Our Dinner Tonight

From the City...

Quinoa salad (recipe here) loaded with all the herbs in our garden

Naked Pig Sausages (possibly the best sausages I've ever had) from Sausage Partners here in Toronto

Roasted local asparagus and zucchini  

...how great is ontario in the summer???? so great.  

Some New Recipes to Chomp On...

From the City...

One of the only silver linings to this whole touring musician husband business is finally being able to cook things that generally get their nose turned up at around here. For example, this quiche (which is amazing by the way) made with smoked salmon, goat cheese and fresh garlic.  The pastry recipe came from here and it's  pretty standup if I do say so myself.  

I might need to replace my usual pastry recipe for this one. 

Salmon and Goat Cheese Quiche

1/2 cup smoked salmon, chopped

3 eggs

1 cup milk 

1 small red onion chopped

1 bulb of fresh ontario garlic with the greens, chopped

1 ball of pastry 

1/2 cup goat cheese

1 tsp salt 

Add the salmon, onion and garlic to the pie pastry.  Whisk eggs, milk and salt together.  Add your goat cheese to the egg mixture and pour over your veggie filling.  Bake for 40-50 minutes @ 350degrees.

This recipe was adapted from this one here.  This recipe is quite unusual in that it doesn't do the standard wet ingredients, dry ingredients, fold together, rather its a bit like making pastry.  The muffins turn out really well though, really beautiful and airy.  Dare I say, they may be the best muffins I've ever made.  Give 'em a whirl!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ 
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup yogurt 
• splash of milk 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional but why not???)
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, wheat germ and sugar. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center, and pour in yogurt, milk, eggs, zucchini and vanilla. 
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.                 

Lately.

From the City...

Thank you Good Housekeeping Cookbook.  Not only are you sweet and vintage but you offer some tasty baked goods to boot.  I added blueberries.

 I made this with leftover chicken from our roast chicken the night before.  It was heavenly. 

 Recipe HERE.

 T's first time at the Santa Claus Parade.  We didn't stick around to actually see the big man in red but what he doesn't know won't hurt him...(look at that cheesy ham smile)

 Theo and his cousin Finn.  They couldn't look any more different from one another but they are pretty much already the bestest of friends.

 Behind the scenes pics from The Strumbellas photo shoot.  

 One good lookin folk band, if I do say so myself.

Oatmeal cookies.  Recipe Here.  

Happy Monday Everyone!

-ab

A picture post with some recipes and crafts thrown in!

From the City...

Here's a headband I made for our Little Miss Sunshine.

Stocking knit stitch, cast on 20.  Sewed the ends together with the machine and then laid the edges down and sewed them down flat.  I got my flowery inspiration from this blog.

I made this: Pasta and Red Cabbage Bake

I used these ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook off pasta, rinse and set aside.  

Cook some good quality bacon in a large pot

Add garlic and onions and sauté (yes, right in the bacon fat)

***warning this will smell like total heaven.  

Add cabbage and kale and allow to cook down for about 10 -15 minutes until cabbage is soft

Add 2 big tbsp of dijon mustard

Add pasta and salt and pepper to taste.

Top with breadcrumbs and some dollops of butter and bake for 35-40 minutes 

Simon dressed Theo.

Pumpkin Bread: Recipe here.  Thank you Laurie!

3 loaves to find homes for... aka, in my belly...but really, one for my friend Amanda who's graciously invited me and my (little) plus one to dinner tonight, one for the freezer and one for eating this weekend.  

I have the best pen pal in the world.  A new recipe to try, handmade earrings to wear and a letter which is more like a piece of art full of colour and stories.  So beautiful, I love it.  

-ab

CookBook Review

From the City...

So, I was gifted Ellie Krieger's, The Food You Crave, cookbook from work last year and I have finally gotten a chance to cook from it.  I am such a creature of habit and I get stuck in ruts where we eat the same thing week after week, so being on mat leave, I considered this an ideal opportunity to dive into it and try some new recipes.  

I made the sage and garlic rubbed pork chops, turkey meat loaf, fish tacos with chipotle cream and the noodles with lime- peanut sauce.  I can confidently say, I would remake each and everyone of these recipes.  Simon and I were both super impressed.  The good thing about the cookbook, for me anyway, was that the ingredients were things that I had on hand, nothing was too obscure and hard to find.  The recipes were also incredibly easy and straightforward and made with good whole fresh ingredients, which I love.  

 Here is the meatloaf recipe, which you can also find on her website so I don't think its wrong that I'm sharing it with you.  I think the trick to this recipe is that you add oats that have been soaked in milk.  This makes the the final product nice and moist.  It's really really really very good.  Here's a link to more of her recipes that she makes available.


Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 medium onion, peeled
2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2 cup seeded and chopped red bell pepper (1/2 medium pepper)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
One 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk and allow to soak while you get the rest of the ingredients together, at least 3 minutes. Thinly slice one-quarter of the onion into rings and set aside. Finely chop the rest of the onion. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, oatmeal mixture, chopped onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire, ketchup, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 5 inches wide and 2 inches high. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the sliced onions. Bake until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160°F, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

***note: I do find her serving sizes are a bit small.  Her noodle dish was supposed to feed six but S and I plowed through in one sitting with a little left for lunch for the next day.  Maybe we just have a problem though.

Anyone out there have any other good cookbook recommendations they want to share?

ab