Braising...Vegetables

Here I am in my yard with nothing much to do... we are having a yard sale, I kinda just have to sit here and wait. We don't live on a busy street and I only started advertising the day before, sadly for my things anticipating new homes this combination does not make for a swift sale. It does however give me time to catch up on my blogs, this moving thing has totally killed my momentum.

I originally wanted to  post a recipe for corn muffins from the last issue of Gourmet Magazine (RIP), but where that magazine has gone I don't know (my only hope is that it found its way into a book box and it is safely and securely stored). So instead this is a garlic Scape recipe... What? Yes I know Scape season is long gone, but here is the good news, this is actually a braising recipe and you can use leeks, carrots, turnips, onions, and more instead- MB suggest endive and romain lettuce.

Earlier this June we went to an outlaying farm and came home with all sorts of goodies. Baby Bok Choy, little golden nuggety potatoes, various fresh herbs, strawberries and garlic Scapes. Neither my husband nor I had ever cooked with Scape, thinking that was weird we then thought "have we ever actually eaten a Scape?" It seems like we should have, we are both big food people and will try *just* about anything, but to our best recollection our answer was a resounding no. So what the hell, we'd give it a go.

Bombing around the internet led us to several Scape pesto recipes that sounded very good but my husband and I did not want to eat a whole bunch of raw garlic no matter what the consensus was.  So we turned to our friend Mark Bittman (OK in my head he is our friend) for a solution. We have always had good luck with his braising recipes and in particular leeks so why not apply that to the scape?

Braised Vegetables (Scape)

adapted from The Best Recipes in the World

Mark Bittman

• 2 tbsp butter or extra virgin Olive Oil
• 8-10 Garlic Scapes, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces.
• handful of cherry tomatoes, leave whole
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 3/4 cups of stock, vegetable, chicken or water (if I am using water I like to use 1/4 cup of vermouth)
• Fresh Lemon juice, to taste.

Melt the butter or oil over medium heat in a (oven proof) sauce pan that has a lid.  Add Scapes, cherry tomatoes, salt & pepper,  and stock to cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat until  very tender about 30- 40 minutes. Checking the liquid occasionally.  Each combination of vegetables will have slightly different cooking times. And if stove top space is an issue,  the whole thing can be transferred and cooked in a 350F oven  after it is brought to the boil. 

Serve with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The end results were deeply rich brown caramelized stalks that melted in the mouth and tomatoes that popped as you bit into them. The Scapes had a mellow garlicky taste without the bite and tomatoes gave a nice splash of acidity. Come Scape season next year, I will re-visit this recipe.

photos by me.

My Cinco De Mayo Table

We didn't have a party, or even special activities, we just ate a lot (an ample amount for a small family of four) of Mexican inspired foods. This was a mostly vegetarian spread except for the token meat- a mild chorizo, and gyulai sausage. We had cheese and bean Quesadilla's, fresh avocado, stuffed peppers, and a red cabbage Pico De Gallo that was recommended to me by my friend Tehlia over at Raw Adventures of an Army Wife.  Make sure you visit her blog to get the recipe! I served mine in warm corn tortillas, with sliced avocado, crumbled mexican style cheese and lime juice (Sorry T, I did the raw thing half way). 


Everything else I just kinda winged.

When my tots were just beginning to eat real foods I discovered that simple easy quesadillas were great. They were convenient tiny packets that could be hand held that I could pack with a variety of left over foods. I could even make then ahead and slowly bake them while I did other things!  For these I took two flour tortillas, lightly oil the outsides of each put one side down on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, Sprinkled  Monterey Jack cheese and a few cooked black beans and covered with the other one. Put it into the oven and baked at 375f until melted and turned once so that it got crispy on both sides.

Then for the stuff peppers, I hollowed out four peppers, two bells (for the tots) and two poblano peppers (husband and myself).  The tots version was simple, I filled them with a mexican style rice, a recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman, frozen corn and baked at 450f. Ours was a little more involved. And oh, so yummy!

Poblano Stuff Peppers and Mexican Rice

(Rice adapted from A Mark Bittman Recipe in his book The Best recipes in the World)

• 1 large tomato, cored seeded, and cut in two
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly mashed
• half an medium onion peeled and cut in two
• 1 cup of long grain rice, rinsed and dried.
• salt and pepper
• 1/2cup water or stock
• neutral oil

To make rice, take tomato, garlic and onion and place in a food processor or blender and puree. Heat oil on a medium high heat and saute rice for a couple minutes to coat with the oil.  Add in tomato mixture, salt and half a cup of liquid. Turn down to lowest setting, cover with a lid and steam for 15 mins. Meanwhile prepare other ingredients for the peppers.

• Cilantro leaves, small bunch, lightly chopped
• 2 tbsp chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1/4 cup loosely packed mexican style crumbled cheese
• 1/3 cup black beans with out liquid
• 2-4 poblano peppers, tops, ribs and seeds removed

When rice is done cooking combine cilantro, chipotles, cheese and beans with rice in a bowl, stir to mix. Stuff peppers, and bake at 450f. For a cooking time sake we'll say for 30 mins but, really it is to heat the rice through, melt the cheese and turn the poblano peppers soft and black at the edges.

My husband confessed (probably due to the meyer lemon margarita) to me half way through the meal he had a dirty little secret... We have had other conversations that had started this way but I must admit this one did take me by surprise "I don't like poblanos". With that he took my hard worked, disassembled it,  put  the rice between a corn tortilla and threw out the pepper. WTF, husband? The tots on the other hand gleefully ate their novelty rice from the fun bowl!

photos by me.

Stinging Nettle and Ricotta Ravioli to die for.

Not to die for that would be little extreme but maybe just a little injury and or discomfort.

I am hoping that I was interpreting my husband's gesture as a sincere one and not a comment on my personality when he bought me some stinging nettles the other day.

He was so proud of what he had found at the market "The Wild foods guy was at the market today, look what I got for you!" He thrusts a large plastic bag of weeds at me. Apparently he (Wild foods guy, not my husband) had foraged an ample amount for the restaurant industry and there were plenty of leftovers. Which is good for me. I love nettles, this is  an eager spring treat that I start fantasizing about in the depths of January.

Stinging nettle grows around the world in fertile soil, it is usually an indicator that spring is at hand and is featured in many different cuisines. As a flavouring in cheese, or on its own to create pestos, soups, and as a vegetable combined with various spices in India.

It can be used instead of spinach but where as many people say it tastes the same, I disagree. Nettles have sweeter more tender taste and texture. There is no heavy metallic after taste from nettles like there is if spinach is cooked too long. The cooking process is in fact what renders them edible (do not try eating them raw, just like handeling you will get stung and nobody wants to see that!).

I don't think different populations around the world would create nettle entrees, use it as a flavouring (think gouda), and drink its flowers if it had the same properties as spinach- why go through all that trouble, especially considering the pain it can cause if handled incorrectly?

This is my attempt at the recipe. Mostly we make this by the seat of our pants so feel free to interpret it any way you want and increase it to feed more mouths!

Stinging Nettle Ricotta Ravioli

If using homemade ricotta and pasta sheets, this can be a long preparation and I would caution you to start earlier in the day!

• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta (either homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 lb nettles (1/4 cup cooked) stalks removed, rinsed and picked through.
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• salt & pepper
• a scant pinch of grated nutmeg and cinnamon
• 4 thin homemade pasta sheets approximately 5 X 12 inches or wonton wrappers (come in convenient packs and freeze well) * I don't think store bough fresh lasagne sheets would work well here, they are coated with an excess of flour and tend to be too thick.

A simple Sauce

• unsalted butter
• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves lightly crushed
• salt & pepper to taste
• flat leaf (italian) parsley

*Please use heavy rubber gloves when handling the stinging nettle. Plastic bags are not good enough- no matter how careful you are!

If using homemade, make your ricotta, second make your fresh pasta dough. Allowing plenty of time to drain the cheese and rest the dough. After resting the dough for half an hour roll out your sheets for pasta a little thinner than you would a lasagne sheet. On my machine (kitchen aid) that is a 7. Making sure to lightly flour and keep each sheet well covered until ready to use. 

The longer you leave the ricotta to drain the drier it will be but for this purpose a little drier is better.

Put a large pot of  salted water on to boil. Wearing heavy gloves, separate the nettle leaves from the stalks of the plant, give a couple of rinses (this is usually not factory cleaned) and boil for a few minutes until all the leaves are limp and bright (spring time) green. Drain, remove any obvious pieces of grass, twigs or other plant material, squeeze excess moisture out and set aside. Don't worry the nettle is now safe to touch!

Combine ricotta, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, egg yoke and well drained nettle leaves in a bowl. Combine with a fork shredding the leaves and integrating all of the components.

Take your pasta sheets fold in half lengthwise to give your self a visual marker. Using a teaspoon place dollops of the cheese/nettle mixture in the centre of one half of the opened sheet, roughly an inch and a half apart. If your sheet is too long to handle, cut to a smaller more manageable length.

Fold the sheet back over its self, pressing down and creating seams between each pocket, making a pillow. Using a sharp knife cut the pillows into squares and apply pressure to the seams to ensure a tight seal. If using wonton wrappers put one dollop of mixture in the centre of one round and top with a second round (you may have to lightly dampen the edges), press edges together and trim any excess.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the ravioli. As the water is coming to a boil make the sauce (I didn't give any measurements for this) in a small sauce pan over  medium heat. Heat equal parts butter and oil (perhaps a few tablespoons of each) in a pan, with the crushed garlic cloves, stir so that the butter gets a bit nutty and the garlic infuses. Meanwhile boil the ravioli until they float and look like nice fluffy pillows- 5 mins at the most! Drain, removing as much liquid as you can. Plate immediately, drizzle the simple sauce, salt and pepper to taste, garnish with flat leaf parsley and a grating of parmesan cheese if you wish.

Serves 2 as a single meal or a family of 4 with all the trimmings. Approximately twenty 2 inch square ravioli.

photos by me.

Mark Bittman has a smilar recipe using spinach that was probably my first inspiration.

Day of Green, pt 2....the greener side.

For a day I didn't even think of a week ago, there was a lot of work and preparation that went into it. 

First the tots and I made little felt leprechauns... this is the surviving, one, they ripped the beards, pipes and faces off of their own. And then we baked. The tots made a Green Soda Loaf with their babysitter as I ran off to get supplies for the truly sinful part of our Saint Patrick's Day dinner, Chocolate Cupcakes with Minty Green Icing. My babysitter comes once a week so I can have some baby free time to run errands and do yoga... She brings all sorts of activities for them such as this bread recipe. 

Green Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons oil

1 3/4 cup of milk

1 lemon

1 egg

Green food coloring (optional)

Mix milk and the juice of one lemon and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Mix flour, sugar, soda, and salt with dough attachment in Kitchenaid.  Beat egg into milk and lemon mixture.  While the mixer is going, slowly add in milk mixture, oil, and coloring.  Let it knead in the mixer for a few minutes.  Form into two balls, sprinkle on some sugar, cut an x into the tops.  Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees F, or until a knife comes out clean.

The milk and lemon mixture can be replaced with the more traditional buttermilk if you have it on hand.

For the cupcakes I used Mark Mittman's (yup, there he is again, maybe he is my own leprechaun... he keeps popping up) Chocolate Layer Cake with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting: You will notice I do not spare the butter in my cooking and these recipes are no exception.

Chocolate Cupcakes*

• 8 tbsp softened butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups all purpose flour (or cake flour, optional)
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, seperated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk

 Preheat oven to 350 F, grease muffin tins and line with paper cups* This is a great job for little hands while you are attending the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler ove the stove on a low heat. Stirring until nearly melted, removed bowl from heat (the chocolate will finish melting on its own). Give a brief stir making the chocolate smooth and velvety.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add in one egg yoke at a time and continue beating. Add in vanilla and finally the chocolate. Combine in a separate bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture alternating with the milk. 

Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks and then gently fold into the cake batter. Fill the lined tins and bake for 16-18 minutes or more depending on the size of the tins.

*This recipe made 36 mini cupcakes but will make two 9" layers (bake for 25-30 minutes).

For icing, also adapted from a  recipe in  Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Minty Green Icing

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

• 8 tbsp softened butter (1 stick)
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 4 tbsp milk (6 tbsp)
• 1 1/2 tsp mint extract (2 tsp vanilla extract)
• green food colouring (optional)

Add the extract to the milk.

Beat butter in a mixer then add sugar alternating with the milk.  Slowly one drop at a time add in food colouring until the desired colour of green.

Using a bag with a large tip, ice the cupcakes and hand out to all of your friends because you will have way to many to eat!

photos by me, there would be some of them icing but I had to help hold the bags!

thank you to our babysitter Michelle for the Soda bread recipe and my littler leprechauns for all of their hard work and taste testing.

Fermented Black Bean Drumsticks *warning this post is NOT vegetarian friendly*

My children are carnivores at heart. I know this, I accept this, so I do the best I can with this. Such as buying local, hormone & antibiotic free, free run birds. We usually buy whole birds that way we can make stocks and have different cuts, but my children have been showing a preference for the drumsticks. They're easy to hold, they can eat them directly of the leg and are convenient little servings of protein. So I bought a family pack of 12 drumsticks, figuring that I was going to divide them up.... but I didn't and had to cook them all in one go. As it turns out that was fine. Organic birds are usually a bit smaller than their industrially force fed counterparts. So really 2 or 3 legs is a reasonable serving size for two hungry toddlers. The remaining meat can be cleaned of the bone and used for leftovers.

Fermented Black Bean Drumsticks 

(or other chicken parts) 

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

• 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
• 12 drumsticks or about 3 lbs bone in chicken parts, rinsed and pat dry with paper towels
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fermented black beans, rehydrated in  just enough water to cover and drained.
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup water
• salt & pepper
• juice of one lemon

While preparing all the ingredients, soak the black beans in water. Heat large lidded skillet on medium heat for a few minutes, add oil  and coat. Add chicken brown quickly on each side. As this is being done drain black beans. *It took me about 3/4 minutes each side. Plenty of time to combine the drained black beans, soy sauce, honey  and water in a bowl.

Turn skillet off and remove from the element. Remove the chicken parts and pour off all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan. Put the skillet back on the element and reheat to medium and add the garlic. Cook garlic until soft, about a minute. 

Add chicken back in, pour combined soy sauce, water mixture over the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste,  turn to coat drumsticks and cover with lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning a couple times during the cooking process.

Make rice according to package instructions or your favourite method, this is mine (but I left out the onion and cumin seeds).

Serve over rice, drizzled with the black bean sauce and finish with lemon juice.

photos of carnage by me.

Trussing the bird

My husband laughs at me every time I truss a bird. He says it is because trussing is useless and doesn't do anything (he read that somewhere so now he is the authority) but I think it's because I don't eat meat. So really he is laughing at me manhandeling the fleshy pink rump of a bird and bindings it wings to its chest.

For the trussing I thought I would use Thomas Keller's instruction on 'How to' from his book Ad Hoc At Home. I slipped, twisted and tied, but my bird just did not look like his. So I flipped, bound and tightened again. Still did not look like his. I even got the aid of my three year old, who is an expert in 'reading' pictures.

But alas, I decided to try a new tactic, follow more instructions. This time from my very faithful and dependable mentor- Mark Bittman (he doesn't know this). Somehow his instructions make sense to me and... ta da, my bird looked like this.

Meanwhile on the couch I had another bird baking.


images by me.

Bake Bittman's Biscotti

I have a small addiction, I can not start my day without a coffee and a biscotti. Often I can't even drink my coffee without having a biscotti to dip. I have been known to drive across town just to get my biscotti fix. I will even brave Saturday morning Granville Island traffic just to get some. 


I get my fix from a place called Terra Breads in the GI public market. For the past almost 10 yrs I have been making a weekly treck to get the double baked cookies for my morning dunks. However the Olympics has thrown a wrench in this and I have been left high and dry as I do not want to contend with the crowds and restrictions imposed on the local market.


Also it has come to my attention, I have never really looked at the numbers before, I spend over $40 a month ($480 a year!!!!) on biscotti. Not necessarily the most costly habit, there are much worse, but it is still an expense that I can cut back on. We make our latte's at home why not make my biscotti at home as well?

The tots and I embarked on a baking adventure. Turns out they like a steamed milk and biscotti in the morning too. In the past I have tried several recipes with not much luck. I thought I would give Mark Bittman's from  How To Cook Everything a try using chocolate chunks and anise seed additions.

Biscotti: 

Great for dunking in coffee or dessert wine.

• 4 tbsp (1/2 stick or 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the sheet. 
• 3/4 cup eggs
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond
• 2 1/4 cups flour plus more for dusting the baking sheets.
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• 3/4 chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 375f. Ready two baking sheets by greasing and lightly flouring, tap out excess flour. 

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; beat in one egg at a time. Mix all of the dry ingredients including the the anise seeds in a separate bowl. Leave chocolate chunks until the very end of the recipe. Combine the dry ingredients with the butter mixture a little bit at a time until a batter is formed. When fully combined add the chocolate chunks and mix through on a low speed for a couple of turns. You do not have to beat the batter, you just want the chunks evenly dispersed.

Turn dough out and form two logs about 2 inches wide, place one on each sheet and flatten the top slightly. 

Bake for about 30 minutes on a middle shelf and no lower until the top of the logs crack and there is a golden brown colour on the sides and at the base. Remove from oven and lower the temperature to 250f.  When logs are cool enough to handle gently cut (a serrated knife is best) on a diagonal into 1/2 inch slices.

Place the slices back on the sheets and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until dried out. Turn half way through. When done transfer to a cooling rack as soon as you can. But whatever you do, do not leave them unattended with a amped up not napping  three year old in the vicinity!

I'm pretty happy with it, it will do until I can tweak it and make it my own. 


photos by me.

Tuna Casserole

I bought the Jan/Feb issue of Cooking Light magazine, I do that every now and then. There is usually something that grabs my eye in the lineup at the grocery store. First I am a sucker for food photography. I probably consume it like a 19 yr old male and a porn. Second and what promoted the purchase was an article featuring not one but two of my favorite cook book authors, Jamie Oliver and Mark Bittman. 

Once home I do a couple more flip throughs (about three) that is when I start dog ear-ring recipes and articles to go back to make and read. My flip throughs probably take a day or two to do and in that time my husband will get his hands on in it and will do the same. We generally read in tandem and sometimes over each others shoulders, so it is not a coincidence that we will be intrigued by the same recipe. This time it was a Tuna Casserole. People that know us will probably say "huh?". That's not really our style and maybe that's what initially attracted us to it.

Now, I like CL, it has very reader friendly recipes, good tips and suggestions and I like the Inspired Vegetarian section, but what bugs me (entering the realm of food politics here) is the use of light, low fat, diet alternatives. Really?! It is my personal belief (backed by some science) that whole foods as close to as how they were intended to be used are better for you. ie. Butter is butter is butter and Cheese should be cheese. And fat carries flavour, why get rid of the good ones and replace them with synthetic ones and or un-namable fillers such as the mysterious "milk product"? What we should be worried about are the designer foods, the ones that are created in laborites, factories, and facilities. With simulated flavouring, may contain, and exaggerated health claims- if it to good to be true, it usually is. CL also has a section where they re-make a popular recipe into something that is lighter, so with that in mind I re-made one of their recipes into something (in my opinion) healthier!** CL version in red.

Tuna Casserole

• 8 oz wide egg noodles (or any type of pasta)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced * Not in the original recipe. I can't make anything with out garlic, so I added this ingredient.
• 2 medium carrots diced
• 2 celery stalks diced * Not in the original recipe. 
• 2 tbsp all purposed unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk 2 3/4 cups fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup cream cheese 1/2 cup, 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup grated Padrano approximately 2 oz  *I used a micro plain grater so I get more volume and less weight, divided.
• 1 cup thawed peas * I didn't have any- but they would have been good too, anything to get more veg into the the tots.
• 1 2 (5 ounce) can whole albacore tuna, drained and flaked. * From a sustainable fishery, such as the pacific north west.
• greased casserole dish.

Prepare onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Preheat broiler. Cook noodles as per package, rinse and drain set aside.

In a large sauce pan, add oil and cook veggies until they are soft and onion is translucent on a medium heat. Add salt and pepper, stir and then the 2 tbsp flour. Stir well and until it is slightly brown but not sticking to the bottom of the pot. 

Add in milk a little bit at a time so the flour does not clump, stir well, add more milk and then more. Increase heat slightly. Sauce should be thick and creamy. When all the milk is added, add in the cream cheese and Dijon mustard, stirring for 2 more minutes. 

Remove from heat, stir in half of the grated cheese, the tuna, (and the peas if you are using them). Transfer to the greased casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and bake under the broiler until lightly golden brown.

** Because I do not have dietary facilities here I can not tell you how much fat, calories etc are in my version, but what I can tell you is this. I used less milk, and tuna and by doing so probably reduced the amount of calories and fat naturally without using  low/non fat products. Really what is in 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, how do they get that consistency? Also by using whole food ingredients, my serving size was one scant cup, less then their recommended serving size of 1 1/3 cup. I thought we would go back for seconds but it turned out we didn't need to, we were full.


Sorry about the food politics and feel free to disagree, everyone has their own diet that works for them. I provided the Cooking Light amounts in red if you wish to try their method (their photo also looked yummy and was the catalyst of Tuna Casserole makeover. 


I still have not read the Jamie Oliver/Mark Bittman article.


photo by me.

The Almost Gumbo.

Several people have been blogging about gumbo of late- something to do with a football game? Mardi Gras, maybe? So stuck for dinner last night I relied on my blogging buddies and one famous New York Times Columnist- Mark Bittman to inspire me. 


I was mostly disappointed that I didn't have all of the ingredients to make a traditional gumbo, but not really, I did have enough goodies in my pantry to make a gumbo inspired stew. I started off with the roux base that I love. It makes me feel like I have mastered some great secret of cooking- the mother of all mother sauces and proceded from there in gumbo like fashion.

Based on a recipe from Mark Bittman's 

Column The Minimalist 

The Almost Gumbo

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp white unbleached flour
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 tsp minced garlic or to taste
• 2 stalks celery cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
• 1/8 tsp cayenne or more to taste* I this is the amount I can get away with for tots. 
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• approximately 4 cups of stock, veggie, chicken or water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lb of peeled shrimp * I used what I had in the freezer, once shelled it was about 1/2 lb and that was plenty.
• flat leaf italian parsley for garnish
• rice

Combine butter and olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan (big enough to cook everything!), cook on no more than a medium heat. Once it starts to froth. Continually stir until mixture starts to turn brown (Mark Bittman has a nice video that demos this in his column). When it is a nice golden colour add in onion and garlic, increase heat to slightly and keep stirring. Stir until onion is translucent and garlic soft. Add in other vegetables and combine everything. May have to add in a couple tbsp of liquid at this point. Saute for a a few minutes longer.

Pour in tomatoes and their liquid, add in salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and cayenne. Start adding in your choice of stock, 2 cups and then more depending on how thick you want it. Add in bay leaf bring to a boil and  turn down to a simmer for about 10 mins. 

*At this point make rice. We added in frozen corn when almost done and mixed through, for an extra boost of veg for the tots.

After the 10 mins add in the prawns, stir through. Turn off the heat and put a lid on. The prawns will cook as the rice is finishing.

Pour stew over a bed of rice and garnish with parsley.

Thank you Chow and Chatter for the inspiration.

photos by me.

My name rhymes with Vegan.

I was talking to my husband's cousin today; I guess by extension my cousin, and was telling her I eat a mostly vegetarian diet. She is a vegan, so she asked me if I had ever thought I should go vegan? I gave her two answers.

 "The short answer to have I ever thought about it?: A lot of the meals I make for me lean towards vegan, but because of my name I could never have become one. The long: For me personally I try to eat a balanced healthy diet. Sometimes that includes dairy and eggs and bottom feeders (seafood). It was the diet that I developed for myself when I was 16 and it just kinda works for me. I know most of the arguments pro and cons and I have never been truly convinced that veganism is for me. I am a strong believer in the environment (as Jeff and I learn more we have even gotten a bit hippyish), animal rights, nutrition and local food. Even though Jeff and the babies eat meat, I make sure it is hormone and antibiotic free, as well as knowing the source and farm. I drive restaurants crazy because in this day and age I expect them to know where IT comes from. If they don't I don't order it. So that is part of the long answer. I know by definition this does not make me a vegetarian, that is usually why I say a mostly veg diet"

Here is a vegan recipe for my cousin.

Mark Bittman's Simplest Dal, with Celery Root

 from "How to Everything Vegetarian" 

• 1 cup dried red lentils, washed and picked through
• 2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 cardamon pods (yes they made a huge difference)
• 2 cloves (also made a difference)
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds (I used dark)
• 1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• roughly 1 1/2 cups peeled and 1/2" cubed celery root
• salt
• 2 tbsp peanut oil (optional)
• chopped fresh cilantro for garnish.
• lime wedge

Put all the ingredients up until salt (salt goes in when done),  in a sauce pan large enough to hold everything plus water to cover by an inch and a half. Simmer until Dal is soft about 30 minutes. Add salt and oil when done and check seasoning.

I serve it over cumin flavoured basmati rice, a hefty squeezed of lime juice and garnished with chopped cilantro leaves.

photos by me with help from my assistants, Billie & Elijah.

An Adventure in Rome...

OK, maybe not. Who can afford airfare these days? And what to do with the kids, give them to a relative or sherpa them around?  Hmm... no, we'll stick to Italian style family meals in our very own home. Maybe for ambience we'll string up some vines and paint a mural on our ceiling.

Romanesco Cauliflower  & Fresh Pasta 

• One head of Romanesco Cauliflower also called Romanesco Broccoli
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil plus some for drizzling*
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese plus more for garnish**
• chili flakes (optional)
• flat leaf parsley for garnish
• lemon wedges

For fresh pasta- Recipe from Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'

Use only half of the yield for this dish.

• 2 cups organic un-bleached flour (I used one cup white & 1 cup whole wheat from a local grain CSA)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 lg eggs, 3 egg yolk
• water if needed

I'm cooking for kids so speed is essential. I have tried to make pasta dough on the counter with a well in the centre of my flour for the eggs and never had much success with it.  I am sure it is touch and practice and one day when I have time I may try it again but for now I will stick to the food processor.

Put flour and salt in a food processor, pulse a couple times to combine. Add eggs and yokes, pulse for an additional 30 secs or until a ball forms. If it is dry add some water slowly, if wet add a bit more flour, a tiny bit at a time.

Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes in the fridge or longer. Can stay there for up to 24 hrs. Then process dough with a pasta machine. Unlike an Italian grandmother I have never been able to roll it out and form little shapes. I use a Kitchen Aid to form sheets then roll it up to cut long strands.

For Sauce:

Cut cauliflower into florets, parboil for 2 mins in a large pot of water (big enough to cook pasta), drain and shock them in cold water. Reserve. Meanwhile keep water at a boil and cook pasta.

In a large fry pan heat olive oil on medium heat. Cook garlic, anchovy paste and chili flakes if using, until you can smell the paste and the garlic is soft, roughly a minute.  Add the cauliflower florets cook for a few minutes more. When pasta is done add the noodles to pan, the cheese and drizzle with enough olive oil so that the noodles do not stick to the pan. Toss mixture and check seasoning.

At the table either just before serving or on individual plates, grate more cheese over top noodles, drizzle with more olive oil and garnish with parsley, fresh pepper and lemon wedge.

*I have a cooking olive oil and a higher quality one for drizzling at the table.
**We use  a microplane grater for our cheese so it is very light.

photos by Jeff.

What we had for Lunch

Soba Noodles, Veg and Sauce. I can pretty much make it in one pot (Kudos to Mark Bittman for the idea) and the babies love it. I can not make enough of it. 


When water comes to a boil in a large pot add frozen veg (such as peas), return to boil, add noodles, set timer for 6 mins. Make a  salty, sweet, sour dressing in a squirt bottle (soy sauce, mirin, lime juice).  With two minutes left add fresh veg (in this case carrot) finish cooking. Strain, (haven't found much of a need to rinse as there is less starch), plate. Add greens (pea shoots- Billie loves sprouts), drizzled with a bit of peanut oil and let babies squirt the dressing. 


The nice thing about this formula is the fact that I can mix it up and it is still a hit. If I wanted softer carrots I would have added them in earlier, had I thawed my peas I would have added them in later etc and so on. Hot, cold it doesn't matter babies love it. Elijah abandons all decorum and slurps his noodles.