Archives for Food category
Posted on Jun 25th, 10 at
8:51 am under Recipes
25
Jun
I am finally discovering the world of jam. I have always loved jam but in my memory jam was a labour intensive, long process that needed a whole day to make. I have come to my senses though and I am not afraid. Jam can be so easy to make and the results are so worth it!
I made a small batch, but you can adjust the recipe for whatever quantity because it isn’t really a recipe which is why it is so easy to make.
I forgot to take pics of the process… sorry
For this cherry-vanilla jam you need 4 ingredients. Cherries, lemon, sugar and a vanilla pod. (the vanilla is optional)
First, pit the cherries (I used about 2 lbs of cherries) and put in a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive pan. Roughly chop a bit more than half of them (or use a wand to puree a bit more than half of them to save on mess and time) Start cooking the cherries on medium-high heat. Add the rind and juice of a lemon. (The natural pectin will help gel the jam later and the sour will compliment the sweet)
Cook for about 20 min until the whole cherries are soft and cooked through.
Now, measure what you have and add 3/4ths of the amount of sugar. I had about 4 cups of cooked cherries so I added 3 cups of sugar… (or a little less since I was not preserving the jam and I like it a bit more tart)
Mix the sugar in and let cook until you have the right consistency. The more you cook the thicker it will be. Just before it is ready add the seeds of 1 vanilla pod. (this of course is optional but I love the flavour that vanilla adds to the jam)
Put in clean jars and either process or put in the fridge…
Enjoy…
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Posted on Jun 12th, 10 at
8:55 pm under Recipes
12
Jun
I finally got the grocery store near me to have Kale in their inventory. It is the only store around here that has it and I have a feeling that I am the only one that has been buying it, so to make sure that they keep on stocking it, I have been buying a lot and using it often. On Pizza it was great, but Kale chips have become a favourite around here… well… for Colin and I especially.
If you haven’t heard of Kale chips, well you are missing out on something. They are great for snacking on and their crunch is so satisfying. Colin, who at the moment is going through a bit of a picky phase tried them and has fallen in love with them. He cant get enough and has finished off a baking sheet full a few times now.
Of course, not only are they satisfying and delicious, they are also really easy to make.
Preheat oven at 350
To take off the Kale leaves from the stem, run your hand on the stem and pinch while while pulling off the leaves, what you can pull off is what is tender enough to eat. Discard the rest.
Tear the larger leaves into bite sized pieces, but not too small, they will shrink while baking.
Wash and dry the leaves and then place in bowl and toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil and about a tsp of salt…
Place on baking sheet in a single layer (I use two sheets) and bake for about 15 min until dry and crisp but not burnt.
Enjoy 
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Posted on Jun 10th, 10 at
7:53 pm under Recipes
10
Jun
I have a new toy in my kitchen… a brand new Cuisinart Elite food 12 cup processor. I have had an old cheaper food processor in my kitchen for about 8-9 years now and it was just not working out for me anymore. I was waiting for it to die but it wasn’t, even though it has been struggling through many recipes.
So I was dealing with it while I waited for a Cuisinart to come on special at Canadian Tire. I was still waiting when I decided to go check out Food Processors at “Home Sense” since I had a 100$ gift card for HBC stores. Instead of having the one that I had been looking at they only had the Elite models and I didn’t want to pay 340$ for a food processor even if I have 100$ off. We were heading to the mall anyway, so I decided to go though “The Bay” while we were there and to my luck, the Elite was on special at 249$, so with the 100$ gift card it was a great deal that I couldn’t pass up!
I am having so much fun with my new toy!
Tonight I wandered around in the kitchen wondering what to make for supper. Khéna said he wanted tomato soup so I got a bread in the oven and started on the soup.
I went to the fridge to see what I had on hand…
So in the food processor went 3 carrots (cut into thirds), two stalks of celery, a large onion (quartered), a half of a red pepper that I needed to use up, a full orange pepper (cut into large pieces), a few cloves of garlic, some parsley and a few green onions. I processed it until nearly puréed and then put it in my soup pot with a bit of olive oil and cooked it through.
Then, into the food processor, I added a can of whole tomatoes, a can of diced, and puréed that and then added it to the pot along with two cans of tomato paste, a bit of salt, 2 tsp of sugar, some garlic powder a tsp of powdered broth and a bit of oregano and let it simmer for about 45 min while the bread was baking.
When cooked through, and slightly thickened, I used the wand to make it smoother and it was done… So easy to make and so delicious…
A perfect creamy veggie tomato soup for a cool rainy day.
(served with fresh bread and a drizzle of cream that I had on hand)
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Posted on Mar 28th, 10 at
7:57 pm under Food
28
Mar
My good friend Gen shared this trick with me last time I was over at her house and I had to share it too…
If you like cooking with Ginger, you know how annoying it can be to grate. It becomes a bit of a pulp which you need to scrape from the grater, leaves behind fibrous strands that are annoying to clean and make a bit of a mess when grating. You also have to peel it before using…
but…
if you store your ginger in the freezer, not only will it last longer but it also gets rid of all the above.
Simply take the ginger out of the freezer, grate the amount you need and that is it… no peeling, no fibrous strands, no pulp that you have to scrape off… just ginger snow that falls into your dish perfectly with no mess…
Try it! it really works!
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Posted on Mar 22nd, 10 at
4:35 pm under Misc Ramblings, Recipes
22
Mar
I love Vanilla but I always seem to make chocolate icing to go with our favourite Black Magic cake… Two nights ago though I got a craving and I needed to make Chocolate cake with vanilla icing…
I looked for a recipe and found one that had great comments, followed the directions and it didn’t turn out well at all.. the butter separated and the texture was grainy and oily and unappetizing… so I went back to my tried and true chocolate buttercream icing but to omit the cocoa and make Vanilla the star… OMG… it was perfect!!
- 1/2 cup butter
- about 3 cups icing sugar, (sifted)
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- seeds of one vanilla bean
cream the butter until fluffy and then add the sifted icing sugar, cream and vanilla… start with 1/3 cup of cream but you might need more for a thinner frosting… beat with mixer for at least 2 min until light a fluffy…
This makes enough for the inside and out of a two layer cake…
This brought the black Magic cake to another dimension… I think I am going to call this combination “Oreo cake”
You know you want a bite… right?
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Posted on Mar 12th, 10 at
7:48 pm under Recipes
12
Mar
I first had Genmaicha at a Japanese restaurant and from the first sip I was hooked.
The flavour of the toasted brown rice and green tea was just so appealing to my palate and I just wanted to keep on sipping an endless supply… I just had to know what it was and where I could get it. I did find some at a little tea house and have had it a few times since, but I ran out and couldn’t find any near me and after having a cup at my friend Gen’s house the other day, I was determined to get my hands on some.
Turns out, all you need is brown rice and green tea. Very easy to get both of those; and like many things, when you do it yourself, you can have a lot more for a lot less.
So here is what you need…
This is organic green tea (Sencha) and Organic short grain brown rice
I heated my cast-iron pan on medium high heat and put a layer of rice on the bottom which worked out to about an equal amount of green tea that I had.
Stir the rice and toast it until is smells nutty, kernels are popping and the rice is a nice golden brown colour. Just make sure that it doesn’t burn.
Let cool and then mix with the green tea.
Use about 1 tsp per cup of hot water and Enjoy…
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Posted on Mar 6th, 10 at
12:13 am under Recipes
6
Mar
What more can be said.
Fresh and creamy… This is such a classic recipe with a small twist, the coconut milk adds such a great dimension to the custard. The flavour of this pudding is my ultimate comfort food and it is so simple to make.
Here is what you need…
- 3 cups coconut milk (or another milk if you want the more classic version)
- 1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
- 2 extra-large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup cane sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split along the length (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Pour 3/4 cup of the milk into a thick-bottomed pot and add the tapioca and let sit for an hour.
Whisk in the egg yolks, salt, sugar, and the remaining milk and then scrape the vanilla bean along its length with a knife and add those little “seeds” to the mixture along with the bean itself (if you are using vanilla extract only stir it in at the very end, after the pudding is completely cooked).
Over medium heat slowly bring the mixture just barely to a boil, stirring all along and then reduce the heat and let the mixture fall to a simmer and keep stirring until the tapioca is cooked (they become translucent) and the custard is thickened.
Let cool and serve (it is delicious both warm or cold)
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Posted on Feb 17th, 10 at
11:42 am under Recipes
17
Feb
OK… OK… not the healthiest food but they are definitely a fun food, especially for the boys, and making them myself means that I know what is in them and of course the taste is SO much better than the fast food places or what you can buy frozen…
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- milk (any type)
- about 18 hot dogs (veggie, soy, beef or whatever you want)
- flour
- (optional) wooden sticks
Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, egg and sugar and then add milk until batter has a pancake type consistency…
I didn’t use skewers and instead cut the hot dogs in half and then coated them with flour, but If you are using skewers, put them in each hot dog and then coat hot dogs with flour. Heat 2″ deep oil to 370 degrees F. (I use my electric wok for most of my frying needs)
Dip hot dogs into batter mix and coat evenly and them put in the oil and fry until golden brown (about 2 1/2-3 min)
The boys dove into these like there was no tomorrow and there were none left at the end, but they could easily be made and frozen and then heated up in the oven for a quick lunch… I will definitely be making these again…
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