July 17th: Peppered pork schnitzel with watercress salad

Oh, hello there, Blogosphere, miss me much? Let's not get all fussy about April, May or June, alright? What's done is done. Ah, July...

Just returned from vacation, and I'm happy to be flexing my cooking muscles in my own kitchen again. Greg declared tonight's meal the best one he's had in two weeks. I'm happy my cooking is better than Pizza Pizza and My Favourite Chinese Food.

In June, I flew twice to Nova Scotia, without my children in tow. Since I had time, I treated myself to two food magazines, one each from the YOW and YHZ airports. Tonight's meal comes from olive magazine, a British food magazine I was previously unfamiliar with. Now I have a pile of recipes I want to make, all involving weighed ingredients and Celsius oven temperatures. I converted for your ease. :)

Peppered pork schnitzel with watercress salad

dried breadcrumbs, 75 g (about 1 cup)
ground black pepper, 1 tsp
salt, to taste
egg, 1 large, beaten
flour for dusting
fast fry pork chops, 4 small or 2 large, about 300 g in total
oil (grapeseed or other high heat handling oil, plus olive for salad)
watercress, 2 handfuls
red onion, 1/2 small, finely sliced
cherry tomatoes, 10, halved
radishes, 2, sliced thin
lemon, 1, half juiced, half in wedges
mayonnaise, to serve (optional)

Mix the breadcrumbs, pepper and a good pinch of salt together and spread over a plate. Put the egg on another plate. Dust the pork in a little flour then dip in egg and coat in the seasoned breadcrumbs.

Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the schnitzel and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden.

While the pork is cooking, put the watercress, onion, tomatoes and radishes in bowl and dress with lemon juice, olive oil and season. Toss together, then serve with the pork, some lemon wedges and a dollop of mayo, if you like.

Serves 2.

Notice how the ingredient name comes before the measurement? It also doesn't tell you how high to heat the pan, or how exactly to dress the salad, like they expect you just to know. Those crafty Brits, making my brain work harder, or maybe just expecting me not to need my hand held.

This recipe is simple, simple, and it was pretty good. I just noticed now it calls for a lot of pepper (thus the title, doh!); I didn't use the amount called for, I just ground some over the breadcrumbs. The radishes were my own addition, when I found them in my crisper still looking good from whenever I bought them weeks (months?) ago. Do you see how much oil this recipe requires for frying the pork? Now that is an amount I can appreciate, non of this North American weight watching 1 tsp bullshit. (Sorry, Dad.)

To accompany, I made oven-roasted mini potatoes, a staple in our household, even though I am the only potato lover (what is wrong with these people?!). Take some baby potatoes, halve the big ones, toss them all with a couple of good lugs of olive oil, loads of salt and pepper, and roast at 425°F for about 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, throw in some diced garlic (lots, if you're a Sellers!). Delish.

March 23rd: Quinoa Tabbouleh & Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

I can't believe I waited a month to write about my baby turning 2! This awesome kid is so much fun to have around and completes our family so perfectly; I can barely remember what it was like before we had her. In the time leading up to and since her birthday, she has become more independent and communicative; I enjoy her company each and every day.

Sadie Birthday Baby

For Sadie's birthday dinner, we had a big family party, with members from both sides of the family in attendance for the first time in my children's lifetime! At Greg's request, I laid out a healthy spread, which included roasted broccoli and cauliflower, roasted pork tenderloin, and a quinoa tabbouleh salad, the last of which I pulled off epicurious:


Quinoa Tabbouleh

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large English hothouse cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then let cool.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer cooled quinoa to a large bowl; mix in 1/4 cup dressing. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining dressing and quinoa separately; chill.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and scallions to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing over.

Makes 6 servings.

Going from memory, I think I altered the recipe a bit, increasing the lemon and reducing the oil, and reducing both the parsley and mint by a bit. I didn't keep notes, so this is guesswork. I do remember the salad was well-received and we enjoyed it.

For dessert, I used my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook and made:

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips*

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate chips*

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.

Whisk granulated sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.

Spoon 2 tablespoons chocolate batter into each lined cup, followed by 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling. Repeat with another tablespoon of batter, and top with 1 teaspoon filling. Swirl top of cupcake batter and filling with a wooden skewer or toothpick.

Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Makes 12.

*The original called for chocolate, chopped. I always use chips. The chopping is done!

Peanut Butter Filling

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir together all ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

Thanks to Olivia bringing it to my attention just in time, I remembered one of our guests had a peanut allergy, so I subbed Wow Butter in for the peanut butter. The cupcakes were good, but I suspect with real peanut butter, they would be a truly wow experience.

That's March complete. Now for April. Eep.

January 12th: Garlicky Pan-Fried Steaks, Roasted Cauliflower Salad, Cherry Tomato Salad

This is our third time eating this meal, and it is a fan favourite in our household. These days, finding a meal that all four of us will enjoy is particularly challenging, but this one succeeds and so it has become a keeper. From November 2013's Chatelaine: Garlicky Pan-Fried Steaks, Roasted Cauliflower Salad, and Cherry Tomato Salad. For tonight's meal, I added sautéed baby spinach, since we had some wilting in the fridge. The head of cauliflower I had picked up was on the small side, and we all wished I had bought two. Seriously, all four of us mourned the end of the cauliflower. How amazing is that? Roasted cauliflower is awesome all the time, and this mayonnaise-based dressing takes it to the next level. So good. The Cherry Tomato Salad says it serves 4, but I double it to feed my 4, so I've doubled it below. To the recipes! I've listed them in the order you'll want to attack them, from longest to shortest prep and cooking times.

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss a medium cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces, with 3 tbsp olive oil and 1/8 tsp salt on a large baking sheet. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Spread cauliflower in a single layer (it's okay if the pieces touch).

Bake in centre of oven until edges are golden, flipping halfway through, about 30 minutes.

Stir 2 tbsp mayonnaise with 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp grainy mustard and 1/2 tsp honey in a small bowl. Drizzle over roasted cauliflower, then sprinkle with 2 tbsp chopped parsley.

Serves 5. (NOT TRUE! Double the recipe to please 5 people.)

Garlicky Pan-Fried Steaks

Stir 6 minced garlic cloves with 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp cayenne and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub on both sides of 3 strip loin steaks, about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high. Add 2 tsp canola oil, then steaks. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates and let rest, covered, 5 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch slices. Drizzle any pan juices over steaks.

Serves 5.

(For us, I use half the rub on 1 strip loin, which we split 4ish ways. I recommend getting the pan juices out of the pan ASAP or else they stick and you can't do the drizzling.)

Cherry Tomato Salad

Whisk 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil with 4 tsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp red hot chili flakes in a medium bowl. Toss with 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes.

Serves 4.

(I gave my girls plain halved tomatoes, in case they found the salad spicy. Sadie kicked up a massive fuss over the tomatoes, didn't want to go near them, eventually had one forced in her mouth, came around to the flavour and ate them all, then demanded more. We gave her some from the salad and she didn't complain about the heat, so.)

January 6th: Gourmet Grilled Cheese & Spinach Salad

This year, Monday night is dance night for Olivia and our busiest night of the week. She does two dance classes: 45 minutes of tap, 1 hour of ballet, with a 1 hour break in between. That's after a full day of school. Eep. Luckily, she is enjoying both. I try to plan simple meals for Monday nights that can be pulled together quickly in between chauffeuring Miss O around. Greg thinks my definition of simple meals might not be the same as others'.

Turns out tonight I could have done a more complicated meal, as Miss O has been running a fever for a few days and didn't go to school or dance today. However, I am not one to stray off my schedule, so I made our meal as planned, from January 2013's Chatelaine:

Gourmet Grilled Cheese & Spinach Salad

Instructions

Spread 1 tsp honey on a slice of multi-grain bread. Top with 1/4 cup grated aged Cheddar, thinly sliced red onion and thinly sliced apple. Top with another 1/4 cup grated Cheddar, then sandwich with another bread slice. Brush top and bottom with 1 tbsp melted butter. Repeat, making 4 sandwiches in total.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium. Arrange sandwiches in pan. Cook, flipping halfway through, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, 6 minutes.

Divide 4 cups baby spinach amongst 4 bowls. Top with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts and 1 apple, thinly sliced. Whisk 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 4 tsps each canola oil and honey. Drizzle over individual servings of salad.

Serves 4.

The original recipe called for parsley where I have used spinach. I wasn't sure my family would go for a parsley salad, and besides, I had to buy spinach for another meal for this week, so subbed it in. I also increased the vinaigrette amounts.

The sandwiches were okay but not repeatable. The salads were better but that recipe will be tossed also. Ah well.

July 8th: Chocolate Chip Crisps AND Thai Noodle Salad

[SEE BELOW FOR UPDATED VERSION]


Olivia and I planned to make these cookies today, but we ended up having help, as Jayna and Grace joined us for the baking. This went surprisingly well; each girl took turns adding ingredients and stirring or mixing. Plus, they were happy to snack on chocolate chips while waiting their turns. Yummy crispy cookies, from Best Summer Weekends Cookbook:


Chocolate Chip Crisps


1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups crisp rice cereal 
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or, as we did, a mix of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips, yum!)


Preheat oven to 350 F.


Beat butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium speed of an electric mixer until light and creamy.


In a second large bowl, combine flour, oats, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture, stirring until blended.


Gently mix in cereal and chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Underbake for chewy cookies; bake longer for crisp ones. Cool on wire rack.


Makes about 5 dozen cookies. (We made 61!)

Then - Supper. It's taken me almost two weeks to find the time to type out this recipe, but I couldn't let it go; this was the best meal I've made since Cinco de Mayo. Vietnamese and Thai food are some of my favourites, and this salad is much like lunches I used to buy when I was working, only better, because I made it myself. It's full of strong flavours: lime, cilantro and fish sauce. Greg and Olivia probably didn't love it quite as much as me, but I thought it was fantastic. I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day. I topped our salad with cooked chicken; you could also top it with shrimp or tofu or spring rolls. Yum yum. Awesome summer meal: from Best Summer Weekends Cookbook: Thai Noodle Salad:


Thai Dressing


1-2 fresh hot peppers, seeded and chopped, OR 1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) red chili paste
3 tbsp (45 mL) fresh lime juice
2 tbsp (30 mL) fish sauce
2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) sesame oil
2 tbsp (30 mL) crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped


Combine all ingredients for dressing and refrigerate until needed.




Thai Noodle Salad


6 oz (170 g) rice vermicelli or rice stick noodles
1/4 lb (125 g) snow peas (about 2 cups/500 mL)
1/2 red pepper, seeded and cut in slivers
2 cups (500 mL) lettuce, shredded
2 green onions, cut in diagonal slivers
1/4 cup (60 mL) peanuts, chopped
1 lime, thinly sliced 


Cook the noodles or vermicelli in a large quantity of boiling salted water until tender, about 3-4 minutes for the noodles and a scant minute for the vermicelli. Drain well, toss with a little dressing, and refrigerate until needed.


Blanch the snow peas for about a minute in lightly salted boiling water. Drain and immediately put into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and slice on the diagonal.


Just before serving, toss noodles with snow peas, red pepper, and remaining dressing. Arrange salad on a bed of shredded lettuce and garnish with green onions, chopped peanuts, and lime slices.


Serves 4. 

January 18th: Carrot Salad & Spinach and Pine Nuts

My friend Susan recently started a blog tracking her progress of eating 100 salads in 100 days: a noble goal. I thought her quick recipe for carrot salad, inspired by her days in France, sounded good and gave it a go tonight. She didn’t post a recipe per se, so here’s what I did:

Carrot Salad

4 carrots, grated

½ cup raisins

¼ cup toasted pine nuts or other nuts

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients. If time allows, leave salad to sit at room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator) to allow the flavours to blend.

Makes 4 servings.

Except, when I made it, I forgot to add the nuts. Susan says in her post she had added almonds. As I was eating the salad, I was saying, this is good, but it could use something. Since I had pine nuts on my plate in the spinach dish, I scooped a few over to the carrots and voilà, the carrot salad was complete. I simply should have read the post more closely! Don’t leave out the nuts!

Also on the menu was a spinach, pine nut and garlic stir-fry which was tasty. Seemed to please my spinach-loving sister guest. I recommend reducing the salt, perhaps by half, and you’ll be good to go.

Served with rice and “Fearless” Fried Chicken.

August 23rd: Asian Caesar steak salad

This one's incredibly delicious: from 's Chatelaine: Asian Caesar steak salad. Olivia fell asleep on the couch while I was cooking, and Greg was out playing hockey, so I just went ahead and ate the whole steak myself. Mmm.

I had tomatoes rather than red pepper
and sunflower sprouts rather than Chinese noodles.

August 16th: grilled peach and arugula salad

From the keeper book, and a perennial August favourite: from August 2008's Chatelaine: peach and arugula* salad.


*any salad green can be used in place of arugula

August 15th: sausage and corn salad

Second time around, and we decided not to keep it, but it's not bad and a different way to eat sausage: from August 2010's Chatelaine: sausage and corn salad.

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.

June 28th: Teriyaki Beef Salad

I think I may be getting to the end of my favourite salad recipes. This one is a steak salad with Asian flavours; it's strongly flavoured, but could be mellowed by omitting the garlic and ginger. I've modified the original, from April 2009's Chatelaine: Teriyaki Beef Salad, by using 1/8 tsp bottled ginger purée. That's it.

June 27th: Very, Very Green Salad

Around my blog's six-month anniversary, I added a search bar to allow readers and myself ... well, the ability to search my blog. For me, it was a way to keep track of which recipes I've already talked about so I don't end up repeating myself, because I do repeat recipes regularly, even if it's not readily apparent. Recently, I've been having trouble searching for items I KNOW I posted. Turns out it's a "known problem" that Blogger is working to address. Turns out they've also had this problem for years, so I can't see it being solved any time soon. This virtually makes my blog useless, because, as I approach the 200th-post mark, how useful is the blog to anyone if you can't search my bloody posts? I have a few ideas in mind for how to get around this problem, but I'll need to take some time -- sometime -- to work on it. Oh, sigh.


Meanwhile, after 5 years of relentlessly making this salad, which I adore, every summer, Greg is FINALLY on board! He swears he remembers nothing of complaining every year before now when I've made it. He is such a man. Here it is, one of my favourite summertime salads, which, be forewarned, takes tonnes of prep time and then has to sit in the fridge and blend flavours and all that jazz. This is adapted from Best Summer Weekends Cookbook, and came to my attention via the Ottawa Citizen. Somebody, please, buy me this book for Christmas. Or my birthday. I'm not picky.


Very, Very Green Salad


For the creamy citrus dressing:


1 cup (250 mL) mayonnaise
1/2 cup (125 mL) orange juice
2 tsps (10 mL) honey
1/2 cup (125 mL) plain yogurt or sour cream
1 tbsp (15 mL) rice vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup (50 mL) fresh parsley, chopped


For the salad:


1 head broccoli, broken into small florets, and with stems peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) green beans, sliced
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) snow peas
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) seedless green grapes, halved
1 bunch fresh spinach, trimmed, washed and patted dry (optional)
2 tbsps (25 mL) green onion, chopped (optional)
2 tbsps (25 mL) fresh chives, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup (125 mL) golden raisins
Creamy Citrus Dressing
1/2 cup (125 mL) pine nuts, toasted
1/2 lb (250 g) bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)


Combine all dressing ingredients well, and season to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.


To make the salad, blanch broccoli, green beans and snow peas, one vegetable at a time, for 1-2 minutes in lightly-salted boiling water. Lift out with a slotted spoon and refresh in cold water to stop the cooking, then drain completely.


Combine blanched vegetables in a large bowl with grapes and, if using, spinach, green onion, chives and raisins. Toss well to mix.


An hour before serving, toss salad with Creamy Citrus Dressing and chill 60 minutes to blend flavours. Just before serving, add pine nuts and bacon, if using, and toss again.


Serves 10 (or so the recipe says. maybe as one of several dishes. we eat this as the one and only main, and in that case, it serves about 4.)




I can tell you from my experience that the bacon definitely tastes icky if left sitting in the salad overnight. Everything else keeps alright. I never include spinach in my version, but for tonight, I served it over red lettuce leaves. I also tossed in some leftover chopped chicken from last night. All in all, a great supper!

Greeny green green
My snow peas had gone off, so I doubled up on green beans.

Finished product. Served over lettuce leaves.

June 22nd: mango mustard chicken with greens

Years ago, Greg and I were not much into salads. Then, I found and made this recipe. This was our gateway salad. We now eat salads all the time and are always finding new and amazing variations. At least once every summer, I go back to our old favourite, which might not even be as good as some of our newer favourites, but has that nostalgic touch that makes us love it fondly.


Mango Mustard Chicken with Greens



3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup + Frank's RedHot Sauce
2 medium mangoes
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey mustard
1 teaspoon Frank's RedHot Sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups torn mixed salad greens
1/4-1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted
2 green onions, sliced 


Place chicken in a glass dish and coat with 1/4 cup RedHot sauce, or more, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate 15 to 30 minutes. Peel and cube enough mango to make 1/2 cup. Slice remaining mango for salad; set aside.


Preheat grill. In food processor or blender, combine cubed mango with lime juice, oil, mustard, remaining RedHot sauce and salt; process until smooth. If desired, set aside 1/4 cup for basting chicken.


On preheated grill over medium heat, barbecue chicken, turning once, until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. If desired, brush chicken with mango dressing during last few minutes of cooking. After taking chicken off grill, allow the meat to rest 5 minutes for juices to redistribute. Then slice into strips.


Divide salad greens and sliced mango between 4 plates. Top with sliced chicken, pecans and green onions. Drizzle with remaining mango dressing.


Serves 4.

With mango dressing

June 9th: the best burger and spring salad

I've got lots of old reliables planned for this month and I can't wait to share them! My June milk calendar is getting booked up, so some of the recipes are being pushed to July as well, so exciting. Tonight we had simple but oh so good favourites: from June 2004's Chatelaine: The Perfect Burger and from April 2007's Chatelaine: Green Spring Salad (AKA asparagus and sugar snap pea salad with toasty pine nuts). For the burgers, I add a dollop of hoisin to the mixture. For the salad, I leave out the radicchio. Local asparagus are plentiful right now and we are eating them, oh, almost every day. Making hay while the sun shines and all that jazz. Happy weekend!

June 3rd: green bean & soft boiled egg salad

Good to be home. It's nice to visit other places and it's nice to attend meetings where I learn information to help me do my job better, but the travel, the hotels, and the food get to me. I had some yummy food in Edmonton, but I'd still rather eat at home!


I planned this weekend's meals before I left so I wouldn't have to expend any brain power upon my return. That was a smart thing to do because I had to drag my exhausted body across the finish line teaching BODYFLOW this morning, then buy groceries with a pounding head (my head hurt too much for me to remember the Tylenol in my bag), and after sleeping away the afternoon, I was happy to make a simple, healthy meal for supper tonight.


From June 2011's Chatelaine: Creamy bean salad with soft-boiled egg. I roasted some red peppers, loaded in the goat cheese, and doubled the eggs to make the salad more filling. Wow, soft boiled eggs are a lot more delicate to peel than are hard! We enjoyed this salad, but not quite enough to keep the recipe. I served it with delicious Art-is-in rosemary-garlic bread (and for dessert, amazing croissants from the same locale; I LOVE the Ottawa Farmers' Market, Orleans location!).

April 17th: blueberry smoothie, grain & veggie salad

Sunday morning, rush rush rush to get myself and O to the gym, and I'm grateful for this blueberry smoothie, which tided Miss O over till we could get to the gym playroom where she had her applesauce, cheese and milk. I didn't drink much of mine before I taught my class (bad bad bad) and by the time we were done with BODYFLOW and groceries, it had fairly separated as it sat in the car. I stirred it back together and drank it down. I don't recommend delayed drinking though. From the Dairy Farmers of Canada:


Blueberry Smoothie


1 cup (250 mL) milk
3/4 cup (175 mL) blueberry yogurt
1/4 cup (60 mL) pomegranate juice*
1 cup (250 mL) frozen blueberries
handful of ice cubes


Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes about 3 cups (750 mL).


*I used pomegranate juice, but I suspect cranberry or another tart juice would work well.

Olivia licks the yogurt spoon while eyeing up breakfast.
Check it out; the shirt washed clean!!

Supper, I made an awesome whole wheat grain & veggie salad from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It took a bit of searching to find the whole grain kernels, but Bulk Barn came through, and at $1.50 for 2 big scoops, it seems like a fantastic deal to me. This salad requires prep, which was fine for a Sunday afternoon at home. The whole wheat (also called wheat berries) need to be simmered for 2 hours. The peppers and garlic need to be roasted, at different temperatures, for 30-40 minutes each. But it all comes together to make a delicious combo. With a green salad on the side, supper was made!


Whole Wheat (Wheat Berries)
Whole Wheat is unmilled kernels with the bran and germ still intact. Light brown, rounded, oval-shaped grain with a nutty flavour and very chewy texture. (HtCEV)

To cook: bring pot of water to a boil. Rinse kernels thoroughly, then add to boiling water. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly.


Roasted Sweet Peppers
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place washed peppers on a foil-lined baking pan. Roast, turning peppers until browning on all sides, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and wrap in foil. Let sit until peppers collapse. Unwrap, let cool and then peel. They tend to fall apart and it's easy to dislodge skin and seeds under running water.


Roasted Garlic
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel papery outsides off head(s) of garlic. Slice off about top third of garlic to expose cloves. Rub with olive oil and place on oiled pan. Cover with tin foil and roast until soft, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit till cool enough to handle. Squeeze cloves from head.

Whole Wheat Salad with Roasted Peppers

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 roasted sweet peppers, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks

2 cups cooked whole wheat

1 head roasted garlic, pulp squeezed from skins

1 cup shredded fresh basil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed

3 tbsps red wine or other vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned. Set aside.

Toss together the pepper, whole wheat, garlic and half of the basil in a salad bowl. Whisk the oil and vinegar together, along with some salt and pepper. Toss the dressing with the salad, then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Garnish with pine nuts and remaining basil and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

April 9th: recipe for a perfect salad + lemon/oil salad dressing

"Recipe for a perfect salad" might be verging on hubris, but it is what I wrote at the top of a piece of scrap paper many years ago, under which I listed all the possible ingredients to put into a salad to make it a top-notch meal. The ingredients to any salad are, of course, subject to taste and availability. Since I often mention having a salad as part of supper, it is time I shared what I am talking about. Here are the basics to any of my salads, plus additions I would consider:


base:


salad greens
sweet pepper
red or green onion
carrot
baby cucumber
grape tomatoes
celery


other options, should they be available:


olives
broccoli, blanched
asparagus, blanched
sprouts
kohlrabi
sugar snap peas
raisins
dried cranberries
fresh berries in season
meat: Genoa salami is our favourite but tuna and chicken are close seconds


must-haves, if at all possible:


avocado
nuts, toasted: pine nuts are my favourite; almonds & walnuts a close second, pecans good also; in a pinch, seeds can sub in - sunflower seeds being great
cheese: Cheddar or goat cheese are standards for us


These last three ingredients are what take any salad from good to extraordinary. Seriously.


I've been thinking recently, but haven't tried out, adding in some of the following:


chickpeas
flaxseeds


To accompany a great salad, one must make a great salad dressing. I've gone back and forth between making and buying dressing over the years, but after our post-Christmas trip to Nova Scotia and watching Zach and Natascia make salad dressing everyday, I reasoned if two 19-year olds can make dressing everyday, it's time I stepped up and did the same. The good thing is, if you make enough, you don't actually have to make it everyday. Here's what I've landed on as my favourite salad dressing:


In a small liquid measuring cup, place:


1 garlic clove, pressed (this is the one and only time I use just one garlic clove for anything, though I might use 2 if they are small)
1 tsp each Dijon mustard and liquid honey
1/4 tsp salt


Squeeze in fresh lemon juice until mixture reaches 1/4 cup. Whisk thoroughly. While whisking, slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil until mixture reaches 1/2 cup. Taste and adjust if necessary.


We all know I love lemon, so I like the strong acidity of this dressing. If you don't, you can up the oil or replace the lemon juice with another acid (red wine vinegar, cider vinegar, etc.). Keeps well in the fridge for some time. I used some I'd forgotten about that I think was over a month old and it seemed fine to me.