Fat Friday - Aunties & Uncles

This Fat Friday was actually a Saturday morning Brunch, but since it was so delicious, I thought I should share. And, to be truthful, we probably went to Aunties & Uncles well over five months ago, and it would be hard to remember what we had if it weren’t for my trusty camera. You know what they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words….” END POST.

Just kidding…

If you’re anything like Matt and I, you know that some of the best brunch places are little diners hidden away on side streets, ones you would pass by without giving a second glance. But if you’re also like us, then you might read food reviews and chat about food with all your friends, and hence end up finding out about these tucked away little treasures. Such was our experience with Aunties & Uncles.

Located by College and Bathurst, on a side street called Lippincott, Aunties & Uncles looks small and quaint from the outside, and when you step inside, you wonder how long the wait will be, seeing the main floor tables packed with families and couples and friends. But what we didn’t know was that there is also a second floor, with empty tables just waiting for us. So while I’ve been told the wait time for a table can be quite lengthy, especially on a busy Saturday or Sunday morning, we were lucky to be seated within 15 minutes. And the décor is ever-so-kitschy and that just makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

As for the food, well, we were not disappointed! I ordered the Croque Monsieur, not only because it sounded wonderful, but ever since learning about Julia Child’s version, I have always wanted try it. What wouldn’t you enjoy about black forest ham and Swiss cheese grilled on a challah? Needless to say, every bite was heavenly, and yes, it made for a great brunch. I ordered mine with a side of hash browns, but you could also choose the potato or green salad, but I so love hash browns, so it had to be them.

Matt ordered his standard brunch, a true sampling of a brunch establishment: scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. His favourite was probably the toast – a sesame seed challah, but he said the hash browns had great flavor, too.

UPDATE! 

So, I began writing this post about 2 months ago, I’m sure, but we just visited Auntie’s and Uncles AGAIN this past Sunday with Diane while she was in town. We did wait a little longer for a table this time, probably because we were three people instead of two. While Matt had the same dish, Diane and I searched the menu for something different. She ended up ordering the cinnamon French toast, served with a poached pear, while I ordered the daily special – thin strips of roast beef, home fries, scrambled eggs, and toast. It was nice to have something a little different than bacon for breakfast, and we all agreed, the food was worth the wait. 

Recipe #30: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

So, according to my calendar, we are well past week 30. In fact, we are in the middle of week 44, which means I’m a few posts behind on my goal to post a new recipe each week. It’s not that I haven’t cooked a new recipe each week (or sometimes two one week, none the next), it’s just that I have them all stored on my computer waiting to be shared. But no time like the present to get them out there. Hope you like food pictures and recipes.

Remember a few months back when I posted the recipe for the meat (and more meat) lasagna?  I made it for my birthday in June, and for dessert, instead of a cake, I made this pie. It was summer, after all, and strawberries and rhubarb were in season, and a pie is a perfect way to enjoy them. You can buy a pre-made crust to make the job easier, but I decided to make my own.

It might seem like a lot of work and rather time consuming to make this pie, but there’s something about a homemade pie that just makes dessert worth it. Top it off with some vanilla ice cream, and that’s what I call a happy birthday.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

12 oz. (2-2/3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling

2-1/2 tsp. granulated sugar

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

4 oz. (8 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 oz. (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs.) cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces

FILLING

4 cups 1/2-inch-thick sliced rhubarb (about 1-1/4 lb.)

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 2-1/2 cups)

1-1/2 cups plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 1-1/2 Tbs. quick-cooking tapioca

2 Tbs. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. finely grated orange zest

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

2 Tbs. cold butter, cut into small pieces

GLAZE

1 large egg yolk

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CRUST

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Fill a measuring cup with 1/2 cup very cold water. While tossing and stirring the flour mixture with a fork, add the water 1 Tbs. at a time until the dough just begins to come together in small clumps and holds together when you pinch a little between your fingers (you may need only 1/4 cup of water).

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and gather it together with your hands. Lightly knead the dough once or twice, divide it in half, and shape the halves into disks. Wrap the disks separately in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE PIE

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, all the tapioca, orange juice, zest, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and salt. Toss gently to mix well, and then let sit for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes (while you roll out the bottom crust).

If the dough was refrigerated for several hours or overnight, let it sit at room temperature until pliable, about 20 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough disks into a 1/8-inch-thick circle, 12 to 13 inches in diameter, and transfer it to a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Pour the filling into the pie shell and dot the top with the cold butter. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with 1 tsp. water. Brush the edges of the pie shell with some of the egg glaze.

Roll out the second dough disk as above and set it over the fruit filling to form a top crust. Press the edges of the dough together to seal the crust, trim the overhang to 1/2 inch, and fold it under. Flute or crimp the dough all around. Brush the top crust with the remaining egg glaze (you won’t need all of it). Cut four 1- to 1-1/2-inch-long steam vents in the top crust.

Set the pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit juices bubble thickly out of the pie, 70 to 80 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before serving, about 4 hours.

Crafty Find: Paint Brush Hooks

If you’ve ever done any sort of painting in your house, then I bet you’ve experience dried and hardened paint brushes. Sure, maybe you wrap them in plastic, even place them in the freezer, but unless you clean them very well, the paint crusts up and that brush is done for.

Unless, of course, you’re a creative type and realize that the hardened bristles are actually very tough. So tough, in fact, that you realize they can actually serve a purpose - you could shape them and turn them into coat hooks. Brilliant!

And the best part, they would match whatever colour you painted your front hall, or bedroom, or basement… you get the idea.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE….

Did you notice the new layout of the blog? Isn’t it fun? And it's interactive. If you readjust the size of your window, the pictures move around. Don’t like the pictures. Check out the left hand corner: there’s a drop down menu to try out various other layouts. I’m really digging this new feature. 

Recipe #29: Creamy Polenta-Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes

Photo courtesy of www.finecooking.com

I bet you already know that tomatoes are a very versatile vegetables. They are great for making salsa for dipping your tortilla (NOT nacho) chips into. They work equally well for making wonderful sauces to smother your pastas in. Or, they can be diced and mixed with onions and olive oil to spread atop toasted pieces of bread to make a lovely bruschetta. Not to mention they can also be enjoyed cut up and added to just about any green salad.  See, very versatile.

I bet you didn’t know that, however, that not that long ago, I enjoyed all of the above mentioned permutations of tomatoes, but I kept telling myself that I did not like tomatoes themselves. How could that be?! Well, I don’t like a single tomato on its own, or with salt, or with mozzarella. But, as Matt keeps telling me, it’s because I have not yet had a GOOD and fresh tomato, the ones that farmers pick in the summer and bring to the markets, not the ones that ripen on the truck they are shipped in. I will give him that much; freshness makes all the difference! 

But, I’m coming around. And to prove it, I found and made this lovely little stuffed Tomato recipe (yup, you can also stuff tomatoes!). The creamy polenta (a variation of corn meal, I should add, which you all know I love!) fills the juicy pockets of tomatoes, then its topped with cheese and baked to perfection. It’s a great vegetarian dish all on its own, it cooks up pretty quickly, and it’s very filling. 

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. diced shallot
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3 cups lower-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup polenta
1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large Roma-style tomatoes
2 Tbs. chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the cream and then whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme and rosemary and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the polenta is tender, creamy, and thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/4 cup of the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400° F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and hollow them out. Cut a very thin slice off the bottom of each tomato half so the filled tomato can lie flat without rolling. Arrange the tomatoes on the baking sheet and season them lightly with salt. Fill each tomato half with some of the polenta, mounding just slightly (depending on the size of your tomatoes, you may or may not use all the polenta). Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbs. of cheese and the parsley over each. Bake until the tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

A Summer Dress

 

This summer, I set about on a task of making (sewing) a dress for an upcoming wedding. We were heading out to the country to celebrate the marriage of good friends of ours, and I wanted a light summer dress for the occasion. I would say that I am somewhat adept at sewing, but my one weakness, I would say, is actually finishing what I start. My mother can attest (and now husband) to the small piles of fabric that were purchased with such grand hopes of one day becoming a dress or a jacket or a shirt, and now sit in the dark waiting for their time to shine.

You see, sewing, unlike knitting, takes a dedicated space and time, and loads more equipment than just knitting needles and yarn. You need a table big enough to cut your fabric out on, you need to iron, and you need to set up your sewing machine. In our little condo, we currently lack that space for a permanent sewing area, so this also means I have to set up and take down for each sewing session.

But I was determined to change all that and find time this summer to make myself a dress. There were two reasons for this: 1) I find it very hard to dress shop: dresses can be a financial investment, and most often I can’t seem to find exactly the right one worth spending the money on. 2) Making my own dress allows me control of the pattern, fabrics, and fit. Of course, fabric shopping can in and of itself be just as challenging as finding a dress already made, and you still have to sew it! But not matter. I was able to find a fairly simple and geometric black and white linen (boring, I know) and a bright splash of green to add as a belt. The pattern I choose had no zippers or buttons, so there were not too many difficult elements to it. It did have an elastic waist, a belt, and pockets (I think every dress should have pockets!), but all in all, I was fairly confident that I would be able to get it done in the time allotted, about 2 months.

Well, it was the weekend before the wedding and the dress was still in the fabric pile. Nothing like a little time crunch to put the gears in motion. I dedicated two days to the project: the first for cutting and ironing, the second for sewing. Turns out this was just enough time to get a dress together.

To be honest, I wore the dress the next weekend with a little hesitation. I was sure that it looked “too homemade” and not fancy enough for the wedding, but I was assured (albeit it by loved ones) that it looked just fine. I know there are still some tweaks that I need to finish before I wear it again, but luckily a little black sweater hides most of the imperfections. I’ll fine-tune it as I work on my next dress, using the same pattern and adjusting the size until it fits just perfectly. Off to my fabric pile I go….

Recipe #28: Pasta with Tomatoes & Garlic Breadcrumbs

I was inspired to search out and make this recipe after having a similar dish at an Italian restaurant (Parkette. Review coming soon). It was nothing overly exciting, just fresh spaghetti with tomato sauce, but the topping of fresh breadcrumbs was really what made this dish a standout! I wouldn't have thought that adding carbs on top of carbs would be so delicious, but then again, I have been known to be wrong.

And, because I love fresh pasta (and it’s really not that scary to make), I decided to skip the packaged stuff for this recipe and whip up a batch of fresh pasta with dried basil and red pepper flakes. Yes, having a pasta roller handy does make this task much easier, I will admit, and it still is time consuming, so this isn’t a regular weeknight meal. I made the pasta on a weekend and then attempted drying and freezing the extra pasta, which worked really well. Just lay it flat on a tea towel or baking rack to dry, then toss it into a freezer bag and into the freezer. When you want to eat, take out from freezer and drop directly into boiling water.  I would say just as fresh as if you made it that day. 

If you already have your favorite tomato sauce for spaghetti, then just use this recipe for the bread crumbs. Once you try it, I can almost guarantee that you’ll never go back to ‘un-breadcrumbed’ pasta again! But make sure you’re not using store-bought crumbs. Save a few pieces of fresh bread and pulse them in your blender or food processor for the best results.

  

INGREDIENTS

Kosher salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-1/2 cups fresh coarse breadcrumbs

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved

6 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

Set a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil and half the garlic in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until the garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds. Turn the heat to medium, toss in the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until the crumbs brown and turn crisp, 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Put the pasta in the water.

Add 2 Tbs. of the oil to the skillet and cook the remaining garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, season generously with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes so they start to soften and lose their shape. Fold in all but 2 Tbs. of the parsley.

Finish cooking the pasta until it's just tender, about 10 minutes total. Drain the pasta, put it in a large serving bowl, and toss with the tomato mixture, half of the breadcrumbs, and 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Taste for salt and pepper. Drizzle each serving with 1/2 Tbs. of the remaining oil and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and parsley. Serve immediately.

Fat Friday - The Burger’s Priest

Just thinking about this burger again is making me drool (and I’m pretty sure my peanut butter sandwich is not going to cut it!). Unlike other burger joints we’ve gone to on more than one occasion (Kraft Burger, now Big Smoke Burger; The Grindhouse; BQM, to name a few), I’ve only had the good fortune (for my taste buds, bad fortune for my cholesterol) of eating at Burger’s Priest once. I am dying to go back!

We heard really great things about this burger: good reviews from Toronto Life and The Grid, and if the lineups are any indication, this is the next hot spot. Luckily, they do take-out, and if you call ahead to place your order, then you can skip the lines all together and just walk up to the counter to pay. Seating is limited in there anyway, so this is a good way to go.

What’s so great about this burger, you might ask? Let’s start with the menu – the Secret Menu. Yes, they have a secret menu that if you don’t know about before you order, you won’t hear a peep about it. You can find it hidden on their Facebook page, and it includes such hidden gems as “The Religious Hypocrite” - a Portobello mushroom ‘burger’ with bacon, and “The Vatican City” – two beef paddies, two slices of cheese, and a Portobello mushroom, all sandwiched between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches (at right).

This is no regular burger joint, folks. A standard order is either a single or a double patty, with or without cheese. These are greasy burgers cooked on the griddle, topped with tomato and lettuce and housed between two buns. Nothing fancy there. As their website says "This is not gourmet, just tasty. Sometimes simple is better." And they are right. The taste is amazing! Our friends had eaten there before and suggested we order the double-double – two beef patties and two slices of cheese: bun, burger, cheese, burger, cheese, bun. We turned it in The Holy Smokes by ‘adding smoke’ – deep-fried jalapeno peppers added on the burger (another secret item). We ordered a side of fries to share but could hardly get through them. Although they were good, go for the burger, skip the fries. 

And what's with the name? I obviously like it, with my maiden name being Priest. But turns out there really is a religious element to it. The names of the burgers indicate this, but the shop is also closed on Sundays for worship. That just means you schedule your visit around it. This is definitely NOT a weekly burger, but once every few months would be nice...  

Recipe #27: Apple Coleslaw

This is a great little side dish if you’re looking for a quick and easy salad, and if you happen to have leftover cabbage on hand, as was the case with me. I had just made a delicious ribolita soup, and not wanting the remaining coleslaw to go to waste, I looked to find a coleslaw recipe. The caveat here was I didn’t want something mayo based, so when I found this one with the oil, lemon juice, and honey, I was sold! 

I made this dish to accompany one of our brisket nights, but this would also be great on a pulled pork sandwich or alongside ribs. Speaking of ribs, I’ll be whipping up a batch of those at the cottage this weekend with some new BBQ sauce we made at a Pickling Party… intrigued?

If you have a mandolin, it makes the whole job go so much quicker, but a pre-packaged coleslaw also works quite nice as well. Then all you have to do is chop up the apples, celery, and green pepper. And the result - a tangy, crunchy, slightly sweet mix of veggies. 

Ingredients

2 cups shredded coleslaw

1 unpeeled tart apple, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon celery seed

Directions

In a bowl, combine the coleslaw, apple, celery and green pepper. In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients. Pour over coleslaw and toss to coat.

1000 Tastes of Toronto

This summer has simply flown by, but what a great summer it has been. It seemed like almost every weekend was booked with some sort of event – be it Beer Week, food events, concerts, the cottage, or visiting with family and friends – the summer really is the best time of year. As we busy ourselves now preparing for Thanksgiving and (gulp) Christmas, I look back fondly on the photos collected on my camera to remember the days gone past (I really do wonder if they will ever end up printed and in a book some day…).

One thing I did want to share with you was an event we went to sometime in June – the 1000 Tastes of Toronto, presented by President’s Choice and part of Luminato. The city closes down John Street between Front and Queen and invites restaurants and chefs to open booths for the public to sample some delicious treats. And delicious they were! Some places we had heard of, others were new to us, but for only $5 a dish, Matt and I spent the afternoon tasting a variety of different foods. Some noteworthy dishes included:

Khao San Road (with a close encounter with Susur Lee). This was probably our favourite dish of the day – a pork sausage specially created for the event that you can’t get in their restaurant;

Poutine from Poutini’s House of Poutine (namely because I love poutine);

Pulled Pork Tacos from Milagro;

 Pizza from Queen Margherita (they even brought their own wood oven!);

  

BBQ Shrimp and Black Beans from President’s Choice, followed by an ice cream sandwich;

We stopped eating after that, but there were loads of more choices. It was a two-day event, and I’ll be keeping my eye out for it next year if it rolls around. In the meantime, there have been murmurs of a new event coming to the Brickworks – the Toronto Underground Market (http://yumtum.ca/). A similar concept to this event: “The Toronto Underground Market (TUM) is a social food market for the community to sample the food of Toronto home cooks. It is a venue for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their products. These vendors are not necessarily chefs, although some will be. This is a new kind of community market; not a farmer's market, or a food festival, but something completely unique and new to Toronto.”

You have to purchase tickets to attend, and the September and October events are already sold out, so we better keep an eye on this one if we want to attend the next one. 

Recipe #26: Corn Bread Waffles

For Christmas one year, my dear sister gave me a waffle maker. Did I ask for one? I did not. Do I have an undying love of waffles? Again, I do not. I love her dearly, but at that time, I thought she basically walked into a cooking store, saw the waffle maker, put it in her basket and she was done. Maybe I’m not giving her enough credit, though. Perhaps she really did think that I would love that waffle maker and use it every weekend to make fresh waffles.

Well, I guess the joke is on me, because we do use that waffle maker, and I do love it. While I don’t break it out its hiding space every weekend, I do sometimes get the inspiration to make fresh waffles for Matt and I. Fresh ones are NOTHING like the frozen ones and they really don’t take all that much time or effort, either. The only down side is you can only cook one at a time, but they are big enough to share while the next one is on the griddle. In fact, if you cook up more than you can eat, they freeze really well and can just be reheated in the toaster.

I’ve also fallen in love with cornmeal and will try any recipe that I can find that incorporates the yellow stuff. The texture makes a boring waffle or muffin into something crunchy and extraordinary, and I just love it! So when Matt found this recipe, I was more than excited to give it a try. Yes, sadly, to must have a waffle maker to make these, but I’m willing to bet that this could easily be translated into a pancake recipe, too.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1  cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups milk (whole, soy, or butter)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl mix together cornmeal, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk. Make sure it is well mixed.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add the cornmeal mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with the whisk until combined.

Preheat waffle iron and grease if needed.

Spoon batter onto the waffle iron, using 1/4 cup of batter per each 4-inch-square standard waffle and cook according to manufacturers instructions.

Top with desired topping and enjoy. Waffles can be kept warm in at 200F degrees oven. 

Ribbit! Ribbit!

Nope, I’m not talking about frogging yet another project (although I do have one that’s just sitting there, asking to be undone). This time I’m talking about an actual frog. Or, more specifically, a knitted frog.

I’ve been on a mission this summer – before I buy any more new yarn, I wanted to try and use up my constantly growing yarn stash. You knitters out there can probably relate. A typical scenario: you’re browsing the yarn store, just to pass the time, telling yourself that you don’t need anything new. Then something catches your eye – a colourful and exciting new yarn! But wait, you don’t have a project in mind, so you don’t know how you’d use it or how much you’d need. Doesn’t matter. You can’t just walk away from it. And then you touch it, and you’re hooked. Somehow you’re already at the cash register, digging in your wallet for your debit card, thinking of a way to hide this new little gem from your husband (if he’s not already with you) when you get home. Yup, that’s generally how it goes.

So, one Saturday afternoon as I sorted through my stash of yarn and half-finished projects tucked away under my bed, I pulled out new balls of yarn that I bought on a whim and have since hidden away. I began to look at them with fresh eyes and wondered again what they could become. And what did I find? A little ball of variegated green yarn, all coiled up and just waiting to be knit. I think at the time I bought it, I had thought to turn it into a scarf and give it as a Christmas present, but that obviously didn’t happen. With only one ball, I had to be creative in thinking what to knit. My first thought? What’s green and small and ribbits? Not leftover moldy cheese in Tupperware, but a frog, of course (was that funny to anyone else but me?!). And wouldn’t you know; my niece had a birthday coming up. And I do love knitting stuffed toys. So, let’s count this stuffed froggy as a win for one less ball of yarn under the bed!

I love seeing kids’ faces when they get something new, and when Ava saw this frog, she smiled and swung it around, a good sign that she liked it. And then her big sister saw it and asked where hers was. I told her that it was Ava’s birthday, but maybe she’d get something for her birthday next February. She promptly put in her request for a pink elephant. And a purple elephant. And the pink one should be bigger than the purple one. Guess I’ve got my next project.

I’m sad to say that I have not successfully accomplished the above summertime mission. I broke down and bought myself some Cascade 200 Heather (my ultimate favorite yarn to knit with) in a gorgeous burnt orange colour (but it was such a good deal!). I am restraining from starting to knit with it, however, until I finish up a few other projects I have on the go, but a knitter can only have so much will power! Plus, with all the fall magazines out on newsstands, I'm sure to be tempted...

Recipe #25: Black Bean Brownies

Photo courtesy of Family Kitchen

I have to give credit to my good friend Darlene for this unique recipe, or at least credit for telling me about it. From the name of it, you might already be scrunching up your nose (I think I did, actually), but I decided it was worth the try. I was inspired partly by our vegetarian adventure and my new found fondness of beans, and also by the lovely sisters, Janet and Greta, from Eat, Shrink, and be Merry. I caught one of their episodes the other week. They were trying to create a healthy version of chocolate fudge (as if!). While they conceded that you probably couldn’t make a completely healthy version (you still needed sugar after all), you could at least do your part to make it more nutritious. And so that was my thought with these brownies. The beans replace the flour and add some protein in the process. Was I skeptical that they would taste good? You bet. This was probably the only time in my baking career that I didn’t lick the spoon.

I found this recipe  online at Family Kitchen (also new bookmark in list of favorites) and chose it mainly for the simplicity. I had found others but this one seemed the most straightforward. Everything but the chocolate chips and walnuts goes into the food processor. Turn that puppy on and puree the heck out of it. I think that’s the trick – you don’t want any lumpy bean parts left in there.

And the results? Surprisingly good! I taste-tested these with several family and friends, some knowing what was in them, some not, and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. It is chocolate, after all, so what’s not to like?! I would bake these again in a heart beat! So thanks, Darlene, for giving me the idea.

INGREDIENTS:

1 19 oz (540 mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

PLACE the black beans, sugar, eggs, melted butter, cocoa, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth, pulsing and scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the beans are completely pureed. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour into an 8″x8″ pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

BAKE for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly puffed and set. Cool before cutting into squares.

Crafty Find: Function and Comfort

Just look at this chair. Take it all in… It’s a lamp. It’s a chair. And it’s wonderful!  Sure, you're restricted to sitting by an electrical outlet, but that's really not so bad.

When I came across it, my first immediate thought was “Brilliant!” I love when people have the genius idea to put two very different objects together to create one amazing and very functional object.

Maybe you need a little extra light while you’re reading. Boom! Already built in.

Or maybe you need a little extra seating for when you have company. Boom! Already built in. Amazing.

I simply had to see what else existed out there, so off to Google I went. While I found numerous different varieties of chairs with lamps, only this next one really caught my eye. Not only does it rock and provide light, but rocking is what powers it. Ingenious! I love modern creativity.

Recipe #24: Beef and Pork (and Bacon and Chorizo) Ragù Lasagna

Courtesy of http://www.finecooking.com/

Oh, man, do I LOVE lasagna. And OH, MAN! Was this lasagna ever good! It was our turn to host our monthly family dinners, and it also happened to fall on the weekend of my birthday (way back in June that is…), so what did the birthday girl want for dinner? I wanted lasagna. Mainly I chose this dish because it serves a lot of people and I can prepare it ahead of time, so that when my guests arrive, I can spend time visiting and not cooking.

Now, there are tons of recipes out there for lasagna, and all of them will vary with ingredients and directions, etc. So what makes one better than another? For me, this one had me at the meat (refer to previous post about us eating more vegetables and less meat). Ok, the original recipe didn’t include chorizo; I chose to add that myself, but the combination of pork and beef was something I had wanted to try.

I should alert you, however, that should you chose to attempt this recipe, leave yourself plenty of time. The sauce alone should simmer for about three hours.  I made mine on the day before, and after everything is in the pot, it just simmered away. Personally, the longer the better, as the sauce thickens up and all the flavours meld together. And since this did make a big batch, I had leftovers to bring to work one week – for myself and three colleagues. I think we’re going to have a lasagna-off in the near future to see who makes the best one. I’ll be pulling out this recipe for sure. It doesn’t need to be my birthday to enjoy this tasty dish.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped (1-1/3 cups)

2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped (2/3 cup)

2 small yellow onions, finely chopped (1-1/3 cups)

1 lb. boneless beef chuck, finely diced or ground

1 lb. boneless pork shoulder, finely diced or ground

3 - 4 strips of bacon, diced

1-2 chorizo sausages, casings removed

2 cups dry red wine

1/2 cup canned tomato purée

1/4 cup tomato paste diluted in 1/2 cup water

2 cups homemade or low-salt canned beef or chicken broth; more as needed

1 cup whole milk

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 lb. lasagne noodles

1/2 oz. (1 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus more for the pan

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

DIRECTIONS FOR RAGU:

In a 5- to 6-qt. Dutch oven or large pot, brown the bacon until slightly crispy. Keeping the bacon drippings, add  6 Tbs. butter and melt over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Add the beef, pork and chorizo and cook, breaking up the meats with a spoon and stirring often, until the meats lose their redness, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the wine, tomato purée, and tomato paste and simmer vigorously until the liquid is almost evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the beef or chicken broth and the milk, cover with the lid ajar, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently until you have a rich, concentrated sauce, about 2-1/2 hours. Check every 30 minutes to see if more liquid is needed, adding more broth if necessary to prevent scorching. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Let cool. Skim off the fat from the top, if desired. You should have about 6 cups. (At this point, you can refrigerate.)

COOK THE NOODLES:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Slip the noodles, two or three at a time, into the boiling water and cook them until they're tender and pale, 3 to 5 minutes (thinner noodles will cook more quickly). To make sure they're done, taste a small piece. If it's still tough, it needs a little more cooking (fresh pasta should not be cooked al dente like dried pasta).

Carefully scoop the noodles out of the water with a large wire skimmer and slide them into the ice water to stop the cooking. When they're cool, layer them between clean dish towels until you're ready to assemble the lasagne (they'll keep this way for up to two hours).

ASSEMBLE THE LASAGNA:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that’s about 9x12 inches and 3 inches deep, or about 10x14 inches and 2 inches deep. Butter the baking dish. Spread 1/2 cup of ragù in a sparse layer on the bottom of the dish. Then cover with a slightly overlapping layer of cooked noodles, cutting them as needed to fill the gaps. Spread one-third of the remaining ragù (about 1-1/2 cups) over the first layer of noodles. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmigiano. Add a new layer of noodles, overlapping them slightly.

Repeat the layers as instructed above, until all of the filling ingredients are used, to make a total of three layers (you may not need all the pasta). Dot the top with the butter cubes.

Put the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until heated through and bubbling at the edges, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Crafty Find: Pantone Colours

 

I’ve been noticing a lot of everyday items being given the Pantone treatment – you know, bright colours with the signature white block at the bottom with the colour number. People seem to gobble up this colorful trend - from chairs to books to mugs and other kitchen supplies; heck, I might just have to do it myself with a craft project, perhaps. What, I’m not exactly sure, but I’m sure I could think of something (brainstorming…knitted pantone pillow perhaps?).

In any case, I am loving the collection I found online of All Things Pantone (a quick Google search revealed a variety of items). These colours just made me smile, so I thought I’d share. I’m sure I’ve only just scratched the surface of the trend, so if you stumble across others, please feel free to share a link!

Happy Friday!

Recipe #23: Cannellini Bean Salad With Shaved Spring Vegetables

To be completely honest, I was very skeptical when Matt emailed me this recipe and suggested we have it for dinner one night. The name of the recipe alone gave me some negative feelings, as its only been recently that I’ve started eating beans, and reading further through the ingredients didn’t start to reassure me much, either.  Asparagus? Fennel? Radishes? Beans? There were a lot of vegetables on this list that I haven't eaten, but, then again, we have been saying lately that we need to start eating more adventurous.

We are also trying to eat less meat during the week, and saving the beef, pork and the chicken for when/if we eat out on the weekends. So that means finding a variety of new recipes to incorporate vegetables, and not just salads. It’s been a bit of a food adventure, and so far, we’ve really been enjoying it. And this recipe was a good start. Plus, shaving all the vegetables let me pull out my handy mandolin, which I do so love to use!

My thoughts on the dish? As I prepared it, I took a piece of each of the vegetables to judge them on their individual flavor. The radishes had a mild and peppery flavour that I found I didn’t mind. I’ve eaten asparagus before, but normally cooked and slathered with butter, garlic, and lemon juice, but when shaved raw, it had a nice taste to it. The fennel, my friends, was a different story. The one place my husband and I differ on snack foods is black licorice. He loves it; I cannot stand it! The smell alone is enough for me to send him into another room (all in good fun, of course; he knows my distaste for the stuff and will often make sure to breath on me after having eaten it). I’ve heard that fennel smells/taste similar to licorice, and while slicing, we instantly became enemies. But I braved it and took a small bite. The hint of licorice was definitely there, and while I don’t think I could eat a salad made only of that, I was willing to give it a go with the mixture of the other vegetables (that’s why I leave the recipe making to the pros!).  Cooking the fennel also gives it a more mild taste, but this salad called for it raw.

And then there were the beans, canned white bean to be exact. I’m slowly coming around to beans in all their forms, but most have been hidden in chiles and soups, not the main attraction. But I figured mixing them together with the other ingredients would help mask them a bit. But I was really very surprised at just how much I enjoyed this salad! I might even consider myself a bean fan now (wait until I share my Black Bean Brownies with you)!

The moral of the story? Even if something looks scary, give it a try… that’s a lesson I’ve learned a lot these past few weeks.

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:

3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as needed
Finely grated zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE SALAD: 

2 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained
Salt and pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
6 to 8 large, fat asparagus spears, snapped and peeled
6 radishes
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed
1 small sweet spring onion, or a few scallions, finely chopped
Chopped parsley, basil or dill, for garnish.

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Adjust lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

2. To assemble the salad, place the beans in a large bowl. Pour half the vinaigrette over the beans and toss lightly. Season with salt, pepper and

red pepper flakes.

3. Using a sharp mandolin — and a hand guard — carefully slice the asparagus spears lengthwise to about the thickness of a penny. Slice the radishes and fennel to the same thickness. Lay the shaved vegetables and chopped onion or scallions in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and dress them very lightly with a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette, turning gently to coat.

4. Spoon the beans onto a serving platter or individual plates, then cover the beans with the shaved vegetables. Add a little more vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, basil or dill.