March 16th: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

After many days of eating this soup, I decided to toss the recipe, but if you're feeding a crowd and could use it up quickly, it was pretty good. From March 2014's Chatelaine: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup.

Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil*
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups finely diced pancetta, (about 150 g) [I used bacon]
2 red potatoes, diced
2 900-mL cartons no-salt chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups macaroni
540-mL can romano or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
4 slices Italian bread, toasted
1 garlic clove, cut in half

HEAT a large pot over medium. Add 1 tbsp oil, then onion and pancetta. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 min. Add potatoes, broth, salt and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 min.

ADD pasta and continue cooking until pasta is tender, about 8 min. Stir in beans. Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan and parsley. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Serve with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with remaining 1 tbsp oil.

*I used regular olive oil for the frying, and extra virgin for the drizzling at the end.

March 3rd: Chunky Clam Chowder

I always think of a chowder as being a cream- or milk-based soup, but this clam "chowder" is a tomato- or clamato-based soup. While being a clam soup, it is also vegetable rich, and tasty. Turns out, this is a "Manhattan-style" chowder as opposed to "Boston-style." Mystery solved. It was quite yummy, or so thought Sadie and I, who ate the lion's share. Greg and Olivia were a bit more iffy about the whole thing. I recommend it, and might sneak it into my "try again" pile when fussy fussters aren't watching. From March 2014's Chatelaine: Chunky Clam Chowder.

Chunky Clam Chowder

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high. Add 6 finely chopped bacon slices. Cook, stirring often, until bacon is crisp, about 5 min. Remove bacon, leaving fat in saucepan. Add 2 peeled, chopped carrots, 1 chopped celery stalk, 1 peeled, finely chopped yellow potato, 1/2 chopped onion, 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 tbsp tomato paste. Cook until onion is tender, 3 to 5 min. Add 2 1/2 cups Clamato, 1 cup water and 2 thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 30 min.

Stir in 142-g can baby clams. Garnish with reserved bacon and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Add a dash of Tabasco.

Makes 4 servings.

The only thing I changed here was to double the amount of bacon called for, as I thought it made all the difference with the flavour. Don't leave out the Tabasco! It also brings it all home.

Served with a baguette on the side.

Still have a bit of Clamato left over. Looks like somebody will be drinking birthday Caesars.

February 20th: fish chowder

This recipe I made a year or so ago, around (one of) the time I wasn't blogging. I made it again tonight, with a few alterations, and it was delicious. I loved it; Olivia didn't love it but did eat it; Sadie may or may not have liked it, but she ate it, which is all that matters. Greg was not home to provide an opinion. The original came from February 2013's Chatelaine: Smoked-Trout Chowder, but I have changed it a bit to my own taste. Yum yum.

Fish Chowder

2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 tsp herbes de Provence
1/2 cup 35% cream
1 cup corn kernels
200 g skinless, boneless fish (any kind), diced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Melt butter in a large pot over medium. Add celery, carrots and onion. Sprinkle with flour and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until carrots start to soften, about 5 min.

Add potatoes, wine, broth, milk and herbes de Provence. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 min.

Stir in cream, corn, and fish. Continue simmering for 2 min. Ladle into bowls and top with parsley just before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

February 13th: Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Greg was super looking forward to this recipe, and both he and Sadie loved it. Of course they did; it was spicy! Olivia and I weren't big fans, so I had to break the news to Greg that I wouldn't be making it again. Oh, the disappointment. From February 2014's Chatelaine: Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons. The original recipe called white bread for the croutons; I picked up a loaf of fresh sourdough on Monday, which was sufficiently dried by Thursday that it made perfect little grilled cheese croutons that held together in the soup, softening up without becoming mushy. I recommend that.

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
2 small celery stalks, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
796-mL can whole tomatoes
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 slices day-old sourdough bread
several slices cheddar cheese, enough to cover bread

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft, 4 to 5 min. Add carrots, celery, pepper, tomato paste, lime juice, sugar, salt and cayenne. Season with fresh pepper. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 min. Add broth and tomatoes with juices. Break up tomatoes a bit with sharp knife or wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 20 min.

Puree in 2 batches in a blender until smooth.* Return to clean saucepan set over low to keep warm.

Spread 2 tbsp butter on both sides of each bread slice.** Heat a large frying pan over medium and lay 2 slices in pan. Top each with sliced cheese, then remaining bread. Cook, flipping halfway, until cheese is melted and bread is golden, 4 min. Remove from pan and let cool slightly. Cut into 1/2-in. cubes.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with grilled cheese croutons.


Makes 6 servings.***

*I puree my soup with the lid on but the centre of the lid out. I cover the hole with a folded up dish towel. This allows the steam to escape so the top of your blender doesn't go flying off.
**Oops! I missed this, and only buttered the outside of my bread. I wonder what difference it makes?
***Original says 10 servings. I say not.

February 6th: Three Cheese Tortellini and Mushroom Soup

The great thing about skinnytaste is not having to change recipes at all. I made this one exactly as per the recipe and it was simply delish:


Three Cheese Tortellini and Mushroom Soup

2 tsp butter
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled & chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
142 g shiitaki mushrooms, sliced
227 g cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 small Parmigiano Reggiano rind (optional)
255 g three cheese tortellini
salt, to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (optional)

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.

Add the chicken broth, water, mushrooms, rind and increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. When broth boils, add salt to taste and pepper; stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, simmer until mushrooms are soft, about 20 minutes. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions for al dente.

Once cooked, remove the rind, stir to combine and garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano if desired.

Makes 12 cups.

January 8th: Avocado Toast, Chicken Pot Pie Soup + Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Last year, early summer, I was googling how to roast a pepper, a seemingly simple task that I always manage to botch. My searching brought me to The Wednesday Chef, and I fell in love. With the website, with the chef, the whole thing. Check it out. She's a beautiful person, a great writer, and has some really good food on her blog. If you'd like to know how to roast a pepper, click here; her instructions are spot on. After mastering that task, I also spent time trying out a recipe here and there, including one for Avocado Toast, which became my go-to breakfast and lunch of Summer 2013. Feeling a little nostalgic and very hungry today, I made one up for lunch and mm mm good. It hit the spot. Feel free to pop over to The Wednesday Chef for Luisa's instructions on how to perfect avocado toast. I've played around with it, and my favourite way is simply 1 piece of toast, with tonnes of mayo, topped with one avocado mashed with lemon, salt, pepper and sriracha. When that's not quite enough, I make a second.

For supper, I returned to last year's other favourite discovery, Skinnytaste. It's been freezing and I mean freezing cold in Ottawa recently. -30°C pretty normal. My car slid on ice and I rear ended a moving truck today, but that's another story... So it seems my timing was impeccable in choosing warm soup and biscuits for a chilly day. I modified two recipes from Skinnytaste: Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Garlic Cheddar Biscuits. They were both yummy and enjoyed by the whole family!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth, divided
4 cups milk
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
227 g sliced mushrooms (white, cremini, portobello)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pinch dried thyme
2 medium potatoes, diced
handful green beans, diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup frozen peas or corn, or both
salt, to taste

Directions

Combine 1 1/2 cups chicken broth with milk in a large saucepan and set over medium. Allow it to come slowly to a simmer. Meanwhile, prep all vegetables and chicken. When liquid is hot, add celery, carrot, onion, mushrooms, pepper, and thyme. Partially cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, green beans, and chicken, cover again and simmer another 10 minutes. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth with flour and whisk thoroughly. Slowly add to soup, stirring constantly. Add peas and cook soup another 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
2-4 cloves garlic, divided, minced
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and half the minced garlic. Cut in unsalted butter, then stir in cheese. Whisk egg into milk, then add mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until it just comes together. Turn out on floured surface and knead about 20 times. Roll out to 1/2-1 inch. Cut with biscuit cutter. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet over low heat. Add remaining minced garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Remove biscuits from oven and drizzle garlic butter over them. Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Makes approximately 9 biscuits.

A month of skinnytaste

If I remember correctly, I first heard about the blog skinnytaste from my former coworker Brittany, a couple of years ago, although I didn't try any recipes from the the website at that time. I recently came across it again, and in need of kitchen inspiration - and with my trusty new/old iPhone in hand - I spent some time trolling the website and came up with a list of recipes to try out. We've been eating skinnytaste almost exclusively in the month of May; happily, we have had a number of hits and only a few near misses. Super excited to have a new bank of inspiration upon which to draw.

I'm only going to talk about the hits...


May 5th: Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken and Fiesta Lime Rice

The title pretty much says it all. Create a stuffing of bacon, cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, jalapeño, and green onion, and roll it into flattened chicken breasts. Bread and bake. Cheesy, spicy, gooey goodness.

We ate this accompanied by Fiesta Lime Rice, a delicious and super healthy side dish of rice, beans, corn, tomatoes and green onions. Greg found it bland, but of course, I made his without cilantro, which added tonnes of flavour. His loss. I loved it. I doubled the corn in my version.

Mmm. I want to go make, and eat, this again right now.

On the left side of the plate are the cheesy bits that melted out of the chicken onto the pan. Mmm.
To the right of the plate is my current reading material.

May 7th: Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Again, with the apt title. Need I say more? Yes. These are probably the best homemade bean burgers I have made to date. The recipe says it makes 4, but I was working with small buns, so I made 6 out of the mixture. I cooked 3: one each for me and Greg, one to split between O and S. I then froze the other 3, and happily ate them in later days as a quick, cook-from-frozen lunch (I found I had to cook them a little longer than suggested). Delicious every time. The burgers are a little spicy, and the mayo is spicier. I left the mayo off O's and S's, and although O said she didn't like the burger, she ate it, which makes me doubt her word. S ate hers; she loves beans.

The recipe calls for 1 jumbo egg; I used 2 large. If you decide to make these, read through all the instructions; there are some good tips there.

May 10th: Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

Maybe not quite as good as bacon- and cheese-laden baked potatoes, but still good tasting and infinitely better for you. All your veggies in one spot.

May 12th: Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I left off the part of the title describing these as "insanely good." They were good, but I don't know if they were that good. We did, however, make short order of them in our house; they were gone in 2 days.

Olivia and I spent Mother's Day morning making these. We haven't done much baking together recently; it was good to do so again.

My girlies and my Mother's Day flowers:

Must Stop Using IPhone To Take Pictures

May 13th: Chicken and Orecchiette Soup

Delicious warm chicken soup after a couple of cold days. I found these fun-coloured carrots at the grocery store:

...but didn't realize the purple carrot would colour the soup an unappealing grey colour:

Luckily, the taste was good. I couldn't find the cavatelli pasta called for in the recipe, so instead bought orecchiette, which Olivia was excited about, because they stick to the tongue. She and Sadie both ate the soup right up.


Looking for cooking inspiration? Check out skinnytaste. More to come...

April 28th: pumpkin curry soup

Greg upgraded to a new iPhone. I took over his old iPhone, upgrading from my out of date, slidey-keyboard style cell phone, whose slidey-keyboard keys stopped working 18 months ago. All of which to say is, I've been lazy about taking pictures with our camera and have instead been using my new-to-me-iPhone. That's my up front excuse about the bad picture below.

The recipe, though, is delish! I bought a can of pumpkin last week to make pumpkin muffins, and made this soup recipe to use up the rest of the pumpkin. It is chowdery-tasting, and I heaped in the sour cream at eating time, yum yum yum. From December 2010's Today's Parent: Pantry Pumpkin Soup. If anything, next time, I would add more veggies or some chicken, or both.

April 5th: 300!

This is post #300.

Family came to visit in March. Liam committed in advance to making me bread or cookies or something during the trip. He made southern buttermilk biscuits. They were excellent. When he left, I still had plenty of buttermilk leftover, some of which I used in Sadie's birthday cupcakes. I kept thinking I should toss the rest, but L convinced me to do otherwise, namely, by telling me to make the biscuits again. So I did. Buttermilk was still good, and biscuits were delicious.

The recipe is specific in its directions, and notes that the second round of dough will result in tougher biscuits. I made just one biscuit from the leftover bits of dough, and Greg ate that one and said he liked it better than the light and fluffy first rounds. There you go; no need to waste the bits!

I made the biscuits to go with a chicken soup I made. The stock was made roughly from the Red Apron recipe, and the soup was based on Today's Parent's Mexican Blizzard Soup (go easy on the chili powder, should you wish your children to eat it). It was great soup. I wish I still had some kicking around to eat. Guess that means I should make it again. And the biscuits. Yum.

Birthday week: Red Apron meal plan

I mentioned we ordered Valentine's Day dinner from The Red Apron, and it was fantastic. When ordering the meal over the phone, I gave Justine my email address and apparently she put me on their mailing list (sneaky girl). Now I get weekly emails about what they're dishing up. Between that one and the Cuisine and Passion email I get every week, I am left wanting, a lot. Must ... resist ... buying pre-made food all the time, no matter how good.

In any case, I started scoping out The Red Apron website in more detail and came across their blog. A sucker for food blogs already, I read through several of the more recent posts and came across a 4-day, 4-person meal plan and decided to give it a go. It involved cooking up a big chicken (or two smaller chickens, in my case), then using the meat to make several meals and the carcass to make stock for use in those meals. Rounded out with some fresh winter-available vegetables and a variety of beans, you end up with four healthy, balanced and DELICIOUS meals. They are supposed to feed a family of 4, but when half your 4 don't eat huge portions, we ended up with plenty of leftovers too.

Only one beef with the whole thing: the blog post listed a shopping list, but missed a few of the ingredients it called for in the recipes! So I had to borrow - keep - celery from my neighbour and go back to the grocery store the day after my first venture. The post also referenced the affordability of the meals, and so I added up my bills, and for us, the 4 meals - plus leftovers - came to $100.89.


I'm including the complete grocery list below, plus the recipes, with a few modifications or suggestions according to my own tastes, plus pictures of all this fabulous food. Yum yum.

Grocery List


2 lemons
1 avocado
4 onions plus 1 large Spanish onion
2 heads of garlic
1 leek
2 green onions
2 red peppers
gingerroot
1 medium carrot
1 celery stalk
1 bunch of kale
1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes
3 medium potatoes
thyme
oregano
parsley
cilantro
bag of baby spinach leaves

green salad or cole slaw ingredients

Parmesan cheese
Cheddar cheese
butter
500 mL 35% cream
sour cream

frozen green sweet peas
frozen corn kernels

crusty bread
1 package small tortillas

whole chicken (3-4 kg/7-9 lb), or two smaller chickens

grapeseed oil
28-oz can whole tomatoes (1 can of tomatoes will be used in 3 recipes)
1 can coconut milk
1 can organic chickpeas
1 can organic white beans
1 can organic black beans
organic brown basmati rice
1 small package organic whole wheat penne or ziti (approx 250 g)
Thai red curry paste
salsa
bay leaves
cumin
chili powder
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Day 1: cook chicken, make chicken stock, cook rice


whole chicken (3-4 kg/7-9 lb), or two smaller chickens
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled, large dice
1 celery stalk, large dice
1 thyme branch
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt

Cover the chicken with cold water in a large stainless steel stockpot and bring to a boil. When the stock comes to a full boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer skim off the grey foam that rises to the surface. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaves, and salt.

Cook gently for 1-1.5 hours until the chicken is cooked. Remove, and when cool enough to handle, remove breast meat, thighs, and wings. Put the carcass and the wings back in the pot and continue to simmer for another 2 hours, until the broth tastes rich and is a light golden colour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth. Save any pieces of chicken and set aside. Return the stock to pot and simmer to reduce to 2 litres.

Allow the stock to cool completely; skim the fat and promptly refrigerate.


Cook 2 cups organic brown basmati rice. The rice will be served with the stew and the tacos.


March 3rd: Chicken Tacos


2 tbsp grapeseed oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 large Spanish onion, sliced
1 large red pepper, seeded and sliced
meat from chicken leg and thigh, shredded

cumin
salt
freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, diced
1/2 28-oz can whole tomatoes, rough chopped (reserve juice and remaining tomatoes for another recipe)
1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 cup organic black beans, drained and rinsed
chili powder
juice of 2 lemons, divided

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 avocado
1 package small tortillas


sour cream, salsa, chopped cilantro, for serving (optional)

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saute pan and saute onions and peppers until caramelized. Add shredded chicken meat and season to taste with cumin, salt, and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan and saute green onions, tomatoes, corn kernels and black beans. Season to taste with chili powder and lemon juice. Set aside half of mixture and add rice to the remaining mixture. Warm to serve.

Slice avocado and drizzle with lemon juice and oil. Season with salt.

Heat tortillas in dry fry pan or according to package directions. Stuff tacos with chicken mixture. Garnish to taste with sour cream, salsa, and chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and garnish with black bean mixture.

Stuff tacos with chicken mixture.

Top with black bean mixture.

Serve with rice on the side.

Best tacos ever.

March 4th: White Bean, Kale, and Potato Soup


2 tbsp grapeseed oil


1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves rough chopped
1 can organic white beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 litre of chicken stock (plus more if needed)

meat from chicken stock
juice from 28-oz can whole tomatoes (reserves tomatoes for another recipe)
1 tbsp each, chopped fresh thyme and oregano
salt, to taste
crusty bread, for serving
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
grated Parmesan and/or Cheddar cheese



Heat oil over medium in a large soup pot. Saute onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add kale and cook until wilted. Remove vegetables from pan. Add white beans, potatoes, chicken stock, reserved meat, and tomato juice to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add herbs and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Return kale and onion mixture to pot and test for seasoning. Add salt to taste and serve. (Add more chicken stock if soup is too thick.)

This meal would be best served with crusty bread. The soup can be garnished with chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan and/or Cheddar cheese.

ASIDE: March 5th was my birthday. We dined at The Wellington Gastropub. Excellent Arctic char. Excellent restaurant children.

March 6th: Curried Sweet Potato and Chicken Stew

grapeseed oil
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed (1 inch cubes)
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp gingerroot, peeled and grated
1/2 28-oz can tomatoes, diced (reserve juice and remaining tomatoes for another recipe)
1 can coconut milk
1 cup organic canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken stock, divided
cooked meat from one chicken breast, cubed
1 tbsp red curry paste
salt, to taste
1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
1 cup cooked brown rice
sliced green onions, optional
minced cilantro, optional
diced avocado, optional

Prepare all of the ingredients.

Saute onions and sweet potatoes in oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat until soft, 5 minutes. Add red pepper and cook until wilted, 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes and coconut milk and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add chickpeas, 1 cup of chicken stock, and chicken. Simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes. Add curry paste and season with salt to taste. If the stew is too thick, thin with remaining chicken stock. Before serving, toss in spinach leaves. Serve on steamed rice.

Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro, and avocado, to taste.

• 
  
• March 7th: Pasta, Chicken, Pea and Leek Casserole
• 
  
• 1 small package organic whole wheat penne or ziti (approximately 250 g)
• 2 tbsps butter
• 1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 500 mL 35% cream
• 1 cup frozen green sweet peas
• meat from one chicken breast, cubed
• 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  
• green salad or cole slaw, to accompany
• 
  
• Cook pasta according to package directions. When al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and reserve.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium. Saute the leek until soft, 5 minutes. Add cream and bring to a simmer, then add peas, chicken, Cheddar cheese and spinach. Stir in cooked pasta and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to ovenproof 8L casserole dish and top with Parmesan. Cook at 375 F until warmed through and top is golden brown.

This meal will go well with a tossed green salad or cole slaw.

[NO PIC!!]


In order, Greg and I agreed - a rarity! - that we liked the tacos, pasta, soup, and stew. We likely won't make the soup or stew again, but will make the tacos and pasta. Success.

Long Haul Catch Up

I cooked pretty decent meals all summer long. I took pictures. I did not blog. Super Mom I am not, though I do try. Here I go, trying to catch up on everything before September ends, with the faint hope that maybe in October I could get back to regular-ish blogging. Big breath. Might be achievable.

July 25th: Wonton Soup

From Crazy Plates: one I've wanted to try for years. Finally got around to it.

Obi Wonton Kenobi

Filling

8 oz (225 g) ground chicken or turkey (I used chicken thighs, minced finely)
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp each grated ginger root, sesame oil and cornstarch
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt

30 wonton wrappers

Broth

6 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated gingerroot

Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. Working one at a time, place 1 teaspoon of filling in centre of wonton wrapper. Fold one side over to enclose filling, making a triangle. Moisten edges and press down to seal. Bring the the two points of the base of the triangle around filling, overlap them, moisten and press together. Place filled wonton on a tray and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining wontons.

To cook wontons, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add wontons. Stir once or twice to prevent wontons from sticking together. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove wontons using a slotted spoon. Drain well.

To make soup, bring broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add onions, basil, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger root. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.

To serve soup, place 5 wontons in the bottom of each soup bowl. Ladle hot broth over wontons and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook wontons in big pot of boiling water

Cook broth in separate pot

Place strained wontons in bowl

Top with broth and they're ready to eat

The next day I pan-fried the leftover, cooked, wontons
and served with plum sauce for dipping.
Not as good as the soup, but a decent way to use up leftovers.

I see now, having typed out the recipe, that I missed a step in the folding. I made my wontons into triangles rather than little packages. Greg told me at the time he thought they should be shaped differently. I didn't listen.


August 20th: Parmesan Dutch Baby

A recipe from Karen Barnaby: a bit like a popover, a bit like a savoury pancake. Baked in the oven. I think it was supposed to puff up in the middle, but because of all the cheese sitting there, it puffed up around the edges instead. It was a sight to see, and pretty tasty to boot.

Parmesan Dutch Baby

3 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup (150 mL) milk at room temperature
2/3 cup (150 mL) flour
pinch salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (125 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Before you start assembling the ingredients, place a 10-inch frypan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 450 F.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy. Beat in the milk, flour and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute longer. The batter will be thin.

Remove the frypan from the oven and add butter, swirling to melt it. Immediately add the batter and sprinkle with cheese, then return to the oven.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately before it deflates.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

August 21st: Breakfast for supper

From June 2011's Chatelaine, with no recipe online for me to link:

Tomato & Egg Pie

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
130-g log creamy goat cheese, crumbled
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp chopped chives
1/4 tsp salt
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
5 strips bacon, cooked

Position oven rack in bottom part of oven. Preheat to 325 F. Place 8 small ramekins on a baking sheet.

Heat frying pan over medium. Add 1 tsp oil, then onions. Cook until onions are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in goat cheese until melted. Set aside.

Lay 1 phyllo sheet on counter. Lightly brush with oil. Place a second sheet overtop. Brush with oil. Repeat with remaining sheets and oil. Cut phyllo stack in half. Then cut each half into 4 quarters. Line each ramekin with a stack of phyllo, gently pressing against sides. Divide cheese mixture among ramekins. Whisk eggs with milk, Dijon, chives and salt in a bowl. Divide among ramekins.

Bake on bottom rack 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Place tomatoes in ramekins and crumble bacon overtop. Return to oven; continue baking until eggs are set, 25 to 30 more minutes. Let stand 1o minutes.

Makes 4-8 servings.

To accompany the egg pies, I made peach-strawberry sundaes. Recipe? For another day...