the Eyeopener

Pork Meatball Bánh Mì

Adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2010

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. sriracha or other hot chile sauce (or to taste)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
salt & pepper

Sandwiches:
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
4 10? individual baguettes or four chunks of baguette
mayo
thinly sliced cucumber (use a vegetable peeler)
fresh cilantro

In a bowl, mix together the pork, basil, garlic, onions, fish sauce, sriracha, sugar and salt and pepper and mix it all up with your hands. Roll into 1? balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, toss the grated carrot with the rice vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit until you’re ready to assemble your sandwiches.

To assemble, spread baguettes with mayo; top with a squirt of sriracha to taste, and stuff with pickled carrots, cucumber strips, meatballs and sprigs of fresh cilantro. Serves 4.

Blueberry/Saskatoon Berry Perogies

adapted from Canadian Living

Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup (175 mL) milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup water (approx)

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups fresh or frozen (don’t thaw them) blueberries or saskatoon berries

butter, for cooking (optional)
sour cream or whipped cream, for serving

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl (or Pyrex measuring cup) stir together the butter, milk and egg; add to the flour mixture and stir until you have a dry, shaggy mixture. Add the water about a third at a time, until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead it about 10 times, then cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest on the countertop for 20 minutes.

To amke the filling, stir together the sugar and flour; stir in the blueberries.

On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut into rounds. Stretch each round slightly; fill with a spoonful of the blueberry mixture, ensuring you get some of the sugar-flour in there as well.

Pull dough over filling into semicircle; pinch edges together to seal. Cover with tea towel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Freeze in a single layer or cook immediately.

In large pot of lightly salted water, boil perogies in batches, until they float to the top and the dough is tender, about 10 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to dish; drizzle with butter to prevent sticking. If you like, brown the well-drained boiled perogies in a hot pan with butter until crisp and golden; dribble the remaining butter from the pan overtop. Serve with sour cream or whipped cream. Makes about 3 dozen peroghies.

Asian Steak with Sweet Ginger Slaw

adapted from Bon Appétit, June 2008

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger, divided
2 garlic cloves, crushed or sliced
1 1 1/2 lb flat iron or flank steak
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
pinch red pepper flakes
4-5 cups thinly sliced cabbage (or half a bag of prepared coleslaw)
a few green onions, chopped

Stir together the soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, half the ginger and garlic in a zip-lock bag or bowl; add the steaks and turn to coat. Let them sit for at least half an hour, or refrigerate overnight.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the rice vinegar and sugar and bring to a simmer; add the ginger and red pepper flakes and remove from heat. In a medium bowl, toss together the cabbage and green onions. Drizzle the warm vinegar mixture overtop and toss to coat.

Preheat your grill or cast iron until it’s very hot, and cook the steaks to your desired doneness – 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain and serving atop (or alongside) the slaw. Serves 4.

Braised Red Cabbage & Cherries

adapted from Sheila Lukins’ All Around the World Cookbook

2 Tbsp. butter
1 small red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Set a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and heat the butter until it melts. When the foaming subsides, add the rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat until warmed through, then put the lid on and pop it into the oven for an hour or two – closer to two. The cabbage will be cooked through, and the liquid thickened a bit. Taste and add a little more honey and/or vinegar as you like to suit your taste (or apple juice if it needs a bit more liquid) and bake a little longer or simmer on the stovetop with the lid off if you want to cook it down a bit.

It’s better after a day or two in the fridge; serve immediately or cool and refrigerate until you’re ready for it. Serves 6-10.

Roasted Cauliflower: separate cauliflower into smallish florets and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with canola or olive oil and toss around with your hands to coat. Sprinkle with pepper and roast in a preheated 450F oven for 10-15 minutes, until starting to turn golden. Finely grate Parmesan overtop (the real stuff, not the tower) and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, until done to your liking. Serve with a lemon or lime wedge, if you like.

Quinoa Salad with Feta & Slaw

1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 small head cauliflower, roughly chopped
half bag prepared coleslaw
1 cup cooked chickpeas or edamame
1/2 cup crumbled feta
small handful of Italian parsley, chopped
a small chunk of purple onion, chopped, or a few chopped green onions

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
grated zest and juice of a lemon
2 Tbsp. rice, white wine or white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. grainy mustard
1 tsp. honey

Rinse quinoa well under cool water in a fine sieve, then cook in a pot of boiling salted water over medium heat until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. (Cook it just like you’d cook pasta.) Drain well, return it to the pot, put the lid back on and let it steam – this will produce fluffy quinoa – until cooled.

Once cool, transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the dressing ingredients. Drizzle the salad with dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if it needs it. Serves 6.

Hoisin Pork or Turkey Lettuce Wraps

canola, olive or sesame oil, for cooking
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground pork or turkey
1 small red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1-2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup bottled hoisin sauce
salt and pepper to taste

2 romaine lettuce hearts (the outer leaves tend to be too large), or a head of butter or leaf lettuce

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for a few minutes, until soft. Add the pork or turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the red pepper and jalapeno along with the garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes, until the peppers are soft. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture, then start to brown.

Wash the lettuce well, spin it dry and separate into leaves. Transfer the hoisin mixture to a bowl and arrange on a platter with lettuce leaves around it. To eat, pile some of the pork mixture onto a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and eat it like a burrito. Makes about 16 wraps.

Spicy Red Kidney Bean Dip

(adapted from Nigella Lawson)

canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch salt
1 Tbsp. curry paste
2 Tbsp. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 19 oz. (540 mL) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
juice of a lemon
a squirt of sriracha (the more, the spicier)
1 tsp. maple syrup or honey

In a medium skillet set over medium-high heat, heat a drizzle of oil and saute the onion and and garlic until soft. Add the salt, curry paste, tomato sauce, garam masala and cook for a few minutes, until nice and fragrant.

Put the kidney beans into the bowl of a food processor and add the cooked onion mixture. Add the lemon juice, sriracha and maple syrup and pulse until as chunky or smooth as you like. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Cool and serve with pita chips, torn fresh pitas, tortilla chips, crackers or vegetable sticks.

Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (Homemade Eatmores)

3 cups Rice Krispies, Special K or puffed wheat cereal (or anything you like, really)
1 cup oats
1 cup chopped dried fruit (such as raisins, cranberries & apricots)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds or a combination)
1/4 cup seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin, sesame or flax
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup honey

In a large bowl, toss together the cereal, oats, dried fruit, nuts and seeds.

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, cocoa, peanut butter and honey over medium heat and stir until completely melted and smooth. (Alternatively, you could do this in the microwave.) Pour over the fruit and cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.

Press into a 9” x 13” pan and chill until firm before cutting into bars. Makes 18 bars.

Per Bar: 173 calories, 5.1 g fat (0.9 g saturated fat, 2.3 g monounsaturated fat, 1.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 31.3 g carbohydrates, 0 mg cholesterol, 4.1 g protein, 2.6 g fiber. 25% calories from fat