Post Tagged with: "recipe"

pizza sundays

pizza sundays

When we got back from Buenos Aires and stayed with our friends Sam & Graham for about a month we were introduced to the deliciousness that is homemade pizza dough. (I’ve talked a bit about this here).

Since then, homemade pizza has becoming a more and more frequent occurrence in our lives; to the point that we’re having homemade pizza pretty much every Sunday night.

This may seem like a serious endeavour, but in fact it’s actually pretty quick! I make a batch of pizza dough (enough for four crusts) once a month and freeze them in individual airtight tupperware containers after “keyhole-ing” them. If I defrost them for at least 5 hours at room temperature, they work perfectly.

After defrosting our crust, we roll out the dough, top our pizza, and toss it in the super hot oven for a super quick, super delicious Sunday night meal.

Since I last wrote about pizza—I’ve changed my baking technique a bit (Thanks Steph!). I place the rolled dough on the stone and bake for a couple of minutes before taking it out of the oven and adding toppings. While it may not be authentic, it makes for a super crispy and delicious crust.

Yesterday’s pizza was inspired by pinterest (and Joy the Baker). Hot italian sausage, pepper and tomato pizza. We simply fried up the sausage (and drained and blotted it), thinly sliced delicious sweet peppers and tomatoes, and arranged them in a pretty pattern on top of ((good) store-bought) pizza sauce. We topped it off with a bit of mozzarella and tossed it in the oven.

When it came out it was looking delicious. And it tasted even better.

Since I’ve just finished up my last frozen dough, I can’t wait to get my hands on the 3kgs of Tipo 00 pizza flour that Graham picked up for me a few weeks ago!

(See this post for pizza dough recipe, including instructions for freezing.)

September 24, 2012 0 comments Read More
oatmeal blueberry muffins

oatmeal blueberry muffins

These muffins are delicious. The secret(s)? Fresh blueberries and yogurt. Delicious (and nutritious) yogurt.

Seriously, they are so good that the thought of having more in my life got me up out of bed at 6:00 am Sunday morning to bake. And the best part? They are easy. And relatively healthy (minus the brown sugar and the butter, of course).

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Featuring Yogurt

From Taste of Home
Makes 12

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I subbed cinnamon, still delicious)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup (or a bit more) fresh blueberries

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Combine the egg, yogurt and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
  2. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray (or butter) or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. (Or cool. Whatever.)

August 6, 2012 0 comments Read More
fennel napa cabbage slaw

fennel napa cabbage slaw

On Friday I told you a bit about the weekly farm box that comes to our home full of healthy, farm fresh veggies. I also told you that this vegetable delivery sometimes makes me have to think a bit outside of the box.

For instance: Vancouver crept into summer this year and the first week of the program we received a box full of mystery greens. Dandelion greens, mustard greens, horseradish greens, some edible flowers, other various mystery greens and a gigantic lettuce. After having a little #firstworldproblems style meltdown wondering what on earth I got myself into, we made interesting flavourful salads and stirfrys and topped off the week with a delicious dandelion green soup. Three years ago, I never would have imagined those worlds coming out of my fingertips.

And more recently week after week after week of fennel bulbs. And I don’t really like fennel. But every week, without fail, a fennel bulb (complete with stalks and leafs) arrives at our home, ready to be eaten. We’ve had mini pies with fennel, pizza with fennel, roasted potatoes with fennel, and most recently a delicious (and super quick to prepare) fennel-napa cabbage-apple slaw.

The other flavours—especially the sesame oil—toned down the fennel flavour so much in this slaw so that I really enjoyed it. The inspiration recipe also included cashews (which I simply forgot to add, but would have been the perfect “finishing” feature for this delicious slaw, making it one-dish-lunch-worthy).

Napa Cabbage, Green Apple & Fennel Slaw

Inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients
Slaw

  • 1/2 head thinly sliced Napa cabbage
  • 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 1 green apple, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, coarsely chopped

Dressing

  • 1/8 cup cold-pressed olive oil
  • 1 large, juicy Meyer lemon
  • A few drops of sesame oil
  • Coarsely ground sea salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper

Directions

  1. In a deep salad bowl, toss together the cabbage, fennel, apple slices, green onions and cashews.
  2. In a small container, whisk together the remaining ingredients; season to taste. Add more lemon juice, if desired.
  3. Drizzle over the slaw ingredients and toss. Eat immediately.

July 30, 2012 0 comments Read More
debbies potato salad + jalapeno chicken

debbies potato salad + jalapeno chicken

Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern about my death cold. It’s slowly but surely going the way of the dodo bird, woohoo! Though at day number 11, I certainly wish it was just gone. But don’t worry, it didn’t stop me from shooting the heck out of a super cool trash the dress session on Saturday evening!

So, back to business: this post brings you not one but two delicious recipes, just in time for the heat of summer! The first up—one I can’t believe that I haven’t shared before—Debbie‘s Dilled Potato Salad.

I tasted this salad on my first trip to Ottawa in 2005 or 2006 to meet the future in-laws, and I’ve been making it (and sharing it) ever since. Anyone who tries this potato salad wants the recipe. It’s that good. But vegetarians beware, there is a secret ingredient (ok… bacon) that makes it veggie-unfriendly. For those of us non-veggies: well, that secret ingredient makes it seriously delicious. To top it off, we got new potatoes from our CSA this week. Farm fresh potatoes + Debbie’s Potato Salad = oh.my.goodness.delicious.

So, I was most excited about the potato salad last night. But I decided to go a little crazy and make a jalapeno potato chip crusted chicken inspired by this recipe I came across on (you guessed it) Pinterest. This is not your basic good-for-you chicken breast. Its second main ingredient? Crushed Miss Vickie’s Jalapeno Chips. I wish I could explain in words how delicious this chicken was. But I’m struggling, so I’ll just go with: so delicious I’m going to have to actively stop myself from making it every single week this summer. And the icing on the cake? It’s super simple.

Debbie’s Dilled Potato Salad

Note: This is the recipe that Debbie shared with me in 2005, the recipe in our wedding cookbook from Debbie (2010) uses less mayo (3/4 cup) and has a few additional ingredients (1 tsp of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and 3 tbsp of olive oil), but I prefer the simple flavours in the original.

Ingredients

    Salad

  • 1/2 lb bacon
  • 1 1/2 lb small red potatoes (or new potatoes, if in season)
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions (green and white parts)

    •  
    Dressing

  • 1 cup mayo (or 3/4 cup mayo, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp red wine vinegar see note )
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp chopped dill
  • Optional (and delicious): 1/2 tsp celery seed or salt

Directions

  1. Cook bacon, let cool, then crumble. Cook and chop potatoes. Let cool.
  2. Meanwhile, mix ingredients for dressing.
  3. Combine bacon, potatoes, and green onion in a bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss.

Jalapeno Crusted Chicken

Serves 4
Inspired by: Life as a Mrs.

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 egg
  • pinch (or dash or several shakes) cayenne pepper
  • 1 bag crushed Miss Vickies (or Kettle) Jalapeno Chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper and place an oven safe cooling rack on top.
  2. Beat egg + cayenne pepper in a shallow dish. Crush chips in a second shallow dish.
  3. Dip chicken breast in egg mixture and then in chips. Ensure there is a healthy (i.e., thick) coating of chips on all sides of the chicken. Place on cooling rack.
  4. Bake at 325F for 25-35 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

July 16, 2012 1 comment Read More
thai beef and mango salad

thai beef and mango salad

I have to say, I’ve been a bit remiss on posting this amazing recipe for thai beef & mango salad.
I found a draft in my drafts folder, from June 1, 2011. You read that right… 2011. So, I’ve been intending on posting about this salad for 383 days.

In any event, now is a great time to post about it. Firstly, since it is my brother’s birthday and he is in Thailand (HBD Dano!) and secondly because we enjoyed this salad again last Friday night. It formed part of a thai-stravaganza, featuring: summer rolls, this salad, red curry, and a tapioca coconut cream desert.

The recipe for this salad comes from the William Sonoma Asian cookbook, which I picked up for about $15 at Safeway in my first year of law school. I selected it because I liked the pictures. That’s how I rolled back then. Ok. still.

It’s super tasty, pretty easy (especially if you prepare the marinade and the dressing the night before), and fun. Who doesn’t love a salad with green, red, and yellow? You could probably make a pretty delicious version of this by marinating and grilling extra firm or pressed tofu as well.

Thai Beef (or Tofu) and Mango Salad

Adapted from William Sonoma Asian
Serves: 6 as part of a larger meal, 3-4 as a complete meal.

Ingredients
Marinade & Protein

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/8 cup fish sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp palm or brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp (or more) fresh cilantro, minced
  • 1 lb flank steak (or extra firm/pressed tofu)

Salad Dressing

  • 1 green jalapeno OR 1 red thai chile
  • 2 tbsps fresh cilantro stems, chopped
  • 2 tbsps fresh mint, chopped
  • 2 tbsps fresh mint, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/8 cup fish sauce
  • 5 tbsps fresh lime juice (2.5 really juicy limes)
  • 1 tbsp palm or brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp canola oil

Salad

  • 2 mangoes (your favourite variety)
  • 1 lemongrass stalk
  • 1 thai red chile
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup julienned fresh Thai basil
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • 1 head red-leaf lettuce

Directions
The night before or 1 hour ahead:

  1. Marinade: Mix together coconut milk, fish sauce, garlic, sugar and cilantro in a large ziplock bag. Add flank steak or tofu, coat well, and marinade in fridge for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
  2. Dressing: Seed and chop the chile, and combine in a mortar with the garlic, cilantro stems, mint and pepper and grind together with a pestle until a paste forms (if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can just smoosh them together with something heavy until you release all the juices). Transfer the paste to a bowl and whisk in fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Drizzle in the oil while whisking. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

About 1/2 hour before go time:

  1. Peel the mangoes and cut flesh into thin slices. Using only the bulb of the lemongrass, peel away the tough outer layer, smash the stalk with the side of a chef’s knife, and cut on the diagonal into 1/8 inch slides. Seed and julienne the chile. Set aside.
  2. Heat up your bbq (you can also bake protien in the oven or cook it on the stovetop, but bbq is my preferred method). Remove protein from marinade, pat dry, and bbq/cook to your liking.
  3. Meanwhile, line a serving platter with lettuce leaves.
  4. If serving flank steak, slice across the grain into thin strips. Pour juices into dressing and stir well. If using tofu, slice into thin strips. Add protein, mangoes, lemongrass, chile, shallots, and julienned herbs to the dressing and toss to coat.
  5. Spoon mixture on top of lettuce and serve.
  6. Enjoy!

June 18, 2012 0 comments Read More
mini project :: table top herb garden

mini project :: table top herb garden

I mentioned last week that we picked up a 3 ceramic pot thing-y for $0.50 at a local garage sale. Every week I spend at least $2 and usually about $8 on fresh herbs, so I knew from the moment I set my eyes on the ceramic thing-y that it was going to become an herb garden. The choice of herbs was easy (basil, cilantro and italian parsley), and in just a few minutes I was able to transplant the herbs (bought from a corner store for $5.62) to the pot. So, for a grand total of $6.12 we got ourselves a little bit of life in our place.

I’m a little nervous about growing these herbs (I’ve tried and failed, time and time again), but I’ve got them a warm and sunny spot (or a spot that would be sunny, if it would ever stop raining), and am crossing my fingers that I can keep them alive for delicious (and cheap) fresh herb-y goodness.

Have you ever successfully (or unsuccessfully) grown herbs? Got any tips?

June 14, 2012 0 comments Read More