was real good.  We ended up eating it for a couple of days, it's really kid friendly thanks to the corn, which is in season and nice and sweet.  I also doubled a standard coconut curry recipe so we chomped on that for a bit too.  I'm trying real real hard not to let good food go by the waist side when it's so important to me.  Some things are just more important than a clean bathroom, right?..clean underwear, maybe not so much.  

Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup
adapted from The Food you Crave; Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
by Ellie Krieger

4 cups fresh corn
2 cups milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini
a handful of new potatoes (5-8)
1 cup chickpeas
2 cups broth or water
2 plum tomatoes (seeded and diced)
a good bunch of basil chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Put two cups of the corn in a blender with the milk and process until smooth.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a pot.  Add the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, potato and chickpeas and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender.  Add the remaining 2 cups of corn, basil and the broth and bring to a boil.  Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes and cook until warmed through.  Season accordingly.

Happy Weekending!

Gnocchi-tastic!

From the City...

Prink those taters.  

Bake 2 large russet potatoes @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes

mash potatoes, 1 egg and 1/2 -3/4 cup flour 

Knead dough for about a minute until you have a nice little lump of dough like this.

Divide dough into four balls and shape into rolls.

Cut into bite size pieces, keeping in mind they should all be the same shape and size (good luck with that one!!!) and gently imprint with a fork...not sure what the purpose of this is but it sure looks pretty. 

I served mine with a homemade pasta sauce which Simon said should have been something fancier like a rose or a brown butter sauce...hmmm...interesting.  The next batch I make, I'm going to mess around with different cheeses and possibly a different vegetable...but all in all, I'd consider these a total success.  They were buttery and soft and pretty darn good, if I do say so myself, but I won't lie, a bit of a pain in the ass time wise.  Make these when you have a bunch of people over who can help with the process.  

amelia

Making Goat Cheese

From the City...

We have an abundance of goat's milk around here these days.  We've been making a slow transition to a bit of g.milk for Theo everyday in anticipation for my return to work (shesh) in a month and a bit but as with everything with our son, its a s-----l-----o----w transition and one entirely up to him.  

To think, he didn't want to nurse at all in the beginning and now he's doesn't want to do anything but.  

The simple ingredients plus some salt and pepper, dried herbs and minced garlic.

Colander lined with cheese cloth

Goat's milk that has been brought up to 180 degrees.  Add 1/4 cup lemon juice (which I might tweak a bit next time and use less, little too lemony tasting for me).  Allow to curdle for 20 seconds.

Allow the whey to drip out.  You can use this in a soup or stew if you so fancy.

Drip drip drip.

Now this is a very serious contraption I've designed.  Yarn, wooden spoon, ball of cheese cloth containing my goaty goodness.  I let it drip drop for another 1 to 2 hours.  

Now, I bet you'd like to see the end result.  Sadly, the cheese didn't last long.  Or even through our dinner that night but let me tell you, it was creamy and wonderful and perfectly delicious.  

To my cheese ball I added:

1 garlic clove minced

salt and pepper to taste

dried rosemary  

Here's the link to the online tutorial that I used. Give it a whirl!

-ab 

Creamy Tomato Soup

From the City...

Any recipe that comes together with only the things that you have on hand, whether in your pantry or in your freezer, is definitely a friend of mine.  

 Tomatoes, onions, and garlic.  Before.

 Tomatoes, onions and garlic roasted.  After. 

 A close up of that roasted garlic.  Olive oil and tinfoil.  That's it.  

 Completion/Perfection.

1 can whole tomatoes

2 onions

1 large head local garlic

stock or water

a handful of freezer basil

salt /pepper to taste

olive oil 

a splash of cream (1/4Cup)

Roast tomatoes, onion and garlic with a little olive oil and salt and pepper for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once finished, heat a splash of olive oil in a pot, toss in onions and garlic and then the tomatoes and basil.  Thin with water or stock as much as desired. Add basil. 

Remove from heat and puree.  Put back on the heat and add your cream and salt and pepper to taste.  

If you feel so ambitious, you can put it through a strainer to thin it out even more but I like a little texture so I kept it just the way it was.  

Every cold rainy Sunday should be spent with these three, plus loads of blankets, toys, books and of course, tomato soup.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

-ab

When Life Gives You Lemons...

From the City...

Every once in a while someone comes into your life that just really gets you.  They make you laugh hysterically, they can go out with you and dance for hours, you swap everything from clothes, to goals to life lessons with them.  They are really just that great.  Knowing how rare these people are, when you get a hold of one, you just can't let 'em go.  My friend Alicia is this person.  We met in University and have been friends ever since.  Sadly (for me, not for her) she's up and moved to B.C to work on her phd.      So when life gives you lemons, you gotta make some lemonade.  So from this, a penpal was born.  Here's this months letter: a handmade card, a yummy recipe and a packet of salad greens for her apartment window.  

In this age of emails and messaging, there might not be anything more fun than getting a card in the mail.    

-ab 

Corny Relish Recipe

From the City...

We made this relish at the canning bee on Sunday and I'm not gonna lie to you, it turned out really really.  So well, that I felt it necessary to crack into mine early and slather my black bean burger with it not just for dinner but also for lunch the next day.  Here's the recipe and you better jump on it and get cracking cause corn is good and ready right now.

• 1 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 1 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 cups corn kernels (cut from 4-6 ears, depending on how big the ears are)
• 2 plum or Roma tomatoes, diced the size of a corn kernel
• 1 red or green serano chile peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Working in batches if necessary, pulse the cucumbers, onions, and bell peppers in a food processor just 3 or 4 pulses, so they are still distinguishable from each other, not puréed.

Place mixture in a medium-sizedpot. Add the corn, tomatoes, serano chiles, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, turmeric, mustard seed, and ground cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Spoon the corn relish into clean jars and seal. Will last for 4-6 weeks refrigerated.

**We tripled the recipe and ended up with 7 500ml jars.  

 So here's a recipe for my black bean burgers.  They are so easy to make and freeze really well.  I used fresh black beans from the farm so if you can get your hands on 'em, I highly suggest you use those.  Canned will definitely work out for you too though.

• 2 cups black beans
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp oil or 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or ground oats
• Some kind of herb, whatever you have on hand...I had basil and that worked out pretty well
• 1 tsp salt 
• Fresh ground black pepper

* Makes 4-5 patties

In a food processor, mix the herbs, onion and garlic together.  Then add your beans, cumin, crumbs or oats, salt and pepper.  Process.  Then add your oil or egg and pulse 3-4 times to combine.   Form your patties and fry in a tbsp of oil for about 5 -7 minutes on each side.  If baking in the oven, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes flipping once.  

Enjoy!

Long Weekend Bake-Fest

from the city...

I seem to be baking a lot lately.  I don't know if it's because I realized I could get away with eating it because I'm constantly feeding babe or if it's because there seems to be no shortage of people that want something sweet to eat, nevertheless, I am completely loving it.   

 This is my mother in law's pantry drawer.  I happen to believe that good things always come from the pantry, especially someone else's.  

 Before 

 After

World's Best Oatmeal Cookies 

(don't mess 'em up with chocolate chips or raisins because they are perfect, just the way they are)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

• 
  
• 1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
• 
  
• 2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
• 
  
• 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

After that I was off to the farm for some hangouts with the boys.  I got to spend the whole day with Luc while Nate was off fishing with his bubba (grandpa in our family).  Luc had a cold so we made it a pretty low key day.  A walk down to Auntie Ann's, a game of Snakes Climbing Ladders (as Luc calls it) and some baking.  There are no shortage of giant zucchini at the farm so it was an easy decision to make a zucchini bread.  

 Never too young to start 'em on dishes.

 Wet Ingredients

 Dry Ingredients 

 Mixing

 The goods.

 Not fast enough.

Here's the recipe; it makes two loaves but it freezes well...but really, when are two loaves of anything a bad thing?

Zucchini Bread 
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until done.

Hope everyone had something sweet to eat for the last weekend of summer 2011.  I know I sure did.  

ab

Peanutty Goodness

From the City...

Well Mollie Katzen, you've done again. This sauce is incredible, so good and so easy to make and comesfrom M.K's Moosewood Cookbook, one of my favorite C books. I served it with some steamed veggies and noodles and of course cilantro from my balcony. It makes a good two cups so there's a lot.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 heaping tbsp. minced ginger

1 heaping tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 cup hot water

4 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt (if using natural peanut butter)

Put everything in a blender and puree until smooth. I don't own a blender so I just minced the garlic and ginger myself and mixed it in a bowl. I sauteed my assortment of veggies and cooked my noodles than just mixed everything together in my pan. Garnish with cilantro.

Gnocchi, where have you been all my life?

From the City...

For some reason, gnocchi has been one of those recipes that totally intimidates me. I've only ever ordered it in restaurants and i've always heard that it's super challenging and finicky to make. We bought some pre made stuff a couple of weeks back and the fact that it didn't need to be refrigerated should have alarmed me, nevertheless I bought it as a quick dinner fix. It was so gross. Think little balls of slimey yuckiness. Seeing as we're cutting back on eating out, I decided to embark on a gnocchi adventure and i'm not gonna lie, I think I rocked it.

Here's a link to the recipe that I used and some pics to follow.

Make it. Do it.

Thrifty Living

From the City...

So this week we hit a little patch of bad luck. Ruby, our beloved, got into something she shouldn't have and ended up in the emergency dog hospital for two nights. There was vomiting and diarrhea, IV's and pills and one of the saddest longest dog faces we've ever seen. Needless to say, we told the vet to do what needed to be done and we dipped our ladle deep, and I mean deep, into our savings account.

For the record, this dog is so worth it. She is the sweetest, most loving little being I've ever met. Of course I'm biased but even the vet didn't want to see her leave yesterday. She really is a little gem.

So anywho, we were able to bring her home yesterday and she has been chipper and happy ever since. She's taking more pills than an 85 year old but I definitely think we're on the road to recovery.

So long story short, because of our little financial hitch two days ago, we are on the budget of the century. This really is a great time and an easy time to budget though. You don't really want to go out cause it's so bloody cold and it gives you an excuse to go through your freezer and pantry and start cooking.

Yesterday I made creamy polenta with spinach and bacon. The bacon was a christmas pressie from Mark and Laura and was so good in the polenta, it was downright ridiculous.

Polenta is literally poor man's food. It can cost you next to nothing to prepare. All you really need is cornmeal and water, everything else is just gravy.

Here's the recipe:

Bacon (I used about 4 slices)
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
half of a bunch of spinach, washed and roughly chopped
1 cup cornmeal
4 cups water
1 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large pot. When crisp take out and set aside , leaving grease to bubble (oh ya, you gotta keep that good bacon grease, don't judge, I'm pregnant, I'm eating for two).

Toss in onions and garlic and saute until onions appear translucent and soft. Don't burn your garlic!!! Nothing is worse than burnt garlic.

Add water and spinach and bring pot to a boil. Slowly add cornmeal, stirring the ENTIRE time! If you don't you will get gross clumps that are impossible to get rid of.

Now add your cheese and bacon. Mix well until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

If you are making this for later, pour the mixture into a dish and allow to set in the fridge. When ready to eat, flip dish over and the polenta should come out like a molded pie. Slice into sections and bake on a greased baking sheet for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping once at the half way point. Cooking this way will give you a nice crunchy edge.

A Recap of Seven Months plus a Recipe...

From the City,

Shesh, it's been a busy seven months! Thanks to my sister for picking up the slack while I've been absent. It really is good to be back though. The last seven months have been spent growing a baby, getting married, working, moving and being showered (see previous post).

I've started my version of nesting here in Toronto by stocking my freezer for when the baby decides to come along (early march). Today I made a spinach cannelloni, one for dinner and one for the freezer. Hopefully I can keep this up for the next 7 Sunday's so that our freezer feeds us well when our life of being first time parents sets in.

Here's the goods:

Spinach
Ricotta Cheese
Garlic
Diced tomatoes
Fresh pasta sheets
Mozzarella Cheese
2 onions

I first processed garlic, spinach and ricotta cheese. I'm sure this is far from what you're supposed to do with traditional cannelloni but this is just how I like to make it. I then did the same with tomato, spinach and onions.


So then to assemble the cannelloni, I take a piece of pasta and put a scoop of ricotta cheese inside, roll it up and place it in the bottom of a dish that has a scoop of tomato sauce in the bottom. Continue this until you've lined the bottom, top with sauce and a good sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.







Bake for 40 min @ 350 degrees.

Looking forward to being back!

Sunday Deliciousness

From the City:

Simon loves pancakes, like loves pancakes. Whenever we go out for breakfast, he always orders a standard breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast) with a side of pancakes. For him, this is the perfect combination of sweet, salt and fat.

So in order for our relationship to be long lasting (7 years this September) certain things had to be mastered:

• I had to learn the art of tickies. This is a family term for tickling the head, arms or back and occurs mainly in the evenings
• Learn the art of multi- tasking by watching a movie while also working on a laptop and carrying on conversation
• Make a mean stack of blueberry pancakes

Here are some tips to making perfect pancakes:

1. Before you ladle on the pancake batter, wipe access butter off the griddle with a folded paper towel. This will make sure you have perfectly browned pancakes.

2. Use all purpose flour in the batter. Cake flour can turn soggy when you top it with syrup. Experiment with different flours like buckwheat or whole wheat just substitute half of the all purpose for any of these.

3. Never whisk batter until it's smooth. Lumps are a good thing and will result in fluffier pancakes.

4. Flip pancakes just as the surface bubbles begin to burst. Flipping them after makes for flatter pancakes.

5. When adding blueberries, bananas or chocolate chips (only some of the many additions you can make) sprinkle them over the batter right after they have been poured on the griddle. This will make sure they are distributed evenly and it also makes them look prettier on the plate, which can sometimes be just as important as how they taste.

6. Warm pure maple syrup before serving. It makes for a certain extra little bit of specialness to the morning (or evening, whatever, no judgement here)

Here's a good (basic) recipe that should keep 'em coming for more:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar, honey, jams, preserves, sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.
4. For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You'll have 12 to 15 pancakes.) Serve warm, with desired toppings.

Side note:

These are some pics from the summer when Laura and I took the kids and went blueberry picking. It's a great, really economical way to stock your freezer with juicy berries for the long winter months.

Have a nice Sunday everyone!