Archive for the 'snacks' Category
It would appear I’m becoming a slacker again, especially on weekends. This time I have an excuse though: I got stung by a bee and swelled. No really. Actually it was a wasp, and it wasn’t so much the swelling as the ensuing sensation that my gut was being stomped upon by angry transvestites in stilettos (stilettos with real-size women in them would be far too small and dainty).
Although I do like the excuse that I’m actually only 120 pounds, I just got stung by a bee. (Or perhaps several – mostly in the muffin-top and thigh area.)
I was so honoured to emcee the first annual Sugar Bowl last night. Immediately upon walking in the door of the lawn bowling club I was chatting at the registration desk, not hassling any wasps at all, and one flew up my capris and stung me above the knee (as one might do if one was trapped in my pants). Ironically, I’ve been killing wasps all over our house and yard for days without being stung – in fact I assassinated 4 in the bathroom immediately before leaving for the event. (Clearly this is payback – either the offending wasp followed me there, or got texted by his second cousin over in Ramsay that half his family was just obliterated and flushed down the toilet.)
So it hurt, yes, and swelled into a second knee. But as I was dabbing some ointment on it my stomach must have got wind of what happened, cramped up and remained that way for the entire evening, so much so that it was hard to stand up straight. I’m sure some attendees wondered about the pained expression on my face; surely I couldn’t be that passionate about lawn bowling?
It was a really really fantastic, fun event, and I’m already looking forward to next year. But when it was over I got myself home, into my PJs and the fetal position and stayed that way until this morning. Stupid wasp.
So last night: no dinner. I have no idea what M fed W, but this morning the latter fessed up to eating a bag of whole wheat hot dog buns, and I estimated there were at least 6 in there when I left (I took note for a fall-back dinner: a whole wheat hot dog bun spread with peanut butter and stuffed with a banana. Guess he didn’t make it that far.)
Tonight we ate grilled Spolumbo’s sausages and leftover ratatouille, but I do have to tell you about those kale chips. Turns out fresh kale, when oiled, salted and roasted, turns into crispy, salty kale, and although it is completely delicious, and finally helped me to understand why people go around eating sheets of nori, I think calling them chips are a bit of a stretch. I will totally make this again, though – my sister and I polished off a bowl of crispy, ruffly “chips” in under 10 minutes. The kids unfortunately didn’t fall for the ruse.
Thanks, you guys, for all the recipe links! It was interesting to compare; oven temperatures ranged from 250°F to 400°F (I did a middle-of-the-road 350°F) and while all were tossed in oil, a couple also had lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, which I opted against. (In order to get veggies nice and crispy you want to avoid any moisture, and I really wanted them crispy.) Wash your kale, dry it in a salad spinner or between tea towels, pull out the tough stems, tear it into chunks (if you like – some recipes roasted whole leaves) and toss with a drizzle of canola or olive oil, then sprinkle with salt. Make sure the leaves are spread out in a single layer on your baking sheet; when they get bunched up they tend to not crisp up. The higher temp recipes took only 5 minutes; the low took half an hour; mine took about 15 minutes. You just want them crisp, but not burned. It’s pretty simple, really.
And I thought it was about time I mentioned the ratatouille; I’ve gone through a couple batches in the past weeks, keeping it in the fridge to dip into for pizza, sandwiches, lasagna, or to balance a grilled sausage. It seems more like an end-of-summer dish, but the markets are loaded with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and eggplant right now. I love this recipe because you can start with the onion and then just chop and add veggies to the pan as you go, and measurements are approximate – feel free to add more of this or that, and sometimes I add a big spoonful of tomato paste to enrich it a little.
Like chili and soup, ratatouille is even better the next day, and the next. And once you have a stash of it, you can toss it with hot pasta (and crumbled feta or goat cheese), layer it between lasagna noodles, spread some into a panini or grilled cheese, or gob onto a pizza crust or pita and top with cheese.
Ratatouille
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion, halved and sliced
4-5 big garlic cloves, crushed
1 small eggplant, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red, yellow or orange pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
a couple tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
1 tsp. oregano or dried Italian seasoning
a handful of fresh spinach or basil, chopped (optional)
In a large skillet, heat a generous glug of oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then add the eggplant and cook for another 5 minutes, adding more oil if needed, until the eggplant is soft. Add the pepper and zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until everything is nice and soft and you’re starting to get some golden edges. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano and cook for 5 more minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to; if you’re adding fresh spinach or basil, stir it in and let it wilt. Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight and reheat as you need it. Serves 8 (or so).
One Year Ago: Seafood Chowder
August 09 2009 | snacks and veg and vegetarian | 29 Comments »
My capris are most definitely a tighter fit than they were when we arrived. I always think of Tofino as a healthy place, where in summertime there’s fresh fish to be had, and produce, and lots of grainy things at the bakeries, and beaches to walk on in the early mornings. I forget that I tend to come out here with my sister, and that there’s fish and chips, and pancakes in the morning, ice cream, SoBo (we went again last night. Yes we did.), bread and scones from the 600 Degree Bakery, and Cheezies to eat while we play Blokus.
It’s not all unhealthy. Blueberries are local and cheap, and at the rate little people around here are plowing through them, we’ve been averaging a couple 2lb boxes per day. We’ve been eating them on pancakes, with granola (from Jupiter) and yogurt, and by the handful; today I thought I’d stretch them a bit, and turn some into a crumb cake.
A basic crumb cake is a great recipe to have in your back pocket during the summer; this same cake is fantastic made with raspberries, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, or thickly sliced peaches, apricots or plums. The cake batter would take on finely grated orange or lemon zest very well.
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Cake:
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat or some of each)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup buttermilk or thin plain yogurt
2-3 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) berries, or a few thickly sliced plums, peaches or apricots
Crumble:
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
pinch salt
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy; beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add about a third of it to the butter mixture and stir by hand or on low speed with the mixer just until blended. Add half the buttermilk or yogurt, another third of the flour, the rest of the buttermilk and the rest of the flour. Stir just until blended, and spread into a 9″x9″ pan that has been buttered or sprayed with nonstick spray. Spread the berries overtop.
In a small bowl, blend the butter, oil, flour, sugars and salt and mix with a fork or rub between your fingers until evenly combined and crumbly. Sprinkle over the berries, squeezing the mixture in your hands as you go to create bigger chunks of crumble.
Bake for about an hour, until golden and springy to the touch. Serves 12-16.
One Year Ago: Vij’s Chicken Curry
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July 20 2009 | breakfast and cake and snacks | 11 Comments »
I know better than to separate a whack of eggs at once without using a little dish as a buffer, in case I should nick one of the yolks and taint a half dozen whites. But I always get a little smug when I need to separate a lot of eggs into whites – it’s like my own private version of bungee jumping – and as if it’s a big deal to add one teeny more dish to the overflowing sinkful, I always just go ahead and live on the edge. And so the other day as I was making a hundred teeny pavlovas for my little cooking show at Stampede, I broke a yolk five eggs in. I tried to scoop out the offending yellow with a piece of cracked shell and thought I got it all, but those whites refused to reach their full potential and I was left with a bowl of flaccid meringue and nothing to do with it.
So I stirred in a capful of coconut extract, a cup or two of toasted shredded coconut, and spread it on two foil-lined baking sheets, then baked them in a 250 degree oven for an hour, as I would have had they turned out the way I intended. Once cool the slabs of meringue were easily broken into shards, which we have been nibbling on all week. I think I might be hooked. I’m dying to dunk some into melted chocolate.
Coconut Macaroon Bark
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. coconut extract
1-2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
Preheat oven to 250° F and line two large baking sheets with foil or parchment. Stir the cornstarch into the sugar. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating until the mixture holds stiff, glossy peaks, like shaving cream. (If it doesn’t get completely stiff, that’s OK too.) Beat in the coconut extract, and fold in the coconut. Spread the mixture onto the sheets, about 1/2″ thick.
Bake for an hour, then remove from the oven and cool completely. Peel off the foil and break the bark into shards. Makes lots.
(Dinner this week has more often than not been chili, scooped out of a big pot in the fridge and reheated as necessary in between events and trips down to the grounds. I made some for the Stampede party last weekend, and my chef neighbour brought over another vat as he cleaned out his fridge to leave town, and I mixed the two together. Unfortunately this means we can’t figure out what makes it so damn yummy. It has tons of beans, chick peas, chipotle peppers and beef – ground and in chunks. Of course it gets better by the day – deeper and more concentrated. Speaking of mac & cheese – have you ever had chili served over a bed of it? If not, please do.)
One Year Ago: Bison Back Ribs and Blueberry Bison Burgers
July 09 2009 | snacks and sweet stuff | 12 Comments »
I want to advise you not to try this at home, but really you should. Especially if you happen to be a marathon runner in need of a carb load or someone who is trying to put on weight. (ie: not me.)
For the first week of July, I can’t help but be swept up by the Stampede, and inevitably a pot of canola oil shows up on my stovetop with which to fry corn dogs and mini donuts, which goes along way toward winning friends and influencing people. This year I was challenged to make deep-fried mac & cheese; a midway staple that popped up a few years ago, but the novelty has worn off in the presence of newer deep-fried products with higher gross-out factors, like deep fried Coke, Oreos, and this year – jellybeans. (For those of you who are curious how one might deep-fry Coke, they just make a sort of beer batter with Coke and flour, and dribble it into hot oil. The result is a little like those crispy bits you get in the bottom of your fish & chips box, only sweeter. I can’t imagine the markup on this particular product.)
I am more old school – mini donuts (but only from the vendors with the yellow and orange sign – preferably the one closest to Weadickville) maybe a Fiddlestick (those slabs of vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and doused in chopped nuts), and Mike and I always share a corn dog, which is enough for me for the year. When in Rome, you know.
As it turns out, deep-fried mac & cheese is a lot like far more refined arancini, which is not at all balked at, and in fact those with appreciative palates have been known to pay upwards of $8 at certain Italian groceries about town for one. And although it might be a little more lowbrow, it’s simple to make. Just like risotto, mac & cheese solidifies overnight in the fridge, so that you can cut it into neat cubes which are easily rolled in shallow bowls of flour, beaten egg and Panko (in that order), and fried in hot oil. They are crispy on the outside, soft and cheesy within. (They reminded me of those old-fashioned marshmallows dipped in coconut.) I made some for CBC this morning, and fortunately my sister and her kids popped in around dinnertime and kindly allowed me to pawn off the rest. Otherwise I’m sure it would have whined at me from the fridge until I put it out of its misery.
Deep-fried Mac & Cheese
1 batch macaroni and cheese, from a recipe or a box of that white cheddar stuff
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 cups Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or breadcrumbs
canola oil, for frying
Prepare the macaroni and cheese and pour it into a pan – a 9″x5″ loaf pan works well, or a 9″x9″ square pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or until solid.
When ready to fry them, put the flour, eggs and Panko in three shallow dishes; beat the eggs a little with a fork. Heat the oil in a deep pot until a bit of bread sizzles when put in, but the oil is not smoking. Cut the macaroni and cheese into blocks about 1″ x 1 1/2″, roll each in flour to coat, then dip in the egg, and coat in breadcrumbs. Fry in the hot oil until crispy and golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve warm.
Makes about 2 dozen squares.
One Year Ago: White Beans with Tomatoes, Spinach and Bacon
July 07 2009 | appetizers and pasta and snacks | 27 Comments »
I lie in bed at night and think about food. (It’s a shock, really, that I have any kids at all, between that habit and this blog. You’d think I’d have developed a George Costanza-esque association with food by now.) Every day some idea sneaks into my head, or I get a craving that I can’t shake, or read about something I want to try, or I remember something I haven’t made in a really, really long time, like these Whoopie Pies, which are as close to homemade Jos Louis cakes as you can get. (Except for the dipped in chocolate part – it would require a helluva lot of chocolate.)
Something or other triggered a memory of these, which then rattled around my brainpan for a week or so before I gave in and baked the cookies last night with the intention of bringing them along to a barbecue that I knew would have a dozen or so kids in attendance. As is my style I ran out of time to make the frosting, and we left the just-baked cookies sitting on the counter as we ran out the door.
So this morning we finished them, and when I wondered aloud what we might do with a dozen small burger-sized whoopie pies W suggested we bring some to the big boys who live up the hill; who are only the coolest boys ever, with cool toys and rock star wii and water pistols and lizards and cool hair and a brand new trampoline in the back yard. I think he’s coming up with excuses to go over to their house now. Like, the sun is up, can we go to the boys’ house? What are the boys doing now? and now? how about now? can we go over there now? Silver lining: he thinks school must be the funnest place ever and is desperate to go because that’s where the boys always seem to be.
So we went up the hill and ditched all but three of these, which we then ate for lunch. (Dinner was far less exciting – mediocre blueberry-bran muffins, thawed soup, brown rice, a bowl of blueberries for W.)
Whoopie Pies
These big, cakey cookies are sandwiched with fluffy Seven Minute Frosting or jarred marshmallow cream, or frozen and made into ice cream sandwiches with vanilla ice cream. It’s a good opportunity to marry chocolate and mint – just spike the fluffy frosting with mint extract. (They’re low fat, too!)
Cookies:
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Filling:
1 batch Seven Minute Frosting (below)
or 1 jar Marshmallow Cream
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a minute or so, until well combined. It will have the consistency of wet sand. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa and salt. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into 1/2 cup very hot water until dissolved.
With the mixer on low or stirring by hand, add about a third of the dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk and half the baking soda mixture, mixing each time just until blended. Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk and baking soda mixture, and then the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing each time just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be quite wet, almost like cake batter. (You want them to be cakey and soft, so that the filling doesn’t squish out the end when you bite into it.)
Drop large, round spoonfuls of batter 2” apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. (If you’re making pies, try to keep the mounds similar in size and shape so they will make even sandwiches). Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the tops no longer appear wet and just spring back when lightly touched. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
When completely cool, spread the bottom of one cookie with frosting or marshmallow cream, then sandwich with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream. Store extras individually wrapped in plastic wrap.
Makes 1 dozen pies or 2 dozen cookies.
Seven Minute Frosting
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. light or golden corn syrup or honey
1/3 cup water
2 large egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla, coconut, maple, mint, or other flavored extract
In the top of a double boiler or in a clean stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and egg whites. Make sure the simmering water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl or double boiler – you only need an inch or two of water in the pot. Beat the sugar mixture with an electric mixer on high speed for about 7 minutes, until it stands in billowy peaks. Remove it from the heat and beat in the vanilla.
To make Seafoam (Brown Sugar) Frosting: Substitute packed dark or golden brown sugar for the white sugar.
Also: a plea. What the hell do I do with this? (ooh, a two-hell post. Now three-hell! Now four!)
Someone gave it to my Dad, who passed it on to me. It’s about the size of half a pound of butter, and labeled “pure maple cream” on the box, but it appears to have completely petrified. It in no way resembles cream. It’s like a solid block of maple sugar. I suppose I could attempt to grate it and use it like maple sugar – any other brilliant ideas?
One Year Ago: Roasted Chickpeas with Garlic and Chard, and Lemon Potatoes with Garlic and Oregano
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May 18 2009 | cookies & squares and snacks and sweet stuff | 30 Comments »
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