Ragù with maccheroni al ferro

Ragù is a meat sauce, usually served with pasta.  I chose maccheroni al ferro.  This pasta is super for any sauce, because it doesn't get soft as fast as typical pastas do, I like my pasta al dente, slightly hard on the inside. 

The sauce is easy.  You can use fresh tomatoes and make a base sauce, but it takes a bit longer.  I used salt free canned plum tomatoes from Italy.  Heat some oil in a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients.  Add some fresh chopped garlic, fresh chopped red onion, a sprig of fresh rosemary, cook for a couple of minutes, add bay leaf, tomatoes, ground beef, and let simmer for an hour with the lid on.

In the meantime, either make fresh pasta, not hard to do, but can be time consuming, especially if you're not used to making it, particularly maccheroni al ferro.  Here is a site which shows in pictures how it's done:
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://cuochella.blogspot.com/2009/12/maccheroni-al-ferro.html&ei=8qrqTqiOCofh0QGI5qDfCQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ7gEwAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmaccheroni%2Bal%2Bferro%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DBTO%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26prmd%3Dimvnso


You can always buy it at the supermarket.  If you can't find this exact pasta, choose another one.  You are using a meat sauce, which has lots of texture, so most pastas will do.  If you're using store bought pasta, start cooking it about 8 minutes before the sauce is done, or how ever long it will take to cook the pasta without overcooking it.  Remember that pasta continues to absorb moisture once in the sauce, which makes it keep softening.

When the sauce is done, pick out the bay leaf and stem from rosemary, add drained pasta, and serve with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.  This is perfect comfort food on a cold day.
Bon Appetit!

Butternut Squash Risotto

Squash is quite amazing, with so many varieties, the possibilities are endless.  Butternut is one of the most popular, available and in turn widely used squashes.

Risotto is such a simple dish to make.  It can be a side dish or a main meal, and it's flavour possibilities are infinite as well, since you can virtually add anything to go with the rice.

All you need for this dish, is a butternut squash, a cup of short-grained round or semi-round rice, such as Arborio, Vialone Nano, and Carnaroli.  Arborio rice is available at almost any supermarket.  A few leaves of fresh sage, about 1/3 cup of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, s&p, 30 oz of stock - just under 4 cups, about 1/4 cup of white port and 1/4 cup water or 1/2 dry white wine.  Port has a much stronger taste, so I diluted it with water for this dish, since butternut squash has a mild flavour, I didn't want too much port to take over.  You can also skip the port or wine all together and just use extra water with the stock.

The hardest part is peeling and cutting the squash, but to make it a bit simpler, you can cut it into pieces first, slice off the skin, and use a spoon to get the seeds and stringy bits out, like this:

You'll need to cut it into about 1/2" cubes. 

Add to the melted butter, stir frequently and let it cook for about 10 minutes.  Then add 1 cup of rice, and stir so that it's coated.  If using wine or port, add that and cook until it gets absorbed.  Then add stock in about 1/2 cup amounts at a time, wait for the liquid to be absorbed, and stir in between.  At the end add the parm, sage, s&p, and serve right away, because it's best fresh off the stove.  This is not one of those dishes that you can make ahead of time.  My sage in the backyard still hasn't died, so I managed to get a few good looking leaves.

I used pink Himalayan crystals which I crushed a bit with a mortar and pestle, but you can use any good quality sea salt.  I just have some of the pink salt, so I sue it when ever I can.

I also use freshly ground black pepper, because it's more potent, so I don't need as much and I know how much I need, because I'm used to using freshly ground as opposed to pre-ground, which loses its strength over time.

This risotto was delicious, sweet, with a bit of tang.  Even James had 2 servings.  By the way, these amounts will yield about 4 servings as meals, more as side dishes.

So good and easy.  Perfect for a cold day.  Enjoy!

Savoy Cabbage

I love cabbage.  It's one of my favourite things to eat, and by far a top vegetable in my kitchen.  James won't eat it, though yesterday when I made a new simple dish out of Savoy, I wanted him to taste it, since it is more mild than the typical green cabbage.  I told him it was a type of lettuce, otherwise he wouldn't even try it.  He had a bite, and said it wasn't his thing.  Fair enough.  All I ask is people try.
How lovely is this cabbage:

All that is required is you peel off the outer layers, then cut the cabbage in half vertically, and slice up:

All you need then is a frying pan, some oil, you can use olive oil, but if you have a flavoured oil, something like almond oil, or truffle, or even sesame - which has a stronger aroma use that instead.  Peel and chop some fresh garlic, how much depends on how much you like garlic and how many servings you are making.  It's best fresh, and since it takes very little time to make, you're best off making it as you want to eat it.  Heat up the oil without burning it, add garlic, let it fry for a minute, add the savoy, stir around until it gets soft and it will decrease in volume, by about 40%.  At the end add sea salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE:  If you are using olive oil, but have some flavoured salt, you can sprinkle that at the end.

So easy, delicious, and super easy to make!
Bon Appétit!

Buttermilk Pancakes and Banana Bread

Every once in a while I have a massive craving for pancakes, the North American sort.  I have a basic recipe I use.  I've never made pancakes out of a box.  Before moving to Canada I never had "pancakes", only crepes, as well as potato crepes, which people call pancakes, but the ones I am familiar with look more like crepes.

Today I made buttermilk pancakes, only because I had close to a litre of buttermilk left, which expires on Tuesday.  I made banana bread yesterday, and I am making two more loaves tomorrow.  I wish buttermilk came in smaller sizes.

My recipe is loosely based on one from about 15 years ago.  My friend's grandmother's Mennonite cook book.  I don't remember that recipe, I never used it.   My version is what I've always made, and it's so easy, it's always in my head.

You'll need:
-2 cups buttermilk
-2 cups flour, I used 1.75 cups plain unbleached and .25 whole wheat, hence the speckles  *
-1 egg
-a pinch of salt
-a bit of sugar, I use very little, maybe a teaspoon worth
-about a tsp of baking soda
-1-2 tbsp oil


All you need to do is beat the egg into the buttermilk, sift the dry ingredients, add them to the dry stuff, add a bit of oil, mix with a fork, it's ok to have lumps, just not giant ones.  It's actually good to have lumps, creates some air pockets and makes the pancakes a bit fluffier.

Sometimes I add blueberries in to the batter, because they are small enough that they don't explode when heated and stain the pancakes, like raspberries, blackberries or strawberries would.   You can add whatever you like to the batter.  Nuts work, chocolate chips, etc.  I made mine plain today, and had blackberries on the side and maple syrup drizzled on the pancakes.  Sometimes I have yogurt instead of maple syrup.

You then heat some butter in a pan, and fry away.  You want the butter melted and heated.  Putting batter in non heated grease gets messy.

* I find adding more whole wheat flour than 1/4 cup makes the pancakes too heavy.  It's up to you how much and what kind of flour blends you want to use.

This was the banana bread I made:

I will try to take better photos :)

Spaghetti and Meatballs

This was my first time making spaghetti and meatballs, because I was never a huge fan, but now I'm thinking that maybe I just never had a tasty enough version.

Here is what you'll need:
-pasta, I used a whole multi-grain pasta
-a can of tomato paste
-a can of plum tomatoes or fresh plum tomatoes, but fresh take longer to simmer down to sauce.  I found a can of Italian sodium free plum tomatoes at the market
-ground beef, or ground beef and pork
-rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, I used fresh, if you're using dry, use less then fresh
-olive oil
-bay leaf
-fresh garlic
-a bit of onion (optional)
-s&p
-eggs
-red wine
-parmigiano reggiano
-bread crumbs or stale bread
-milk, I used (whipping) cream and a bit of water
NOTE: if you're using bread, then soak it in the milk, then add to meat.  Milk breaks down the meat.

Directions:
-Have a baking sheet ready, use parchment paper or a non-stick sheet.  Set oven to 350 F.
-Mix the meat, s&p, herbs, eggs, bread/ crumbs in a bowl with your hand.
-Mold small balls, about 1.5", by rolling between your hands, and place on baking sheet
-Bake for 45 minutes
You can fry your meat balls, but I find that too messy, and by baking, even if you're using lean meat, even more fat comes out on to the sheet.

For the sauce:
-Add some oil to a pot, add garlic, onion if using, simmer for a minute, add bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary, thyme, oregano, pepper, dry or fresh basil, but save some fresh for later.
-Add tomato paste, wine, and chopped plum tomatoes.  Stir, cover, and let simmer.
-When meatballs are done, add to pot with sauce.
-Boil spaghetti.
-Add fresh chopped basil to pot, and salt and pepper to taste.
-I used bowls, cause I had unexpected guests, and some of us ended up sitting on the sofa.
-Drain pasta, I like mine al dente, firm, but not too hard, because they will continue to absorb moisture from the sauce and keep softening.  Best way is to try your pasta after a few minutes, if it's soft on the outside with a firm centre, it's good, usually about 7-8 minutes, but this depends on the pasta.
-put some pasta on a plate, or in a bowl, ladle in sauce with meatballs, sprinkle with freshly cut basil and shaved parmigiano reggiano.
-Pour yourself a glass of red, sit back, and enjoy ;)

Of course I forgot to take photos of the final product, but here is one of the sauce simmering with the meatballs:

The whole multi-grain spaghetti:

Shrimp 3 Ways

Shrimp aren't my favourite seafood, but I like them once in a while.  I usually buy a couple of packages of good quality frozen shrimp, and put them in the freezer for a day when I'm stuck for a dinner idea, or I have unexpected guests, and nee do whip up something fast, but still tasty.

As with all my posts, since they are mostly descriptive stories, not written out in "proper" recipe format, it's always a good idea to read the full post, to familiarize yourself with ingredients and steps required.  That tip goes for any recipe, even proper ones written with exact measurements.  I don't include exact measurements for most things, because I don't measure a lot.  Amounts depend on how many people you're cooking for, and also on your taste buds, when it comes to spices.  You can almost  always add more, but it's much harder to take some out.  Once you experiment, and figure out how much of what you like, you should make a note for next time.  Experimenting and creating recipes is loads of fun and the other main reason for me not posting exact amounts.

Here are three different recipes I've made and liked to make shrimp.  BTW, you always want to thaw your shrimp, to minimize the amount of water they will give off as they fry, because the more water, the longer they will be in the pan, and the harder they will become, because they shouldn't be overcooked.

1.  Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
-shrimp (defrosted, best way is to put them in a colander in a sink, so excess water drains out as they defrost; if you're short for time, you can speed up defrosting by running cold water over the frozen shrimp.  You can always use fresh shrimp.)
-tomato (s)
-chickpeas
-Basmati rice
-oil or butter
-onion
-garlic
-s&p
-cinnamon
-cumin
-curry
-fennel seeds
-cayenne pepper

Directions:
-Have Basmati rice cooking while you prep the rest.  Follow direction on package.  I like to put a folded paper towel over the rice and cover with lid when it's done, to absorb extra moisture


-Heat up oil or butter in pan, add spices, mix, add chopped onion, stir for a minute, add chopped garlic.
NOTE: sometimes instead of chopping garlic, I use a tiny grater, either way works, but if you're not great at chopping garlic finely, the grater might be a good option for you.  Garlic is so yummy and has so many health benefits, that chopping shouldn't be a deterrent for using fresh garlic.  Also, with practice comes experience, so just be patient, and in no time you'll be a pro.

-Dice tomato and add to pan, wait a couple of minutes until it softens.

-Add shrimp, let cook for a few minutes, white mixing the ingredients

-Add chickpeas, stir, cover pan with lid and simmer on low/med for about 5-10 minutes

-Serve with Basmati rice.

2. Fried Shrimp
Ingredients:
-shrimp
-garlic
-s&p
-butter
-Dijon mustard

Directions:
-Heat up butter, add chopped garlic, let simmer for 10 -20 seconds, you don't want the heat to be too high or the garlic to burn, which it does fairly quickly when it's the only ingredient in the pan, other than the fat.

-Add the Dijon, stir, add shrimp, let simmer for a few minutes.  Add s&p to taste.

-You can serve this will all kinds of sides or even just crusty bread as a light meal.


3. Shrimp Stir Fry
Ingredients:
-shrimp
-spoonful of peanut butter or peanut sauce
-frozen veggie medley, Asian type, or similar variety of fresh veg, ex. snow peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, sprouts, carrots, yellow beans, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, etc
-rice noodles
-oil, preferably sesame, it has a lovely flavour which goes so well with this sort of dish
-garlic
-paprika
-cayenne
-s&p
-peanuts or almonds (optional)

Directions:
-Heat up pan, add oil, add chopped garlic, then spices, then peanut butter or peanut sauce.  If you're finding the peanut butter too thick at this point, and you're using frozen vegetables, don't worry, the water from the veg will thin out the peanut butter.  If you're using fresh vegetables and are finding it too thick, just add some hot water, but not too much, you don't want the sauce to be too watery.  Again, it's always easier to just keep adding spoonfuls of water, then trying to thicken things up later on.

-Add vegetables, let simmer for a bit, if frozen, simmer until they are cooked.

-Prepare rice noodles according to package, and add to pan.   Let simmer for a few minutes.  Covering the pan with a lid will cook things quicker, but it will also create extra moisture, which if you find you have too much liquid, you can cook uncovered for a couple of minutes, and it will evaporate.

-If using nuts, chop into medium to fine pieces and sprinkle on top when serving.

Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. especially the steel cut variety, because it doesn't get as mushy, and it's supposed to be healthier, which is a bonus.  I usually have it plain, or with cinnamon.  I never buy instant oatmeal, plain or flavoured, because it's so easy to flavour it with real ingredients at home, and instant doesn't have as much nutritional value.  It's another small step to cut out unnecessary additives.  Steel cut oatmeal takes a long way to cook, 20-30 minutes, but there is a short cut.  Soak it overnight in the pot you'll be using to boil it in the morning.  I usually use a 1:2 ratio of oatmeal to water.  By morning, all you need to do is heat it up, and it's good to go.  Who says you can't have healthy fast?

One of my fave flavours is to boil the oatmeal in plain water, just before it's done you can add a bit of milk, and keep it on the stove just until the milk heats up, so that you don't end up with cold oatmeal, then pour it in a bowl, add salted butter and maple syrup, or plain butter and salt with maple syrup.  It's a treat!  There are loads of flavour possibilities, but I love the salty and sweet, and butter just makes everything taste better.  As far as milk goes, you can use whatever milk you normally drink.  For the past 4 years I didn't drink cow's milk, only rice and almond.  Recently I discovered unhomogenized 3.8% whole organic milk from Organic Meadow.

http://organicmeadow.com/our_products/organic_milk/3_8_unhomogenized_whole_organic_milk

It tastes different from homogenized milk, and it looks different.  It forms a layer of thick cream at the top which I scoop up and eat, it's practically butter :)  It's very tasty, and from the readings I've done on line, unhomogenized milk is much healthier, because it retains more enzymes, which aid in digestion of milk.  Some sites referred to homogenized milk as carcinogenic.  Almost all cow's milk at supermarkets is homogenized.  Goat's milk, on the other hand, is never homogenized, and is quite popular all over the world, just not so much in N America.  Milk is a tricky subject, maybe I'll go into it more another time.

Scrambled eggs with lachsschinken

This is a great brunch idea, but really you can eat this any time of day, that's the awesome thing about eggs.  There are loads of variations, but today I'll be sharing one of my fave.
I used shallots this time, but I have used onions in the past.  I still had a shallot in the fridge from September's Savour Stratford, an annual food festival which follows the Garlic Festival; both in Stratford, Ontario.  It's where I find my annual Cinderella pumpkin, the Rouge vif D'Etampes, my favourite pumpkin variety.  The man from whom I bought the pumpkin, threw in  a couple of free shallots.  James won't eat onions or anything from the allium group of foods, such as French shallots, shallots, leeks, scallions, chives, though oddly enough he likes garlic, but not too much of it, where as I can't get enough.
Back to the eggs.  I heat up butter in a pan, sometimes salted, if plain, I add salt, but after the shallots or onions have already softened, because salt adds time to cooking.  I chop up some shallots or onions, since I usually make this just for me, one small or half of a big shallot or onion is enough.  Once the shallots/ onions are starting to look translucent, add slices of lachsschinken, a German style prosciutto, or any prosciutto or meat of your choice.  I like prosciutto, especially the lachsschinken, because I always get it sliced very thin, and I love the flavour.  It also lasts a lot longer in the fridge compared to other sliced meats, because of the way it's prepared.  I usually put the slices on top of the shallots/onions for a bit, this helps the flavours blend in the end.  Add some pepper, I always use freshly ground, it holds its potency better, so you don't need to use as much as pre-ground.

 
I then break 2 eggs into the pan, and scramble.  I only fry my eggs until they are no longer runny.  Over frying scrambled eggs, makes them drier, harder and eggy smelling.

I then eat my scrambled eggs with a slice of rye bread, which I pick up at the bakery.  I always wondered why the bakery rye looks, smells, and tastes different from the supermarket rye.  I recently read the ingredients on the supermarket "rye bread", and wheat flour - enriched non the less - is one of the main ingredients, and caramel colour is always on the list, to give the bread that dark colour, which tricks people into thinking they are eating healthier.  Enriched flour, which is found in most items at the supermarket requiring flour, is flour which has been stripped of everything, and then the nutritional values are added back in.  It's crazy, right.  First they take the naturally good stuff out and then add their own versions and amounts.  Again, so disappointing.  It's always wheat flour, and wheat has been so modified, that it no longer resembles the wheat as our ancestors knew it.  This may be why they add nutritional value to wheat bread.  When I need plain flour, I buy unbleached Five Roses plain flour.  I find it works better than Robin Hood for baking.  

So I am sticking to my fresh bakery bread, which is not only better and tastier, but cheaper as well.  Go figure.  Once in a while, I buy sourdough, especially if I'm making a stew, fresh sourdough with salty butter is amazing.  I also love a fresh baguette every now and then, and I love pumpernickel, especially that whole grain moisty type, there is one with hazelnuts, so good.  That sort of pumpernickel isn't practical for sandwiches to go, but is great for at home sandwiches and even broken into pieces in a salad instead of croutons.

Sorry, again, I didn't think to take a picture until I was already wolfing down this tasty, filling, and healthy dish.  Bon Appétit!

Steaks and pickled carrots

I bought some steaks, Alberta AAA, grass fed rib eyes; those are my fave, because I love the fat bits.  The salty, crunchy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside, it's a party for my taste buds.  I don't eat steaks a lot, mainly because here in Ontario, most beef is corn fed, AA+.  Even many restaurants, decent ones, serve corn fed beef.  It's so disappointing.  The odd time we get steaks, cause James likes them, he BBQs them, with some sauce.  They never taste like a proper good steak you order out, because there is no searing to lock in moisture and flavour.  I had a yummy rib eye this summer in Edmonton.  We saw loads of cattle grazing the grass fields, it was lovely.

I wanted to make these steaks taste amazing, so I googled and read some sites and tips.  I came across one, which had rave reviews.  So I gave a it a go.
http://sffoodie.wordpress.com/2007/02/28/how-to-make-the-perfect-steak/

The steaks, which were about 1" thick, came out tasty, but too well done for my liking, even though I followed the steps.  James liked that his was well done, but said he prefers grilled to pan fried.  James is a snappy dresser and overall a sweetie, but when it comes to matters of the palate, we don't agree on much, which is sometimes frustrating.  For next time, I will cut the time for my steak, but aside from it being well done, it did have a nice caramelized outside, and was juicy on the inside.  The high temperature did seal well.  One of the reviewers mentioned smoke.  It should be mentioned in the main article, because there was loads of it, and my smoke detector is very sensitive.  I had the stove fan on high, and the window in the kitchen open, as well as the back and front doors, to create a draft and get rid of the smoke and smell.  It was annoying, but worth the hassle.

I took a picture of before, but then forgot to take pictures of after.  You'll find that a lot of my photos are of partially eaten food.  It's because I remember before it's ready, but once it's done and I can eat, I totally forget.  At least sometimes, I catch myself half way through, which was not the case with these steaks.  I didn't use any marinades, just s&p, which I premixed in a bowl, and then rubbed into the steaks.  I didn't want meat juices on my salt bottle and pepper mill.

I was going to make sweet potato fries, but opted for the mashed skin potatoes with lardons, and this time I added a bit of fresh thyme.  Instead of making a veg side, I served pickled carrots.  I made these myself a few weeks ago.  They are delicious, sweet, tart, crunchy, with a hint of bay leaf and fennel.

Don't mind the ED Smith jar, I used whatever jars I had around.  The carrots were from James' parents' backyard, they have a decent vegetable garden each year, and we're lucky enough to get all kinds of goodies.  I grew tomatoes and cucumbers this year, as well as herbs.  I had a few other things, but the rabbits ate the new growth before it had a chance to mature and fruit.  I'll need to think of a way to keep them out.  One thing that worked this summer were hanging baskets.  Rabbits can't fly or climb walls  :)

I made 2 jars of the carrots, it was an experiment.  I used the bigger carrots and sliced them, and the smaller ones I kept whole.  They will look nicer served to guests as edible garnishes.

The carrots were quite easy to make.  I used water, apple cider vinegar, some sugar, fennel seeds, fresh garlic, salt, and bay leaf.  Boil some salted water, and drop the carrots in for about 1 minute, you want the crispness.  Dump it all into a colander, and run under cold water to prevent further cooking.  Then use the same pot and add all above ingredients, bring to boil, and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Take off heat, add carrots, and let cool to room temp.  Put into jars and stick in the fridge.  You should give the carrots at least one day before eating so that the flavours have a chance to get absorbed.

I bet they would be tasty with dill, instead of fennel, having both might be too much.  Also, any cider vinegar would do, I happened to have apple on hand, because I use it to make my own salad dressing.  I'll write about that another time.

Bean Burritos

I never get sick of beans, I actually crave them sometimes.  Even if I over do it, after a few weeks have passed, I'm wanting beans again.  It's been a while since I made burritos, so I soaked some black beans over night, and had a tasty dinner last night.  When using dry beans, soaking over night cuts down the cooking time a lot.  I used black beans, because I had some in my pantry.  Pinto beans would also be tasty in a burrito.  You could use canned beans, but it's so easy not to, and significantly cuts down on the sodium.  Anything out of a can is loaded with salt, even if you buy the low sodium versions.  You can also make beans and ground beef or pork or chicken, or sausage, whatever you like.  I made mine just with beans and rice.

First decide how much you want to make, you can always freeze some for later.  You want to use about 3x as much water as beans, and just let that stand over night.  In the morning, add your spices.  I use s&p, cayenne pepper, garlic, onion, cumin - it adds a nice flavour.  Set your stove to low, and let it simmer for a few hours.  If you have a slow cooker, that could be very handy, and you could even skip the soak.  Just put on your slow cooker in the morning, and 8 hours later or so, your beans are ready.  make sure your heat isn't too high, because you don't want to be losing too much water too fast.  Once they are soft, you can try eating one to test, take a potato masher and mash your beans.  That's it, they're ready.

Make some rice, I use brown rice and add some spices, like paprika, hot pepper flakes, a bit of salt, or if you have a pre-blended spice which would go with a burrito, try that.  Then get your toppings ready, I usually have cheddar (old and white for me, mild and orange or marble for James).  BTW, cheddar cheese is naturally white, the orange is food colouring, nothing more.  Gross, right?  I usually have salsa, again, mild for James, sometimes I'll have that, but I like the Chipotle, some diced tomatoes, avocado or guacamole, green onions, cilantro, and sour cream or plain yogurt.  After assembling, I use my grill, and the burritos get warmed up and stick closed together.  I usually put the sour cream or yogurt on top, after it's grilled, or use it as a dip.  Super tasty and healthy.  Not every market has corn tortillas, and even the ones that do, when you read the ingredients, they list corn and what flour.  Corn flour tortillas are very brittle and messy, so my guess is that it's why they don't sell 100% corn flour tortillas here.  If you do use the corn/ wheat blend, those do break apart quicker than the wheat alone, but if you warm them up first, it prevents breakage a bit.

Very tasty, filling, good for you, and great for parties or any day of the week.  You can put left overs in the fridge for the next day or freeze and have in a few days or few weeks.  I used 2.5 cups of dry beans, we had 4 burritos last night, and there is still enough for today's dinner and probably more.  I won't be freezing my leftovers, I'll just use them as a topping for nachos and have a snack for tomorrow night, because I'm not sick of the beans yet :)

Be Aware of Certain Foods

I buy as little processed food as possible, and I don't eat out much, mainly because I want to know what's in my food.  Plus my taste buds tend to get angry if I eat something not good enough.  I'm not kidding.  This makes it tricky when we're on road trips, because trying to find decent food in the middle of nowhere poses a problem most of the time.  We bring lots of snacks with us, but those are for in between meals.  I don't mind stopping in at a random diner and having a burger and fries, but they better taste good, not like some frozen dinner.  I also won't eat at any of the main stream fast food burger places.  I like Pita Pit, they have loads of tasty toppings, and I can get a hummus or falafel pita, I don't order the meat ones, cause even if it's not processed, it comes in individual plastic wrap packages and does not look appetizing.  Their toppings include all the basics, but they also have spinach and romaine lettuce, not just iceberg, real cheeses, like feta, cheddar, and possibly another one.  They even have Tzatziki and raw mushrooms, sprouts, etc.  I almost always get the hummus pita with loads of veg, spinach instead of lettuce, feta, and tzatziki.  Pita Pit does not have enough locations, especially outside of a few urban centres.

Anyway, back to gross ingredients in food.  I came across these 2 articles, definitely worth a read, especially if you do eat pre-made or processed food.  Here they are:
15 Food Companies That Serve You 'Wood'
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/15-food-companies-that-serve-you-wood/
and
Top 6 Freaky Foods to Avoid
http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/11/6-freaky-foods/

Locally raised organic ground beef

Last week we had someone come to the door asking if we would be interested in a locally raised meat sample.  I said yes; we picked a day and time.  A few days later I get a call an hour before my sample was to arrive, and I am told there will be a short presentation, and Derek will need a table for it.  I forgot about the sample, and I was still in bed when I answered that call.  So I had an hour to get up, shower, get ready, clean up the place and my table, which was covered with pots of herbs I had brought in from outside, because I didn't want to to get frost bitten.  It was a mess.  We managed to clean it up, and i had a quick bite to eat.  A man came by trying to sell us a package.  I wish sales people were more up front about their agendas.  The package seemed like an awful idea, at least for us.  It included a year's worth of frozen meat and frozen veg, as well as pantry items.  None of the pantry items on the list were things I use.  It was a bunch of over processed items, which completely counteracts the "healthiness" of the locally grown organic meats.  I may as well take that meat, microwave it, and serve it up.  I don't own a microwave, because I think it destroys nutritional value on a molecular level.  I'm not snooty, I'm just very particular with what I put in my body.  Having said that, I'm not a calorie counter and I don't eat organic only.  I love good pastries, and full fats, as you'll see in my posts.  I believe in eating like my grandparents ate, even how I ate before moving to Canada in '87.  Aside from store bought cookies, ice cream, sugar, flour, and some rice, I had very little exposure to processed food, certainly no fast food.  I believe in whole foods, which include full fats.  I do love to bake, so I use unbleached flour for most pastries.
Anyway, I decided to use that beef sample today, and I made a meatloaf.  It was small, perfect for the two of us. 
I used fresh rosemary, thyme, marjoram, s&p, an egg, some bread crumbs, and fresh Canadian garlic, which is hard to find and about 3 or 4 x the cost of the stuff from China, but you don't need as much, because it does have a more potent flavour.  Mixed it all in and pressed it into a small baking dish:

I usually cover the dish with aluminum foil for most of the time it's baking, so it doesn't dry out and bakes quicker.  The last 10 minutes I remove the foil and increase the temperature.  For a meatloaf I'd use 375, and 400 to brown the top.  Time depends on how big and thick your portion is.  If you aren't comfortable not knowing exact times for baking meat, I suggest getting a meat thermometer for the first while.
The meatloaf turned out well, and it was tasty, though James covered his with ketchup, and it made me cringe.  Our taste buds are very different, though over time I've managed to adjust them a bit :)  He grew up without seasoning.
The meatloaf shrunk a bit, oddly enough mostly on one side, the meat was lean and teh dish was small enough to fit in my toaster oven.  I use my toaster oven whenever I'm making something small enough to fit in there, to conserve energy.

I also made white button mushrooms, sauteed in salted butter with a very small amount of fresh lemon thyme.  These are all the herbs I was growing outside all summer, in pots, that were spread out on my table, I had to clean up.  I have loads of dry herbs as well.  I feel that in most cases, people who don't like certain foods, just haven't had them properly seasoned.

These mushrooms were from the supermarket, but locally grown as well.  I try to use produce which is in season, so that I can get it locally grown, as much as I can.  I make most of my meals around that notion.

Lastly I made mashed potatoes with skins.  I scrub, cut, and rinse, then boil.  Once they are cooked, I drain, and stick the pot under my stove fan, to evaporate excess moisture.  It's a thing I'd see my mom do.  I used to watch her and my grandma when they were cooking - not necessarily at the same time.  In fact I think the only time they'd both be cooking at the same time was at Christmas, Easter, and other major family events.  My grandma lived with us, when we were growing up, it was awesome.  She was an amazing cook, my mom's awesome as well, she's told me that great grandma was even better.
So these potatoes, I boil them without salt, and when they are drained, but before I mash, I add a pinch of salt and some pork fat with bits of bacon.  I guess they're called lardons here.  When I was in Newfoundland, that's Eastern Canada, they called them scruncheons and they were available at the sparse supermarkets we popped into to refill on snacks, mainly fruit, I miss it when I'm on road trips.  You can make your own lardons out of good quality bacon; I buy mine at a Polish deli.  It's quite an amazing product, I will write about it another time.  You'll notice I tend to go off on tangents, sometimes they are relevant.  I mash the potatoes with skins, salt, and lardons.  It gives the potatoes a nice slightly salty bacony taste.

In the end I noticed that my dinner was very beige.  It may not look as amazing as some other dishes I've made and will post in the future, but it was sure tasty:

November 28th

Good Day Fellow Bloggers,
Today is just another day, except I have finally created this blog.  It's long overdue.  I started a written notepad of my tried and passed recipes a few years ago, with the suggestion of some friends.  I've been meaning to share the recipes on a larger scale than my handwritten notepad can reach, so finally here is my attempt.  I'm not big on measuring or following others' recipes to the dot.  The funnest part of cooking, aside from eating, is the experimentation process, and the amazing feeling when something turns out delicious enough to share.  Even when I remake something I have written down, it hardly ever tastes the same twice.  I'm also big on using what I've got in the fridge or pantry, before buying more.  This assures me that I waste very minimal amounts of food.  Another thing that helps with limiting waste is buying less, but shopping more frequently, though that's not always convenient, it does ensure freshness and less need for the compost bin.  Welcome, I hope you enjoy reading my bits, and maybe even try out some of my recipes.  Tootles for now.