Archive for July, 2008
Check this stroke of genius out. I’m sure many a flight attendant/pilot/travelling salesman/wannabe rockstar has figured this one out already.
Mike spent the day at Indy and we have about an hour overlap before I head off to Sip!, and neither of us felt like seeking out a restaurant in, I’m sorry, the chain restaurant capital of the world, where everything within a reasonable distance will be packed with Indy goers (our hotel is right beside it; I am watching it now out the window while F-18s blast overhead). Plus it’s 30 degrees outside. Wonder how Mike is doing out on the tarmac.
I went down to the farmers’ market this morning (the downtown Edmonton one, not the Strathcona market) and had it in my head to go to Soul Soup, a place I have only heard about but have not yet managed to visit. How though, would I reheat the soup at dinnertime? Ah, the coffee maker, which I often use to reheat my Tim Horton’s in my room. All you do is pour your coffee (or soup) into the carafe and turn it on. (It doesn’t need to filter through to turn on the base heat element.) Stir lots with a coffee stirrer and serve in mugs provided.
(So Soul Soup, which is also downtown, was closed. But since I had the idea in my head and needed to go buy transport (crackers or bread) for the torta anyway, I picked up a tetra pack of Gardonnay, which isn’t really too bad, ingredients-wise, and has under a thousand mg of sodium (650), which is downright low in the canned soup world.)
The best thing at the Farmers’ Market is my friend Mary’s cheese and pesto torta – layers of whipped cream cheese, sundried tomato pesto and basil pesto, which she layers (mine is a little squished from being carried around in my bag in 30 degree heat while carrying W on my hip) and then adds a baggie of toasted pine nuts to sprinkle on top. This thing is so good – and I keep on meaning to look up a recipe and make it myself, but never get around to it. So it’s like a spread, which is perfect to eat in a hotel room with a baguette and Swiss Army knife.
July 26 2008 | eating out | 3 Comments »
They called it panini at the Italian Market, which is really just a sandwich. A good one though, made with salami and cheese and mild vegetable spread (have you had that jarred red stuff, made with roasted peppers and eggplant and spices? Far better than mayo. You can get a spicy version too.)
We arrived in Edmonton late afternoon and stopped at the market on our way into town. (I’m here cooking at the SIP Wine & Food Festival at Capital Ex and Mike is going to the Indy. Apparently Gene Simmons is here too. I don’t think he’s staying in the same hotel.)
So that ended up being dinner – or at least the few bites I managed to get down in between flying expletives as I scrambled to get ready (I later discovered that the clock radio was set half an hour fast), find my lost wallet, and connect to the internet without success. Then I locked myself out of my hotel room. Probably karma.
July 25 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
No, that wasn’t all dinner. I’m in the habit now of sliding back into lunch, and realizing how often these days we sort of graze mid-afternoon, which then often takes over our appetites for dinner. I ended up at my sister’s for dinner tonight, which was sort of impromptu and as such I didn’t happen to have my camera with me. Quel désastre! But it’s OK, we had tacos, and you all know what tacos look like. But then she went and made Nutella crêpes for dessert with our coffee, and wow, they were so pretty I had to share.
So I made her make one for me to take home so that I could a) take photos of it, and b) score some serious Nutella crêpe points with Mike.
I must pause here to air my many grievances with Nutella. I adore the stuff, but don’t buy it - I cannot stand advertisements that extol the virtues of a spread “made with wholesome hazelnuts and skim milk” (I have heard of people actually going to buy some as a healthy alternative to peanut butter) when the first two ingredients are sugar and modified palm oil. Further, the product claims to be “all natural” - remember the second ingredient? Modified palm oil. Where does modified palm oil exist in nature? So it is far more accurate to describe Nutella as a not-so-wholesome spread made with sugar and modified palm oil than one made with nuts and skim milk (it’s skim milk powder, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t pour out of a jug the way it does on the commercial). But of course that’s not what marketing’s all about. Bernard Callebaut, by the way, makes a splendid version made with 50% hazelnuts and 50% BC chocolate, and that’s it. And it’s phenomenal.
But my sister put a warm Nutella-stuffed crêpe in front of me and I had to eat it. I’m so ashamed. But just look at it. As I may have mentioned, it was warm.
But I do think that anyone should know how to make a crêpe. The batter is about as easy as you get – she uses the Joy of Cooking crêpe recipe and whizzes the batter in the blender, which makes it easy to pour directly onto a hot skillet. Crêpe batter should have the texture of heavy cream – both of us always think our batter is too thin at first, but it never actually is. My favourite way to eat crepes has always been spread with soft butter while hot, then sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon and rolled up into a cigar. Or so I thought.
It just this second occurred to me how brilliantly the strawberry-rhubarb compote in my fridge would taste folded into a crêpe; I have always found jam too sweet on a crêpe, but this will be perfect. Great. Welcome to Crêpe Month.
Crêpes
1 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. butter, melted, or canola oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
pinch salt
extra oil, butter or nonstick spray for cooking with
Pulse the milk, eggs and butter in a blender until foamy or whisk until well blended; add the remaining ingredients and pulse or whisk until smooth. Let the batter sit for half an hour.
When ready to cook, preheat a large skillet or griddle and brush it with butter or oil or spray it with nonstick spray. Pour about a quarter cup onto the skillet and tilt it around so that it runs into a circle. Cook until the top loses its gloss, which should only take a minute or two, then flip. The bottom should be golden. Cook the other side for about 30 seconds and then slide out onto a plate. Keep warm in a 250F oven or serve right away spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, jam or nutella, and folded or rolled up.
Makes about 12 crepes.
And then there was cake. This afternoon we ended up having round 1 of W’s third birthday party. Since his birthday is on August 4th, which for his entire life has fallen on the August long weekend, most of his friends and cousins are out of town. So this afternoon we had a small party for those who are about to leave on their vacations, and I made a peach and cornmeal upside-down cake after seeing one, I’m a bit embarassed to admit, in this month’s Martha Stewart Living. I started to make it (I love cakes that I can bake in my cast iron skillet) and ended up making so many adaptations that it doesn’t much resemble the original, which was spiked with lavender.
The best thing about this cake, which I loved because it wasn’t too sweet and didn’t require decorating, was the sugary crust it developed as the butter and sugar bubbled up around it as it baked. I can’t wait to try it with blueberries.
We bought an ice cream ball that the kids kicked around the yard to churn brown sugar ice cream to go with it. This part was easy – add 2 cups half & half, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and a few drops of vanilla to the inner container, add ice and rock salt to the outer, and keep it moving until it freezes. This can also be done in a big coffee can, with the ice cream mixture in a smaller one well-sealed inside it.
Peach and Cornmeal Upside-down Cake
(inspired by the dessert of the month in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living)
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 ripe peaches or nectarines
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup thin plain yogurt or buttermilk (Martha used heavy cream)
Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt half the butter in a 9″ or 10″ cast iron skillet, cake pan or pie plate. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and stir until completely melted. Slice the peaches into wedges and arrange them in the skillet, fitting them snugly together – remember that fruit tends to shrink as it cooks. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl beat the remaining butter and sugar until pale and fluffy; it should be the texture of wet sand. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Add about a third of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed or stir by hand just until blended; add half the yogurt or buttermilk, then another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the yogurt and the rest of the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
Spread the batter over the peaches and bake for about 30 minutes, until pale golden and the top is springy to the touch.
Makes 1 cake; serves 10-12.
Honestly, I have no idea why my pants don’t fit anymore.
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July 24 2008 | breakfast and cake | 6 Comments »
OK, what we really had for dinner was the last pickings of bison rotini, but I already told you about that. And W ate most of it, because we were still full from lunch; A came over and we sat out in folding chairs in the yard and drank cold pink fizzy wine and ate pad Thai, and that’s far more interesting.
I had promised to make it, and then when I went to soak my rice noodles I discovered I didn’t have any. I suppose my mission to deplete a seemingly bottomless stash of assorted pasta and noodles has been successful. We had fresh Asian noodles though, so I figured that was close enough.
Pad Thai is fast (if you get everything ready to go before you start), and a perfect way to use up leftover roasted chicken, tofu, or even pork, and if you keep a bag of shrimp in the freezer it’s easy to add a handful to dishes such as this. Tamarind concentrate and chili sauce can be found in the ethnic foods section of grocery stores or in Asian markets, and although not necessary are well worth seeking out – both will keep in the fridge for a long time, so don’t worry about buying a whole jar just to use a few spoonfuls.
Pad Thai
1/2 – 1 lb. (250-500 g) package rice noodles, thin or thick
Sesame, peanut or canola oil, for cooking
1/4 cup tomato sauce or ketchup
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1/4 cup lime juice or 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2-4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. chili sauce or sambal oelek (optional)
1 tsp. tamarind concentrate (optional)
1 cup chopped cooked chicken (optional)
1/2 lb. cooked or uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined (optional)
1 pkg. firm tofu, drained and diced (optional)
1-3 small red chilies (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews, salted or unsalted
Lime wedges (optional)
Soak the rice noodles according to the package directions. Rinse them with cold water and drain well. Drizzle the noodles with a little oil to keep them from sticking, and toss to coat.
In a small bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, chili sauce, and tamarind concentrate (if using).
Heat a good drizzle of oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the meat or shrimp if they’re uncooked (if your meat is cooked, set it aside for now), along with the tofu and the chilies if you’re using them. Cook for a few minutes, until the meat is cooked through or the tofu is golden. Push the mixture aside or remove it from the pan. If you are using shrimp, remove them from the pan so that they don’t overcook and become tough. Add the eggs and cook them as if you were making scrambled eggs, breaking them up with a spatula. Push them aside.
Add a little more oil if you need it and stir fry the garlic and green onions for about a minute. Add the noodles and cook, tossing them with tongs, for another minute. Return any reserved cooked meat to the pan, pour as much of the sauce as you want over it all, and cook for 2-3 minutes, tossing the mixture with tongs or a spatula to coat everything with sauce and heat it through. Add the bean sprouts at the very end as you toss everything together.
Serve immediately in large shallow bowls. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over top. Serves 4.
Yesterday we finished off Vij’s chicken curry and rice, but still had rice left over. When this happens and I’m not in the mood to make fried rice, I pour milk over it and bring it to a simmer with a bit of honey; the rice soaks up the milk and the starch thickens it and eventually I have a simple rice pudding. I was about to add some raw short grain rice to the pot, thinking that it could then be called risotto – so much fancier-sounding than rice pudding – and the thought reminded me of the barley risotto I made with mushrooms. Why not add some barley and make a rice and barley pudding? Which would sort of be a risotto? Hey wait, isn’t there a barley cereal with cream on the menu at Diner Deluxe? And isn’t it fabulous?
So I dumped, without measuring, some barley into the pot. Probably about half a cup, and then poured enough milk over to generously cover it. Rice puddings are easy to make this way – just cook until it soaks up the milk, add more, and so on. Sweeten with a little sugar, honey or maple syrup, and once it’s as thick as you want it to be, stir in a splash of vanilla.
The compote was my first jab at using up some of this rhubarb. A few stalks, chopped into a pot with a couple handfuls of strawberries, about a half cup of sugar (or to suit your taste) and a spoonful of orange juice concentrate straight from the freezer. Bring to a simmer and cook until it breaks down and resembles a sort of runny jam that isn’t as jammy-sweet as jam, but stands in for it just as well on bagels and toast, making either reminiscent of strawberry-rhubarb pie.
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July 23 2008 | one dish and preserves and seafood and sweet stuff and vegetarian | 4 Comments »
It’s funny how throw-together dinners can end up sounding fancier than something you might have made an effort to plan. Tonight I had the dregs of the SoBo fruit salsa I made for CBC this morning, and a chunk of leftover salmon, and so looked up a quick chili rub, thinking that a) it was something I hadn’t done before, and b) it would give the cool, sweet fruit something to calm down. To be truthful I’m not really a fan of fruit salsa; I don’t know why, but it never really did it for me. But it went well with the salmon, and ended up getting right in there with the salad.
I sort of morphed a couple recipes I found and ended up with a paste made with 1 teaspoon each: canned chipotle chiles en adobo, chili powder, dried oregano, sugar, lime juice and olive or canola oil, a sprinkle of coarse salt and a crushed clove of garlic. (If you don’t like things spicy, leave out the chipotle or cut it back a bit – the smoky adobo sauce adds a great flavour, but I dig that most people don’t have canned chipotles on hand. I find that a can will last ages – I use a bit, then seal the rest in a ziplock baggie, freeze and chop off bits here and there when I need it.)
The paste was smeared on a salmon filet and roasted at 400F for 10 minutes – just enough time to toss a quick salad of boxed spring greens, tomato, ribbons of yellow carrot stripped off with a vegetable peeler and crumbled feta. (The what-I-had-in-the-fridge special.) There was leftover chili paste, so I froze it; I think next time I’ll smear it on a pork tenderloin.
July 22 2008 | seafood | 4 Comments »
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