Strawberries, Wild Strawberries, Shortcake Variation, Pinot Grigio

Summer's here!

I dream of strawberry shortcake, even though cream (and milk) and I don't get along. Today I thought of an alternative to whipped cream/double cream/clotted cream. Vanilla Yogurt! The yogurt can be home-made or store-bought, but the thicker the better, and obviously quality makes a difference--the less ingredients in yogurt the better it is. If your yogurt is runny, that's fine, but the berries may slide off faster. To make a thicker yogurt just place the yogurt in a sieve lined with cheese cloth over a bowl, and let the liquid--whey--drain. Thick store-bought yogurts (like Greek style) are made thick in two ways: thickeners and straining. If you don't make your own yogurt and you don't want to pay more for Greek style, just buy regular yogurt and strain it (in the fridge). Buying plain yogurt and flavouring it yourself is best, because it won't have all the additives of sugar and flavours.

Anyway, using vanilla yogurt in place of cream is fantastic. Now I can eat even more strawberry shortcake!

These are strawberries and strawberry-wild strawberry mutants from my backyard. Last year my strawberries and my wild strawberries cross-pollinated, which messed up the wild strawberries. They are now a bit larger with a distinct texture and more of a strawberry taste. I wish it had gone the other way.

Vanilla and cardamom poundcake with vanilla and berries.

Wild strawberries floating in Pinot Grigio. They're even better with champagne.

Sliced strawberry on top of vanilla yogurt.

This is a photo from last year. You can see the thickness of the cream.

Enjoy!

Asparagus as a Meal

I made this dish--or something similar--about two years ago from an online recipe. I couldn't remember where the  recipe was from, and I'm not sure if I'm remembering it exactly. It turned out well nonetheless.

This is quite easy and quick to make, and even though it doesn't look like much, it's quite substantial.

1. Grate asparagus stems (I roasted the heads for another dish).

2. Briefly blanch (~15 seconds); you want the stems slightly softened, but still with a bit of a crunch. Drain, and quickly rinse in cold water.

3. Melt butter in a pan, add almonds, and fry until the butter has browned a bit, and the almonds look plump.

4. Place asparagus in a dish, and pour the butter and almonds over the asparagus.

5. Squeeze a bit of lemon, and serve.

This is best eaten right away, so make only as much as will be eaten.

Bon appétit!

Chicken and Waffles Updated

Update to the previous Chicken and Waffles

I've made the chicken and waffles again. Same waffle recipe as before, but I changed the herbs and spices in the bread crumb mixture. I also used maple syrup over the waffles. It was tasty, especially with the spicier breading. The herbs this time were: cayenne, paprika, salt, oregano, ground coriander, powdered onion, powdered garlic, marjoram, and thyme.

(I didn't bother taking more photos.)

Chicken and Waffles

Another first. I've never made or had chicken and waffles. I had 2 chicken breasts that I had to use up. I barely ever use my waffle maker, probably because when I lived with my parents my mom wanted banana waffles every weekend. I kept making them, but eventually stopped wanting to eat waffles--for a long time.

So here is my version of chicken and waffles. Again, I used what I already had in my kitchen.

Chicken

• chicken meat (I used 2 breasts, but used whatever parts you want)
• bread crumbs (regular, panko, or crush something non-sweet like corn flakes)
• butter for frying
• spices: oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne, Cajun mix--mix into bread crumbs
• egg, whisked for batter to stick

Slice the meat into thin strips, dunk in egg, then in bread crumbs. Fry in hot butter.


Waffles

I made up this recipe because I wanted something plain to go with the flavourful chicken, but feel free to add savoury flavours.

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk (I didn't have milk, so I diluted 10% cream with water)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• salt
• 1 egg
• melted butter for batter

Melt butter. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk egg into milk, and add to dry stuff, then add melted butter. Use hand mixer. Pour batter into waffle maker, 1/4 - 1/2 cup per waffle, depending on your machine. I don't measure, just eyeball it. Once you make a couple you'll know the amount that won't overflow or leave too many holes. This made 8 rectangular waffles. You can halve or double the recipe, or whatever amount you need.

Enjoy!

Ossobuco and Risotto

Here goes my bi-annual post. I'm really not very good at keeping up with this blog. Life gets in the way. I have a few hundred photos of food, and can't even remember all the ingredients for some of those dishes. Spring is in the air, but it's still cool and damp enough for comfort food.

Today I made ossobuco and wild mushroom risotto. This dinner was fairly inexpensive. I used ingredients that I already had. This was the first time I made ossobuco, though it wasn't the first time I've eaten it. I didn't use a recipe, because I wanted to use stuff I already had. The ossobuco I bought a few weeks ago, but didn't have a chance to make it then, so I froze it. For 9.40 CDN, it was enough for 2, and lots of marrow and gooey bits. Mmmm.

Here is what I used and did, but feel free to substitute anything. If you're familiar with my way of cooking, you'll notice that I eyeball amounts, and often don't make the same thing twice (because I like to use up what I have).

Ossobuco

• Melt butter in a pan or pot, something that has a lid and isn't too shallow.
• Take the veal and cover both sides in flour, then fry on both sides for about 10-15 minutes.
• Remove meat from pan, put it on a plate, then add sliced onions and garlic, simmer for a bit, add chopped celery, basil, tomato, lemon balm (or lemon peel or some other lemon herb). Stir, then add stock (I used turkey, because I roasted a whole turkey last week, so I saved the stock, used a bit for this, and froze the rest for future use).
• I also added a bit of white wine vinegar and a bit of red port. Ideally I would've used white wine, but I didn't have any. Veal works with reds and whites, so you can choose which you want, or mix.
• Place the veal in the pan, cover and simmer for 2-2.5 hours.
• This yummy sauce covers the veggies in this meal.

Risotto

• Melt some coconut oil or lard in a pot.
• Coat (dry) short grain rice in the fat. I used Arborio.
• Add 3x the liquid relative to the dry rice, but do it about 1/2 cup at a time. I used water, but you can use stock. Since the ossobuco is rich, I wanted the rice to be light, which is why I didn't add grated parmesan at the end.
• After the first or second portion of liquid, add spices. I used rosemary, tarragon, thyme, salt, pepper, celery seed, and dehydrated mushrooms. Keeping dry mushrooms in your pantry is awesome, they add so much flavour to all kinds of things, are inexpensive, and have a lengthy shelf life (just keep them in a dry place).
• Keep adding the liquid.
• Part way through I added a piece of Grana Padano rind (a cheese similar to parmesan, but milder), just because I had it and wanted to use it up. You can add grated cheese (parmesan or something like it) at the end to add flavour and creaminess, but like I said I wanted to keep it light. The mushrooms and herbs added lots of yummy flavour.

Easy and delicious!

Bruschetta

I'm awful when it comes to posting in here. Truth be told I'd rather spend time making food than blogging about it. I post more frequently in Yummy Recipes (general recipes) and in Metal Porkchop (ferments) on Facebook, because it's faster. However, today I'm sick and don't feel like doing much, so here I am. I can't believe the last post I made was in January. Geez!

By lunchtime I had enough energy to make a tasty meal. So if I can make it while I'm sick, anyone can make it whenever.

I used 4 heirloom tomatoes, a variety that I grew this summer and then froze. Home-grown sun-ripened tomatoes of any variety can't be beat in flavour. I realize that not everyone has access to such treats, so to make up for the loss of flavour, add a bit more spices and a pinch of sugar--the pinch size depends on the size of your batch. It's easier to add than to take out, so always taste before adding more.

Here are the steps:

Heat up butter, add chopped garlic--local is best and most flavourful. The amount depends on your taste buds. I used 4 cloves for my single serving, because I love garlic, plus it's an antibacterial, which I need right now.

Then add chopped onion. I used one small local onion.
I scored a 10 lb bag for 99¢ (compared to $3 for 2 heads of garlic). Small onions are great for use with daily meals, because you can use a whole one and not have to bother with storing the other half.
Side note: If you don't mind the onion smell, onions are a great way to clean the air: just leave a wedge on a plate.

Simmer for a few minutes, then add rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil. Stir and add tomatoes. Simmer until they soften. After 15 min or so, if you have too much liquid, remove the lid and simmer  until most of it cooks off.

Slice a baguette, toast it if you like, and top each slice with the tomato mixture. You can stop there, or keep going. I added slices of lachsschinken and marscapone. The 4 pieces were my lunch, but if you're making these as appetizers, you can make smaller servings.

Just in time for the holidays! Enjoy! (I did, and I already feel better.)

Chestnut Butter

Chestnut butter is delicious, but impossible to find here, so I make my own. Even chestnut paste is difficult to find.  This chestnut butter recipe is very simple.  All I used were whole chestnuts (only available around Christmas time here), honey, seeds from a vanilla bean, a pinch of salt, and some water.

Cut x's into chestnuts and boil them for about half an hour. Rinse in cold water, peel. Use a food processor and add all ingredients, add enough water to get a spreadable consistency (see photo below). Put into a jar and refrigerate. Chestnut butter like pumpkin butter is dicey when it comes to canning, because they're both so thick, so don't bother, unless you have access to an industrial canner.