Archive for the 'freezable' Category
So. Christmas. It didn’t wind up being the healthiest holiday season. I thought I’d be back with too many photos to sort on Boxing Day – but as it turns out there hasn’t been much food to report. On Friday morning (our anniversary!) on which day we planned to head downtown and walk, do the last of our Christmas shopping, have a fancy coffee, then go for dinner and wrap presents, I walked in the door from my early morning BT spot feeling a little woozy. I spent the day in bed and the bathroom, and W joined in that evening – luckily I already had a barf bucket at the ready by the couch. We spent our anniversary evening mopping the floor, doing laundry, cuddling W and watching old episodes of Arrested Development. It wasn’t bad, actually, but no food to report.
Saturday we had Christmas at my parents’ house, and the big turkey dinner. It was beautiful – the setting and the meal, which featured a 20 lb organic free range heritage breed turkey from Winter’s that we went over to put in the oven that morning. The boys (five of them under 8 ) were over the top excited, building their Lego and popping crackers. Mike tracked Santa on his iPad. My sister made a killer chocolate cheesecake. I hadn’t at that point eaten since Thursday night, but as I was managing to keep sips of Coke down, I had high hopes. It didn’t go well.
On Christmas day I ate a cracker, and at dinner, with Mike’s mom and sister and half of my family over to our house this time for turkey part 2, I managed a Pillsbury crescent roll – perhaps the pouffiest, most refined food product available? And so on Boxing Day I thought I’d venture into real food territory. There were leftovers, of course, and so rather than take a stab at Turkey Dinner Part 3, or do something crazy like make turkey shepherd’s pie, I made soup.
There was mashed potatoes and peas, carrots and roasted sweet potatoes, so I made one pot of orange-red and another of green. (In keeping with the colours of the season, of course.)
You don’t need a formula to make soup. I’m not sure how many people realize this. I’m going to resist writing a recipe here, because that goes against the whole point of transforming whatever it is you have on hand into a pot soup.
So here’s what you do: put a pot on the stove, drizzle some oil in the bottom and add a dab of butter. Chop an onion and throw it in. A clove or three of garlic, too. I just slice mine, so that it doesn’t burn – we’re going to puree the lot, anyway.
Give them a few minutes to soften, then throw in your leftover veggies. In one pot I scraped in the last of the mashed potatoes – about a cup and a half? – and the peas – maybe 3/4 of a cup. Not that it matters. add however much you have. Broccoli would do well, or spinach, kale, asparagus, even roasted Brussels sprouts. In the other pot I put a spoonful of curry paste, the carrots and roasted sweet potatoes. Squash would have been perfect, too.
Add some stock to cover and bring to a simmer. (If you’re really on the ball, you may have some turkey stock already – I always keep those tetra packs of chicken stock in the pantry.) Cook for 10-20-30 minutes, or until everything is soft. Puree with a hand-held immersion blender. Add more stock or water if it’s too thick, or simmer a bit longer if it seems too brothy. You could add a splash of cream, but neither needed it. At its best, soup is simple. Any veggie dish – even just boiled or steamed veg – are delicious simmered with stock and pureed. And if you’re not in the mood for soup, it’s a great way to freeze leftovers – in soup form. Happy holidays, everyone!
December 27 2011 | freezable and soup | 14 Comments »
I’m attempting to squeeze every last bit of summer out of this last week before school starts. (Honestly, it’s conflicting with my desperate need to organize the basement and office – the one thing I was ABSOLUTELYPOSITIVELY going to get done in August. Of which there are only 8 days left of.)
And I hadn’t even managed to make popsicles! Which are of course all the rage this year. Forget all those years of buying ice pop molds at the dollar store, then cursing the dozen multicoloured plastic handles scattered all over the basement floor for me to a) pick up, and/or 2) step on. I’d throw them out, then get tempted by another set. Did I ever make popsicles? Not really.
But then Avery emailed me a link to the Kitchn, and these creamy lime pie pops, and it was like the mother ship calling me home. I’m a sucker for that lime juice-sweetened condensed milk combo; I love the science of it, the way the mixture thickens as you whisk acid into dairy. I love folding whipped cream into it, then intercepting most of it myself before it makes it into its pie shell.
But frozen into popsicles! Brilliant. And a perfect mixture for freezing in shot glasses – those tall ones, if you can find them. I procured mine for 69 cents at Value Village.
The best part? You douse them in graham crumbs to complete the pie effect. Genius, I know.
Paletas de Pay de Limón – Lime Pie Ice Pops
Adapted from Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Iced, & Aguas Frescas by Fany Gerson, by way of Avery and The Kitchn
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half & half
zest and juice of 2 large limes
Pinch salt
coarsely crushed graham crackers or Digestive cookies (or graham crumbs)
Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, half & half, lime juice, lime zest, and salt in a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. It will thicken slightly – a reaction between the lime juice and milk – I love that.
If using ice pop molds, fill them almost to the top and pop in their sticks. If using shot glasses, fill them almost full, then cover with plastic wrap and stick popsicle sticks through the wrap (which will hold them in place) – the mixture is likely thick enough to hold a stick upright without the wrap, though. Freeze until solid.
Spread the crumbs on a large plate. Unmold the pops and dip into the graham crackers, coating as much as you like.
August 23 2011 | dessert and freezable | 11 Comments »
We’ve made it to Vancouver, having spent a night in Kelowna. And I SO BADLY want to show you what we had for dinner last night, because the whole experience was just phenomenal. But we checked in and ran out the door so quickly I forgot my camera, and my blackberry doesn’t do this food justice.
We went to Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, on the edge of Chinatown in Vancouver, which was just so damn photogenic it killed me to not have my camera. Although it was packed, with a lineup spilling out the door, they got us in in about 15 minutes (having estimated half an hour). The food came just as fast, every dish as good as the last. We ate squid stir fried with crispy pork belly, chili, and baby bok choi. Mantou – steamed buns with braised beef shortrib, hoisin, scallions, pickled cucumber and roasted peanuts. Shao Bing – crunchy sesame flatbread with braised pork butt, Asian pear, pickled onion and mustard greens. W had his own plate of pork potstickers and a fried egg, which was offered up as a side I wished I had ordered myself to set atop their fried rice of the day, made with rock shrimp, puffed tofu, bits of sweet pineapple, scallions and fish sauce. Mike’s reaction: “damn – how am I ever supposed to eat any other fried rice now??”
Tomorrow we’re off to the Victoria Taste food and wine festival. How excited am I? Very. I haven’t been to Victoria in years, and am very much looking forward to revisiting their already fantastic food scene.
Tuesday morning I did my usual CBC spot before heading outta Dodge. And I mean really right before – we got up early, packed up our things and M&W were in the car in the parking lot as I was in the studio talking about ice cream and frozen ice pops. I made butterbeer ice cream in honour of the current Harry Potter hysteria. Butterbeer is made with butterscotch, with (or so I’ve heard) a salty aftertaste. So salted butterscotch ice cream? Yes please.
In my quest for such, I came across this – brown sugar balsamic ice cream. So intriguing I couldn’t not try. And so I did. We ate the last of it in the car on our way out of town.
Brown Sugar Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream
adapted from Bon Appétit, December 2009
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tsp good vanilla
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or about 2 Tbsp balsamic reduction)
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream and milk until steaming.
Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks, sugar and vanilla.
Gradually whisk some of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture to heat it up; return the mixture to the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the custard thickens; strain through a sieve set over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
Meanwhile, simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 6 minutes. Cool syrup completely. (Alternatively, start with some balsamic reduction and skip this step.)
Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When ice cream is done, spoon in balsamic syrup and churn 3 to 4 seconds longer to swirl. Serve immediately or transfer to a container to freeze until solid.
July 21 2011 | dessert and freezable | 5 Comments »
Having spent the past three days eating very well in Saskatoon, on a ranch (where we had pitchfork fondue – yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like it is) and in some fab new restaurants, I came home tired yet inspired to cook, yet wanting something simple and green.
Also, my spinach has gone to seed. Meaning I needed to come up with a way of using large quantities of it as I pulled out the entire garden to replant.
Also, I watered the spinach before coming to this conclusion, spattering it with mud in the process, and so I needed to swish the lot around in a big bowl of water in order to thoroughly clean it, and didn’t much feel like spinning it dry.
Also, if you are Calgarian or running with Calgarians this week, you could likely use a bowlful of greens to offset the effects of Stampede.
All good reasons, don’t you think? I wound up tossing in bits of other green things – a handful of fresh chives, which are growing in the old sink next to the tomatoes, and a couple garlic scapes, and a shake of frozen peas from the freezer. And onions, stock, a splash of cream. Salt. Soup is that easy.
These are garlic scapes – the big snakey green thing that grows out of the top of a growing garlic bulb. They are like intensely garlicky giant chives, kind of. They make great pesto.
A big handful of mint would have given it an entirely different character. Or cilantro. Or parsley. There are plenty of green growing things you could improv with here.
Spinach, Pea and Garlic Scape Soup
This soup would be fab with a swirl of crème fraîche, I think.
canola oil, for cooking
a big dab of butter
an onion, peeled and chopped
a couple garlic scapes, chopped
a handful of fresh chives
a salad bowl full of fresh spinach leaves
a heaping cup of frozen green peas
1 L chicken or veggie stock
salt
a splash of cream
In a large saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil with a dab of butter over medium-high heat. Cook the onion for a few minutes, until soft. Add the garlic scapes and tear in the chives, sprinkle with salt and cook for a few more minutes, until everything is soft.
Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach wilts. Add the stock and bring to a simmer; cook for 20 minutes, or until all the veggies are nice and soft.
Season with salt and add a splash of cream. Puree with a hand-held immersion blender (or transfer in batches to a regular blender) until smooth. Serve warm. Serves 4.
July 10 2011 | freezable and soup | 9 Comments »
Life is weird, isn’t it? Today I fed William Shatner, Max Headroom (aka Matt Frewer), and Tia Carrere, all at the same time. They sat around a table in the gold room at the Calgary Comic Expo and chatted (about the Vancouver hockey riots, mostly) like something out of a bizarre dream. I fully kept expecting to look down and be wearing no pants.
Later, Jonathan Frakes, Felicia Day (who was totally lovely, and raving about her morning visit to Jelly Modern!), Adrienne Barbeau, Doug Bradley and Elvira – I can’t list them all, but there were about thirty in total comic/space/horror celebs and agents, mostly from LA.
Tia had requested split pea soup. I wasn’t fully confident of my split pea soup-making abilities, but Wade, who swept in and was my cooking-for-the-stars wingman, picked up a couple of ham hocks while we were out of town, which made it easy. I half improved, half followed a recipe from Bon Appétit, and it worked. Everyone liked it. Also, they were just happy to not be stuck in a green room with hot dogs and Doritos.
Especially when they saw the white cheddar biscuits to go with.
Sadly, no cameras in the room meant I couldn’t properly document this crazy dream.
I’m still prepping for tomorrow – leg of lamb and naan and falafel, quinoa spinach salad, marinated asparagus, and more roasted plum cheesecakes in jars. (Small – 125 mL – lidded jars make them good to go, when you need a portable snack while signing autographs.) The dregs of pea soup made an effortless, if late-night, dinner.
Split Pea Soup
from Bon Appétit, May 1996
a drizzle of oil or dab of butter (or both – the original just called for butter)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 lbs smoked pork hocks
2 tsp dried leaf marjoram (optional)
1 1/2 cups dry green split peas
8 cups water
In a large pot, heat the oil and/or butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; cook 1 minute. Add peas and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot and simmer soup for an hour or so, until the vegetables are very tender.
Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree about half the soup in a blender (or using a hand-held immersion blender) and return it to the pot with the un-pureed soup. Cut the meat off the bones, discarding the thick layer of fat; dice the pork and return it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and heat through.
Makes lots.
June 18 2011 | freezable and soup | 10 Comments »
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