July 22nd: a trio of vinaigrettes

Vacation Day 1. I made enough vinaigrette to last us a week or two. Three kinds:


Maple Balsamic (adapted from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry)


1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsps minced shallots
2 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper


Combine all ingredients in a tightly sealed container and shake to combine.


Makes about 1 1/3 cups.


Raspberry (from July 2010's Chatelaine)

1/4 cup raspberry jam

2 tbsps water

2 tbsps red wine vinegar

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a tightly sealed container and shake to combine.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Lemon (from my head)

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp liquid honey

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a tightly sealed container and shake to combine.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

As would be expected, Greg likes the balsamic best, Olivia likes the raspberry best and I like the lemon best, so I have now set myself up to make three vinaigrettes on a regular basis. Awesome...

July 20th: 200!

This is post #200.


I made a homemade barbecue sauce from July 2011's Chatelaine. Apparently, they say, they tried to perfect a barbecue sauce recipe last year and didn't quite succeed. This year they tried again and they were pleased with the results. I'm not sure yet. I had it with pork one night and chicken another, and it is good, but I'm not sure if I'll make it again; I don't think that it was any better than the much simpler Classic BBQ-glazed chicken I made on July 7th.

July 19th: Grilled vegetable salad and lemon chicken

This recipe has been one of my favourite salad meals for six years, and for some inexplicable reason, Greg is never home when I cook it. It is never planned; it just happens that every year, I make it once, and on the day that I make it, he'll be out - working, socializing, sporting, whatever. It's possible he had it once, maybe last year, but once is definitely it. This year was par for the course: I made this delicious salad, and Olivia and I enjoyed it together, then I had leftovers for lunch the next day. From September 2005's Chatelaine: Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lemon Chicken. Usually I make it with chicken breasts; this year I did thighs.

You can serve the chicken on the side...

...or chop it up and toss it into the salad.
Mmm, warm chicken, tomatoes and onion, plus goat's cheese.
Heaven in a salad.

July 18th: potato salad

Today I went out for supper, so nothing to report on cooking there, but I did lunch with two friends, and we each brought a dish to share. This was the best home-cooked lunch I've had at work, possibly ever. My contribution was my mom's recipe for potato salad, which, in my not-so-humble opinion is the best potato salad that exists. Here's the scoop:

Potato Salad

1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 heaping tbsps flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup vinegar

Whisk all ingredients thoroughly and cook in the microwave or double boiler,* stirring frequently, until thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Thin with Hellman's mayonnaise.

*Until now, I've always made this in the microwave. Recently, our 10+ year old microwave went kaput and we haven't bothered to replace it. I didn't bother with the double boiler, just cooked this on the stove top. Frequent stirring is key.

I have no recommendations re: how many potatoes to cook. I cook as many as I want, then add some of the above dressing and some mayo until the consistency and taste are where I want them to be. A bit of salt and pepper is good. Green onions are a lovely addition to the salad. I like to go old school, boil up some eggs to slice up for the top and load on the paprika. 


HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: do not, I mean DO NOT mash the potatoes. Once they are cooked and cooled, chunk them up. All the stirring with the sauce will break them down a bit more, but we are not making baby food here! Then, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. This is the best potato salad in the world.

July 11th-14th: repeats

I've been really busy with work. And teaching classes. Those two things take so much energy. I feel what little I have left I should give to my family. So I'm behind. Let's get caught up. To start: back it up a week...

I've spent the past week:

(a) in Montreal:

and (b) with a houseguest (of whom I didn't take any pictures).


For the Montreal trip, I made some juice I first tasted at my friend Janice's house, and which I thought would be good hangover juice. It's a bit of lemonade with orange juice added for flavour, and it's great whether you've been running or drinking (or in the case of Greg and me trying to beat the crowds to the Metro after the concert, both!):


Combine the juices of 4 oranges and 2 lemons. Add 1/4 cup sugar or to taste. Top up with water to 1/5 L. Delish!

Once back to Ottawa, and with Shannon in town, we cooked up a bunch of favourites, and it was a yummy week indeed. Monday, we had, from July 2010's Chatelaine: Chicken with Island Rub. Last year, I thought it was good. This year, I thought it was not good enough to keep. Tuesday, I made my favourite ragout of spring vegetables, which Shannon was not quite as keen on. Wednesday, we repeated last week's salmon with dill sauce, which was a hit. Thursday, we finished off with a repeat of Zach's visit's mixed mushroom gratin. This time I doubled the recipe and we ate every last drop.


The only new recipe we tried out came from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry: grilled pork tenderloin with a tangy apple jelly and Dijon mustard sauce.


1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup finely minced shallots
2 tbsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup apple jelly
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sour cream


1 pork tenderloin
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Prepare all ingredients before starting.


Preheat grill. Season pork with salt and pepper. Grill pork for about 16 minutes, turning occasionally.


To make sauce, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, gingerroot and garlic. Cook and stir until shallots begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.


Add apple jelly, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, until jelly completely melts and sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat if it's bubbling too much. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.


Slice pork  and either drizzle sauce over pork, or serve on the side for dipping.


Makes 2-3 servings.

Clockwise from right: apple-mustard sauce, grilled pork tenderloin,
mixed mushroom gratin, baby swiss chard.

I have spent quite a bit of time labelling all my old posts, so now they are searchable for those times my search box fails. I have also proven my father right, as he always says I eat nothing but chicken. Alas.

July 7th: Classic BBQ-Glazed Chicken

This is a really simple cheater barbecue sauce I pulled out of July 2010's Chatelaine: Classic BBQ-Glazed Chicken. Even Olivia, who is often indifferent about meat, and told me, "I don't like chicken!" just prior to eating her obligatory one piece, readily helped me polish off my whole chicken breast. It is quite likely because the main ingredient is ketchup. But it does taste really good...


Classic BBQ-Glazed Chicken


Grill any cut of chicken as desired. During last few minutes of cooking, spread liberally with a combination of the following: 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp minced garlic and a pinch of cayenne.


I used this amount on two bone-in chicken breasts, rather than the eight suggested. If you're interested, read the article about how to perfect grilling chicken.

July 5th: Dill Salmon

Using up more dill from the fridge, with another recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry. I like to use way more sauce than they call for.

Dill Salmon

4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, plus 1/4 tsp each (for sauce)

Sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp minced fresh dill

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle salmon fillets lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place salmon on a baking sheet and broil 4-6 inches from heat source for about 4 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily but is still just slightly pink in the centre.

While fish is cooking, prepare sauce.  In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, maple syrup, mustard, lemon juice, dill, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Remove salmon from oven and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

July 4th: Dill Chicken

I bought dill to make Lemon-Roasted Potatoes on the weekend. Dill is an herb I don't buy too often, and when I do, I try to use it up. I have a few different recipes for so doing, most of which come from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry.


Dill Chicken


Marinade
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp minced fresh dill
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange chicken breasts in a glass or ceramic baking dish that's just large enough to hold the chicken breasts in a single layer. Pour marinade over chicken. Turn pieces to coat both sides with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to one day.


Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover dish and transfer to middle oven rack. Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in centre.


Serve chicken with sauce on the side or overtop.


Makes 4 servings.

July 2nd: lemon-dijon chicken and lemon-garlic, roasted potatoes

When I was in Edmonton last month, one of my colleagues was talking about Greek lemon potatoes she'd had the year before in Gimli and how they were addictively good. The thought  stuck in my head, as I love potatoes and love lemons, but the Greek dishes I've had with those ingredients haven't done much for me. I did some searching online and came up with this recipe, from Epicurious: Lemon-roasted potatoes. I don't know if this qualifies as anything Greek-like, but the result was delicious and I will be making it again.

This recipe does not shirk on the olive oil. I like that.
The online reviewers did not.

To accompany, I cooked up some chicken with a recipe recently featured in the Ottawa Citizen: Grilled Lemon-Mustard Chicken. It takes a bit of time to marinate, but the wait is worth it; the chicken is infused with a lovely lemon-mustard flavour.

To accompany: spring turnips and their greens.

July 1st: Morning Glory Muffins

With Canada Day falling on a Friday, I felt a little ripped off, as I always have Fridays off and now I (a) don't have an extra day off for the stat holiday and (b) couldn't get all my Friday stuff done that I usually get done, since nothing is open. However, on the upside, my BODYFLOW class was cancelled, so I did get a relaxing Friday at home with Olivia, which is a rarity. Greg went golfing. O and I made muffins: these were brought to my attention by H., who is making a trip to Forks, not for the first time. They would make good road food: on the relatively healthy side, fairly filling and not messy.


These come from allrecipes.com: Morning Glory muffins, loaded with carrots, pineapple, walnuts, raisins, coconut and apple. I made some alterations to healthy them up: 1 cup whole wheat flour swapped in for white, sugar reduced from 1 1/4 cups to 3/4 cup, I used unsweetened applesauce and I left the peel on the grated apple. I meant to use unsweetened coconut but only had sweetened. I wish that I had thought to sprinkle flaxseeds on top before baking. Next time.


I have a touch of  a cold and thought they tasted on the plain side, but others assured me that was not the case. I'll have to try them again to make sure. The recipe makes 2 dozen.

We enjoyed these again on July 2nd: breakfast!