No Work Needed

Despite my relatively healthy lifestyle I have never been a big fan of plain cooked vegetables. Some people can wax poetic about the luscious taste of a great green bean or pure joy in a great cooked beet but I am not one of those people. There is a story about cooked brussel sprouts that I am saving for my post about the best veggie pizza ever, but needless to say, cats don't eat anything the way dogs do.

I like raw veggies with dip, but to be honest, at party if it is that or Swedish meatballs, the meatballs win every time.

Yesterday in my daily browsing of food blogs I came across the Amateur Gourmet's recipe for the best broccoli ever. Since he maintained that it stayed crunchy despite roasting and that it was a real opinion changer for people who do not like cooked vegetables I decided to give it a go.

I made it last night to take for lunch today, and OH MY GOD. This is the BEST BROCCOLI EVER.

Admittedly it is better to consume right after you make it but it stayed fairly crunchy even when re-heated in the microwave the next day.

So go read it HERE.

By the by, I used regular old not fresh parmesan and lemon juice FROM THE BOTTLE that I had in the house, though I am sure fresh would be better the kind you keep in a shaker tin or plastic bottle works just as well.

You Don't Win Friends with Salad

I don't remember exactly when my brother became a vegetarian.  I guess it isn't really something you mark on a calendar.  I think though it happened sometime either during my first year of university or last year of high school, in other words, a long time ago.

Slowly my mom also took too to cooking mostly vegetarian meals for herself and while she hasn't gone whole hog (excuse the pun) the vegetarian offerings at family meals usually out weigh anything meat related (not that I am complaining).

I know that I myself probably couldn't commit to a fully veg lifestyle, but to be honest the meat options in my little household are limited mostly to chicken and fish, with occasional pork thrown in.  Red meat is rarely here, mostly because I am not very adept at cooking it.

Over the last few weeks I have been debating about what I want to post, what is really worthy.  I have been cooking a lot and there is not shortage of material, just not a lot of photos I guess. But as we all know I am not really a photographer anyway.  Vanessa Heins, however is and she is the one who took the photo above, at a shoot we did for my Mom as a birthday present.

When Dylan came over to drop off the proofs from the shoot I wanted to make an evening of it with some dinner.  I looked on Rachael Ray for vegetarian recipes and found the chili below.  I didn't have high hopes for it but it really came through.  

Chili is a tricky thing, everyone has their own special recipe and preferences, I personally like Jamie Oliver's Chili Con Carne from the Happy Days with the Naked Chef book.   This however is my new favourite recipe for veg chili and I hope it will be yours too. Even if you are meat fan this will convert you (Homer didn't even realize it was meat free until I told him).

Three-Bean Chili

Adapted from Rachael Ray's Website

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 cup vegetable stock

1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)

1 can black beans (14 ounces)

1 can dark red kidney beans (14 ounces)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cayenne hot pepper sauce (several drops)

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup spicy vegetarian refried beans

Toppings

Shredded Cheese

Scallions

Tortilla Chips for Dipping

Start by taking the onion, peppers, and garlic and blending them in a food processor into very very very small pieces (it will be a liquidy don't be scared!).   This is the key to faking out carnivores, no big chunks!

Over moderate heat, add the two tablespoons EVOO, two turns around the pan, to a DEEP pot. Add your blended vegetable mixture and heat for 3-5 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with broth add tomatoes, black beans and red kidney beans and stir to combine.

Season with cumin, chili powder, hot sauce and salt.  Thicken chili by stirring in refried beans.  Simmer over low heat about 5-10 minutes longer then serve up bowls of chili and top with shredded cheese and scallions.  Place bowls on charger plates piled with tortilla chips.

She's Back, and She Needs Work

I was going to start this post with a long and involved story of what has been happening for the last few months. How busy it has been, how much has changed, how much has stayed the same. 

But all you really need to know is that I have been cooking up a storm.  

What got me back here was Kinnon asking for a recipe for the lasagna I made on the weekend when she came over to bring us some art.  The recipe is from Rachael Ray's magazine (the December/January 2008 issue).

It is a little bit labour intensive, but the results are well worth it.  Plus it lasted us for 3 meals and it is vegetarian so it is a winner all around.  Great for dinner parties, just get it in the oven before guests get there and you have a solid 45 min to entertain and have the first course before you need to go back in the kitchen.

Portobello Lasagna with Basil Cream

6 Servings

Prep Time: 30 min

Bake Time:  45 min (plus cooling)

5 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups skim milk, heated

4 cloves of garlic - 1 smashed, 3 finely chopped

Salt

1/2 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles (really 9 noodles total)

2 large onions, chopped

Three 6-ounce packages of portobello mushroom slices (or 2 pounds whole stemmed and sliced)

1 bunch basil, stems discarded (or 2 tables spoons of the basil puree they sell in the herb section)

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the hot milk, then the smashed garlic clove and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring the garlic sauce to a boil and cook, whisking, until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Set aside. It doesn't get real thick but that is ok.

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles for 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl of cold water.

3.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375.  In a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over low heat.  Add the onions and chopped garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the mushrooms and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.  It looks like a lot but it reduces quite a bit.

4.  Using a food processor puree the basil leaves and cream (if you use the puree just combine the two).  Set aside 1/2 cup of basil cream.  Stir the remaining basil cream and 1/2 cup parmesan into the mushroom mixture; season with salt and pepper.

5. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread 1 cup reserved garlic sauce on the bottom.  Drain the lasagna noodles and lay 3 in the baking dish.  Top with half of the mushroom mixture, a layer of noodles, then the remaining mushroom mixture and noodles.  Combine the remaining garlic sauce and basil cream; spoon on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup parmesan.

6. Bake until golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let stand for 15 minutes.

An Unusual Holiday

This past weekend was the Civic Holiday long weekend.  For the first time in a long time we spent the long weekend hanging out in Toronto.  We were not disappointed, even with the constant downpours.

The weekend basically became our own private rib-fest.  It started at our friends' Dan and Mel, who are expecting this fall.  Mel is great cook, and while she prepared many of the dishes indoors, it stopped raining just long enough for Dan to do some ribs on the BBQ.  That plus the bucket of beverages you see above, a bocce ball set and a Wii made for a very fun evening.  So fun in fact that the ribs were gone by the time I went to get a picture.  Below is the carnage.

Our next party happened the following day at our friend Rae's house.  We had an indoor picnic on her living room floor.  This meal consisted on bbq'd shrimp, chicken and ribs (that is 3 servings of meat!), along with corn and salads (provided by guests).  It is a good thing we had all this food because things got a little "silly" later on.  It culminated in bowling through her an apartment with a real size bowling ball.

Perhaps things got a little silly due to the starter cocktail we had.  With so many good food recipes it was tough to decide which to post so I decided to go with the alcohol.  It is an unusual recipe, and given its unique flavour really two per evening is the max.

Rosemary and Vanilla Vodka and Soda

With Thanks to Jenna and windsoreats.com

1 large bunch of fresh rosemary

1 vanilla bean

3/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Vanilla Vodka

Soda

In a saucepan, throw in the rosemary, vanilla bean, sugar and water.  Bring it to a simmer for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the saucepan from the stove top and let it cool for at least an hour.  Strain the syrup into a bottle of jar and keep chilled until ready to use.

When making the actual cocktail, combine 2 parts of the rosemary/vanilla syrup with 1 part vodka over ice and fill the glass with club soda.  Of course those ratios can be adjusted according to taste.  Place a rosemary sprig into the glass as a garnish and serve.

Makes approximately 6 drinks.

 

Just a Little Something

I am still trying to master vegetables on the grill so as a result many of our BBQ meals consist of coleslaw or salad as their vegetable accompaniment.  So when I remembered a portabello mushroom pizza recipe from the GI cookbook I thought I would give a try. Portobellos can't fall through the grill slots as easy as say, zucchini coins.

The following recipe could o

bviously be modified to suit what ever taste.  However, it really does require a grill.  I tried to make it in a skillet pre-outdoor space days and it just went kind of soggy.  It is a good way to load on the veggie content and even with my modifications it is still pretty healthy.

Portobello Mushroom Pizza

adapted from the GI Diet Cookbook

2 Portobello Mushroom Caps

2 Slices of Tomato

2 slices of Prosciutto

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (sliced or shredded)

2 teaspoons of pesto

Olive oil

1.  Pre-heat grill to medium high.

2.  Brush both sides of mushroom caps with the olive oil.

3.  Place the mushrooms on the grill stem side down and grill for 4 minutes.

4.  Flip the mushrooms over and grill for another 4 minutes until tender.

5.  Top with pesto, prosciutto, tomato and cheese.  Close top and grill from 5 minutes until cheese is melted. 

'Tis The Season

So things happen and life gets away from you and suddenly it is a month later and you haven't updated your blog.

After the most interesting move ever, there was a bit of time that I wasn't really cooking at all. We were eating all processed foods or eating out (I ate so much pizza last month it was almost enough to make me never want it again, almost).

But then things settled down and a rhythm got happening and before you know I was cooking (and BBQ'ing!) up a storm. However, I still don't really have a camera to call my own and the one I have borrowed I can't seem to get the hang of.

There are tons and tons of recipes to tell you about and perhaps when I am not at work I will transcribe them, complete with results. However it is the picture at right (thanks Google Images!) that I want to speak of today, because strawberry season is almost over and today was the first day I had real taste of what strawberries are supposed to be.

Red, soft and so sweet. Not as I have come to eat from supermarkets, tough, slightly white and bordering on sour. You see I went to the weekly Farmer's Market at Nathan Phillips Square and I now I plan to make it a weekly trip, well at least until the end of July when I leave this job.

We have a market in my hometown of St. Catharines that happens twice weekly and I love going to look at the flowers and all the many culinary offerings. This gave a bit of a taste of home and the farm country that borders it.

The Nathan Phillips Square Market was full of great things, including some meats and pastries. With limited funds on hand I opted for a pint of fresh strawberries ($4.50), that were literally the best strawberries of the season. A bit more than I might pay at Loblaws, but better by miles.

I hope you are enjoying all that summer has to offer.

I'll see you sooner than you think.

A Good Breakfast Sanwich Is Hard To Find

So, my camera is pooched (or rather the battery is) and the post I was going to write about and the photos are trapped inside. Hopefully the new battery I bought will solve the problem, but until it charges I have a loaner camera from my friend Avery.



I never realized how much I use a camera. And as you can see I clearly need to play around with Avery's to learn how to use it. See grey photo at left.



I had "late" night last night spent having some sangria, talking with Kinnon in Paris and dancing around like crazy in Avery's living room.



As such I needed the kind of sustenance not usually provided in my everyday breakfast (1 cup berries, 1/2 cup All Bran, 1/2 cup yogurt).



I had been wanting to try the Starbucks breakfast sandwich for a while so this morning I went to get one. I opted for the Reduced Fat Bacon Style Turkey (I am not sure why they just don't say Turkey Bacon) and it was tasty! Very hearty and had a whole wheat english muffin. It just felt more substantial than old Rotten Ronny's (aka McJaundis). However, unlike the clown place my breakfast sandwich and "grande" tea cost just over $6 (!).



So more expensive, but you don't feel as guilty as it is healthier for you.


Stay tuned because I am entertaining the idea of a cleanse next week (my tummy hasn't been right lately and perhaps I need to clean house as it were).