Archive for April, 2010
I have news! (No, I’m not knocked up. I was, again. But I’m not, again. It’s been a bit of a crazy spring.) Remember Sue? She and I are writing a book! A for-real, gonna-be-published-and-put-in-bookstores cookbook. When I went out to stay for the weekend during the olympics we came up with it, and pitched it, and the publisher jumped on it, and within a few weeks we had an actual contract and a deadline. !!!!
It’s occurring to me now that that was two months ago. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Does anyone else’s life feel like the Polar Express? With the stoned guy in the hoodie at the helm, asking if we want to go faster and ignoring our screams to PLEASE STOP. OR AT LEAST SLOW DOWN. Because I just might throw up. Which isn’t going to be pleasant for either of us.
So yeah, Sue and I are writing a cookbook together. Something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. (A project like this with her, that is.)
And it’s due in June. JUNE. That’s a good half a year from now, right? At least 6 months. No? Six weeks?? Perhaps if I enlist a hundred monkeys on a hundred typewriters, smoking a hundred cigarettes…
But for real – I cannot WAIT to share some of these recipes with you. We’ve been baking with beans – I made wonderful (if I do say so) yeasted cinnamon buns using pureed beans in the dough, making them higher in fiber than if they had been made with whole wheat flour, with the light, chewy texture of white dough. I’m not going to spill all the beans – ha – pun totally not intended – because that would leave nothing new for the book, which is scheduled to be released next spring. Spring 2011. Doesn’t that sound like the year you finally get your own jet pack?
But we do need a title. Beans and grains is just not sexy, no matter how you say it. The combo brings to mind gastrointestinal issues.
But they are so good for you. Their parts can stand on their own, but the sum is fantastic. The idea came about as we chatted about how I really want/need to eat more beans and grains, and want to seek out more meal options so that ideas come as readily and naturally as they would when faced with some chicken parts or a pork tenderloin. Or John Cusack.
Did I tell you I’m following him on Twitter? I’m pretty sure he’s not following me. Which is a shame. But Michael Ruhlman is! Ruhlman! Following me! The day I learned this I developed a severe case of Twitter performance anxiety.
So to digress, we need some title ideas for the book. Badly. I’ve never had such a total mind block – usually something comes to mind, and it’s a matter of weeding through the cheese and cliches and finding something that works. This time – nada. But you’re a smart and creative lot, so I thought I’d toss it out there for you to chew on.
Also – chew on this. I made this lentil and sweet potato curry on our last night in Tofino and actually toted it all the way back to Calgary in my cooler bag and reheated it today. It’s easy. It’s good for you. Lentils, sweet potatoes and spinach, all in one bowl?
Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Curry with Spinach
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 onion, chopped
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp. curry paste or powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1 medium dark-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup dry red lentils
1 14 oz. (398 mL) can coconut milk
1 cup water
a big handful of baby spinach leaves
In a large, heavy skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, then add the jalapeño, ginger, garlic, curry paste, cumin, turmeric and salt. Cook for a few more minutes.
Stir in the sweet potato, lentils, coconut milk and water; bring to a simmer, then cover, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Uncover and tear in the spinach; stir, return the lid and cook for another minute or two, just until the spinach wilts. Serve immediately, over rice. Serves 4-6.
April 16 2010 | beans and veg and vegetarian | 93 Comments »
We’re back in BrownTown. I mean Calgary. I do love this place, but I’d love it more if I had a condo in Vancouver and a private jet. Wait right here while I go buy a lottery ticket.
As usual, I’m seriously behind. This time I’ve been slacking in this department, not keeping you abreast of our meals. This wasn’t an actual holiday in that I brought my work with me – it’s been a kind of half working, half playing couple weeks, with the goal that I’d spend more time with W than I have been of late. So I have been working – just not as much – and I wanted to remind him that I do have a face and am (almost) as much fun as dad, and the computer isn’t an actual appendage.
It might sound from your end of the computer that we’ve been living on crab, cookies and pancakes. And that’s partly accurate, but we’ve been eating out a bit, too. I’ll get to that in a minute – first, I neglected to tell you the whole story of Tonquin park, but I can chalk that up to a hot bath and a half bottle of Red Over Heels. The combination amounts to the opposite of a motivational speech.
The short version of the story is: we found treasure on the island at Tonquin. I heard that something was buried there, in a teeny cave, and had the foresight to (finally!) bring my little video camera so that I could take you on the forest walk, then share the discovery of said treasure. And post it! I didn’t, unfortunately, have the foresight to bring spare batteries – they died as I came to the end of the path and out onto the beach. Which really is in keeping with the theme of the past couple weeks.
So there’s this global game called Geocaching, where people with GPS systems track down these well-hidden “treasures” placed around the world. (I’d try to explain the concept in more detail but the website would do a better job of it.) This spot was on a teeny island you’ll see just as you get to the end of the path from the road to the beach. On it is a tiny cave, not much bigger than a breadbox.
W was on cloud 9, let me tell you. He was a bit disappointed though, when we didn’t run into trouble with any pirates, and the box we dug out wasn’t full of gold dubloons.
It was Tupperware, in fact.
We left the string of beads from Mike’s cowboy hat, and a hand-written recipe for Chocolava cookies. W left the fuzzy little blue rabbit he got in his Kinder Egg and was convinced was magic.
I chose a well-worn double decker bus keychain, left by an Aussie who left a note with a brief version of his story:
Which is appropriate in ways I couldn’t begin to explain. Also – the keychain I’ve had for at least 10 years got wrecked a few weeks ago, and I was, likely due to stress and lack of sleep, unreasonably upset about it.
When I pulled my keys out of my pocket to attach the bus, I noticed that the keychain I reluctantly replaced mine with a couple weeks ago had broken. Huh.
I have to tell you too about Ukee Dog – a hot dog joint (and so much more) in Ucluelet, where we went after visiting the wee aquarium.
There were homemade cinnamon buns in three varieties – raisin, apple or blueberry.
The pies were all hand-made too, and rows of jars full of cookies.
We pooled our cash and brought home a half dozen pies – salmon Wellington, curried veggie and curried beef, and a beef-mushroom. They were all divine.
The hot dogs were pretty good too.
And of course – we lunched at SoBo.
The boys had enormous bowls of bouilliabaise,
K had their famous fish taco,
we shared an order of polenta fries (which are getting better, if that’s possible),
even the kids had plates with bowls of buttered noodles and sides of cheese with beans, carrots and corn alongside (not a chicken nugget in sight),
and I had a salmon pizza.
And look at that pie! I want to marry it.
But did I tell you about the hail? And snow? We had to seek refuge indoors, really.
I’ll have a new recipe for you tomorrow – and some free stuff. Promise.
April 16 2010 | eating out | 14 Comments »
While we’re catching up, did you hear? I was chosen as one of Babble’s 50 Best Mom Food Bloggers! Aw shucks. If someone had told me back in high school when I took my career aptitude test that I’d wind up being something called a blogger, and a mommy blogger at that, I’d wonder what had happened to my dream career as a cruise ship masseuse.
I can hardly believe the company I’m keeping on that list, which includes plenty of friends and bloggers I’m a fan of, including Tara at Seven Spoons and Aimee of Under the High Chair. But there were plenty I didn’t know, and I spent a good chunk of potential beach time flipping through them and finally had to force myself to close the laptop already and revisit the list from home, maybe on a day when it’s blizzarding outside (yes, this happens in April in Calgary) and/or my taxes are almost due. Blogs are great for procrastinating with.
Grab a drink, settle in with your laptop and take a wander through these goodies.
Thanks Babble editors!
April 15 2010 | leftovers | 8 Comments »
I get a little more enthused than any normal human should over packing food for road trips, especially coming out to Tofino, where groceries are pricey but we do have a decent kitchen. Pancakes have become de rigueur at home, and so I thought I’d save a step and mix up some grainy pancake mix to bring along. I knew I wouldn’t have access to my kitchen cupboard packed with bags of flours and grains (some labeled, some not – some batches of pancakes are a mixed bag, literally) that I do at home.
I shudder at the sight of boxed pancake mix – it’s white flour, sugar and baking powder! Besides the fact that it can so easily be made at home for a pittance (I always envision Aunt Jemima chuckling all the way to the bank), I can’t imagine why a stack of sweetened white flour topped with syrup is considered breakfast and not dessert.
The great thing about pancakes, besides the obvious, is that a) kids will eat them, and b) you can sneak so much good stuff into them and they’ll still eat them, just by virtue of the fact that they’re pancakes.
Pancakes are made with flour, baking powder, milk, eggs and oil (or melted butter). Try any number of flours – oat, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice – even oats, ground flaxseed, any combination of grains will work. The milk could be soy, or plain yogurt thinned with milk or water. Eggs add protein. And the oil – I only add a little bit – adds healthy fats – I use canola or flax, which is high in omega 3 fatty acids. (And it’s far easier to add a drizzle of oil to things like pancakes than it is to work more fish into your diet.) I tend to add berries or banana or grated pears and apples (the half-eaten ones) or whatever bits of fruit (or even veg – try grated zucchini or sweet potato) I have around that needs using. (And yes, I have even made soggy cereal pancakes. Why not? It’s just grains softened in milk, which is what you’re using to make pancakes anyway! I hate wasting half-full bowls of sodden cereal. I’m not cheap, I’m environmentally savvy.)
The mix is just flours and grains, baking powder and salt. Add a teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt to every cup of flours and grains. That’s it. I sometimes mix up a batch to keep at home, just to make the process simpler in the morning when I’m still mostly asleep. To use, whisk a cup of milk, an egg and a tablespoon of oil into each cup of mix. One, one, one and one. Easy, right? And simple to double or triple if you’re feeding a crowd. One plus one and one and one will make about five. Which depending on appetites may mean a couple leftovers. I’ve been known to spread a cold pancake with peanut butter and wrap it around a banana, but you don’t need to get that fancy.
Which can be a good thing. This morning, W asked if we could have a pancake picnic. But of course. He packed leftover cold pancakes, wrapping them in foil and putting them in our bag with towels and apples and water. When we got to Tonquin Park, he carefully unwrapped one and ate it plain, like a slice of pizza, before stripping down and jumping into the ocean. Apparently no one has told him it’s April.
Earlier this week, we had crepes. On Easter morning, they came with sauteed apples (with a splash of brandy, even) and whipped cream. But I think I was so enamoured with the ham that I forgot to tell you about them.
Crêpes with Sautéed Apples and Whipped Cream
Crêpes:
1 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
pinch salt
extra oil, butter or nonstick spray for cooking with
Apples:
a drizzle of oil
a small blob of butter
3 tart apples, unpeeled and thinly sliced
a few spoonfuls of sugar, maple syrup or Roger’s Golden syrup
a sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2-1 cup heavy cream, whipped with a bit of syrup or sugar
Pulse all the ingredients in a blender until foamy or whisk until well blended and smooth; let the batter sit for half an hour. It should have the consistency of heavy cream.
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 while you cook the rest.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in another skillet over medium heat. When the foam subsides, add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden around the edges. Add the sugar or syrup and a shake of cinnamon, cook for another minute, tossing to coat the apples well. Remove from the heat.
Fill crepes with the apple mixture, roll up and top with whipped cream. Serve warm.
Makes about 10 crepes.
April 14 2010 | breakfast | 16 Comments »
Feel free to hate me for what I’m about to tell you: we have too much crab. I did work for them, though; with late-night runs down to the dock in the cold rain to haul up the trap in the pitch dark, with a dead flashlight, chasing the spidery little beasts across the slippery dock and coaxing them out of the trap doors into the pink Easter bucket covered with butterflies that has become the Tofino crab bucket. All the while completely freaking myself out and trying not to get pinched. Have you heard the sound crabs make when piled on top of each other in a bucket and strapped to the passenger? Sort of half hissing, half clicking, claws creeping up over the edge in an attempt to pull themselves out. The sound I imagine giant bugs or aliens might make. But hey – for the price of a fishing license and package of hot dogs, I’m not complaining.
This week I’ve become an expert at determining the sex of a crab – a skill I never thought would come in handy. (You can only keep the males.) I also learned, with my friend K, that crabs love hot dogs, and that if you drop the trap off the dock (with aforementioned dogs dangling in an empty water bottle strung up with wire and jabbed with a pocketknife) when the tide is out, as it comes in the crab will come with it, and stop in for a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet.
Too much crab isn’t quite as dreamy as it might sound – the glut of shellfish brought back Mike’s gout, and the excessive melted butter that served as dip has not helped my pants fit any better. After two nights of steamed crab legs, it occurred to me that one could do more with fresh crab than make a mess of the kitchen table with crackers and pots of garlicky melted butter. What do I love that contains crab?
California rolls. I’ll be the first to stand up and admit I’m a wimp when it comes to sushi. I scrape off the roe (it reminds me of the time my uncle dangled the smelly, bright red giant fish egg bait at me on a fishing trip, making me throw up) and I don’t venture beyond at best a slab of raw tuna or salmon. You can forget the eel and abalone and urchin – I’m happy with a nice safe California roll. Or a dynamite roll, if there is the option of crispy tempura shrimp.
Of course I have no sushi mat, but when I stopped in at the teeny Beaches grocery store I bought a bag of jasmine rice and a perfectly ripe avocado; I had bought a bag of toasted sesame seeds at a wee Asian shop in Ucluelet, just because it seemed such an odd thing to be able to buy in a town with only one grocery store and (I think) no traffic lights. I thought I’d deconstruct the whole mess – which is what happens when I try to eat one anyway – and do a sort of layered salad of sorts.
Poking around to make sure I wasn’t forgetting what went into a California roll, I discovered I wasn’t quite as originally brilliant as I had thought for the previous five minutes. I found a couple sushi roll salad recipes, which was fortuitous as I took their advice to season the rice with a mixture of rice vinegar and sugar, which made all the difference. Beyond that I added grated carrot, chopped cucumber, sliced avocado and a mound of crabmeat, moistened with a little mayo. Feel free to add some sliced nori, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’ve been crawling around on far too many seaweed-covered rocks lately.
Deconstructed California Rolls
If you’re starting with fresh crab legs, steam them for 7-8 minutes in a covered pot with an inch or two of water. (Make sure your husband gets rid of all the bits of shell when he picks out the meat.)
1 cup long grain white or sushi rice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 carrot, grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4-1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 lb. (or as much as you want) lump crabmeat (cooked)
1 Tbsp. mayo
salt to taste
toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Cook the rice however you would normally cook it, then spread it out while still hot on a rimmed baking sheet. Bring the vinegar and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour it over the rice, tossing it about to coat.
When the rice is cool, put it into a bowl and add the carrot, green onions and cucumber. Divide among 4 wide, shallow bowls. Top with avocado. In a small bowl, stir together the crab, mayo and salt; divide between the bowls, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro.
Serves 4.
One Year Ago: Green Pea Hummus and Pink Popcorn
April 12 2010 | salads and seafood | 20 Comments »
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