recipe-a-week # 15: spaghetti with tomatoes and peppers

I'm a little bit late with this recipe; the baby shower and visiting with my sister took up much of my time this week. Better late than never!

This is a delicious, quick meal. I chose it in order to use things up that I had on hand, so I ended up modifying the original recipe quite significantly. As you can see, when I made this, I didn't use penne. Or two tomatoes. And I added in some yellow and red pepper, because it was starting to soften. The original recipe, from Everyday Food is here, and is also in the May 2009 issue of the magazine. And here's my version:

Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Peppers

6 ounces mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper
12 ounces spaghetti (I used a mix of white and whole wheat)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced (or half of each)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup snipped chives

1. Place cheese in freezer. In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.

2. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium-high. Saute garlic slices for one minute; add peppers and saute until slightly softened. Add tomatoes and pasta water, and cook until tomatoes are softened, 2 to 4 minutes.

3. Add pasta, chilled cheese, and chives to pot. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Enjoy!

I also wanted to share some bread trials for the best recipe ever with you. I tried making it with half spelt flour last week, and it turned out pretty well. The dough is quite runny and a little bit difficult to manoeuvre, but the bread turns out well. Nice and crusty, and the bread itself is a little bit sticky to the touch. I think I might try with 2 cups white, and 1 cup spelt next time, to see if that helps. Right now, I have a loaf on the go with 2 cups white, and 1 cup whole wheat. It turned out perfectly!

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend.

recipe-a-week #14: the best bread, ever.

This bread is hands-down the best bread I have ever eaten. Seriously. And I made it! (I'm as surprised as you.) It's chewy and crusty and airy and perfect. Oh, so crusty! And of course, it's a great vehicle for butter - my first requirement for good bread.

I'm always hesitant to try the latest cooking trend, which is why it's taken me so long to get around to trying this. It's along the lines of the 5-minute artisan bread, which apparently became popular after it was written about in the New York Times. I should have tried it much, much sooner. It's been a part of my weekend routine for the past few weeks - two minutes on Saturday afternoon, a bit of attention on Sunday morning, and it's ready for lunch. Leftover pieces make amazing garlic bread, too.

I found the recipe in Mother Earth News, and you can find the original here. You use a Dutch oven to bake it in, which helps to give it the perfect crust. "Holy yum," as Ingrid would say.

No Knead, Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Really, you need to make this one. Like the tarragon chicken from last week. Did anyone try that recipe? Did you love it as much as I did? Let me know how you like this one!

Edited to add: I wanted to share some bread trials for the best recipe ever with you. I tried making it with half spelt flour last week, and it turned out pretty well. The dough is quite runny and a little bit difficult to manoeuvre, but the bread turns out well. Nice and crusty, and the bread itself is a little bit sticky to the touch. I think I might try with 2 cups white, and 1 cup spelt next time, to see if that helps with the dough consistency. Right now, I have a loaf on the go with 2 cups white, and 1 cup whole wheat. It looks terrific!

recipe-a-week #13: slow cooker chicken with tarragon and leeks

I'm back! With a fantastic recipe this time. I made this recipe from the current issue of Real Simple (shouldn't it be 'Really Simple'? Or 'Real, Simple'?) magazine last week, and it is fantastic. Really, truly, delicious. And you know how I feel about slow cookers! Actually, I was surprised by a good recipe in Real Simple. I had a subscription for awhile, and found that most of the recipes were a box of this and a can of that somehow equals a 'recipe'. Regardless, this one's a winner! As in, you should go out and buy the ingredients this minute and have it for dinner tomorrow.

Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks

1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes (about 16)
8 small skinless chicken thighs (1 1/2 pounds) (I actually threw in a whole local chicken I had, but it would have been more manageable with the pieces)
3 leeks (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine (I had some white cooking wine on hand, so I used that)
salt
10 ounces frozen peas
1/3 cup heavy cream (now you know why I like it!)
1 tbsp fresh tarragon (I couldn't find this, so my version was more 'Chicken with Leeks'.)

Place potatoes on the bottom of a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Add chicken, leeks, wine, and 1 tsp salt.

Cook, covered, until the chicken and potatoes are tender, on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours.

Transfer the chicken and all but 4 of the potatoes to a plate. Using a fork (I used a wooden spoon since I didn't want to scratch my slow cooker), smash the remaining potatoes into the cooking liquid to thicken.

Add the peas and cream and cook until just heated through, 3-5 minutes. Spoon over the chicken and sprinkle with the tarragon.

You'll enjoy this one for sure!

recipe-a-week #12: crushed raspberry tart & bonne fête à moi!

Snowdrops are just plain delightful. They're green and white, my favourite colour combination, they're the first flowers of the season, and they multiply and do their thing without any intervention whatsoever. I love birthdays anyway, but I'm especially glad that mine is at this time of year. I'm 28 today, and have no list of things I want to achieve over the next 365 days. That's my gift to myself.
Speaking of birthdays, Ingrid came over yesterday, and we made my birthday non-cake! She also brought me a Donna Hay magazine, which I intend to have a proper date with tonight. And some yummy tea. The non-cake is Donna Hay's Crushed Raspberry Tart, from her fruit book, and here's the recipe:

375 g (13 1/4 oz) block store-bought puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp caster sugar (we used regular granulated)
2 cups raspberries
1 tbsp icing sugar

sour cream filling:
1 cup sour cream (I think it would work better with the really thick type)
1/4 cup single or pouring cream (half and half; we used whipping, mmm)
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch and trim to a 20 cm (8 inch) square. Cut 8 strips measuring 1x20cm (1/2 x 8in) from the remaining pastry. Place the pastry square on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Brush with the egg white and place half the strips around the edge to form a border. Brush the borders with the egg white and place the remaining strips on top. Prick the base with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the pastry with caster sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. To make the sour cream filling, whisk the sour cream, cream, and brown sugar in a bowl until smooth. Combine half the raspberries with the icing sugar and crush lightly. Fold in the remaining raspberries. Spoon the sour cream filling over the pastry base and spoon raspberries on top.
One more thing: a great surprise on my birthday! My new Artisan mixer arrived this afternoon, when I wasn't expecting it until next week. Nice! I'm excited to try it out.

For those of you who are still reading, I'm hiding a little birthday giveaway in here. Leave a comment with your funniest birthday memory, and I'll pick my favourite tomorrow. The winner will be sent some of my fantastic handmade soap.

Happy Monday, and Happy Birthday to me!

recipe-a-week #11: roasted curried cauliflower

I made this dish last week, and it was really good. I haven't met a vegetable yet which can't be improved upon by roasting, and cauliflower is no exception.

Will you forgive me that the recipe isn't from one of my cookbooks? I know that was kind of the point of this whole recipe-sharing endeavour, but I bought the cauliflower expressly for currying and roasting, and there was not a curried cauliflower recipe in one of my cookbooks. So I found this recipe, and it was good.

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

3/4 tsp	coriander seeds, crushed		1 g
1/4 cup	olive oil		65 mL
3 tbsp	wine vinegar		45 mL
1 1/4 tsp	curry powder		4 g
1 tsp	paprika		3 g
1/8 tsp	cayenne pepper [optional]		0.4 g
	ground pepper to taste
	salt to taste
3 1/2 cups	cauliflower, cut into equal-size florets		550 g
1/2	onion(s), cut into quarters		100 g
4 tsp	fresh cilantro, chopped [optional]		3 g

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F.
2. Crush the coriander seeds either with a mortar and pestle or using a rolling pin. Place the seeds in a bowl. Whisk in the oil, vinegar, spices, and salt.
3. Prepare the vegetables : Cut the cauliflower into equal-size florets. Peel the onion, cut it into quarters lengthwise, then pull apart the quarters to separate the layers. Add the cauliflower and onion to the vinaigrette bowl, then toss to coat well. Spread the vegetables in single layer on a large baking sheet.
4. Roast the vegetables until golden and tender-crisp, stirring occasionally, about 30 min.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature. You may garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Very good. You would rather have this one than the one from one of my cookbooks which I was disappointed in, right? Okay, I'm trying to make myself feel better for my weak recipe resolve. You're such a nice bunch, I know that it's okay. Just this once.

I'm hoping for a snow day tomorrow, and I have lots of new pictures to share with you. So if those two things collide in a wonderful twist of fate, you'll be seeing a few new pictures I'm excited about. Happy Monday!

recipe-a-week #10: chocolate 'n' cream sandwich cookies

These cookies are delicious. I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, but these are good. Very sweet, and very good. They're a one-at-a-time-with-something-to-wash-it-down kind of cookie.
I loved working with the dough. The texture was so very lovely.
And I got to use my new cookie sheets.
So, here's the recipe, from April 2009's Everyday Food, with my notes in parentheses, for:

Chocolate 'n' Cream Sandwich Cookies
makes 15 (I had 18) :: prep time 25 minutes :: total time 35 min + chilling

Because there's butter in the cream filling, store these cookies in the refrigerator. For a minty touch (which I meant try but forgot) add a few drops of peppermint oil to the filling.

1 1/4 cups flour, spooned and leveled
3/4 cup cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
cream filling (below)

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside. In another bowl, stir together butter, sugar, and egg. Add flour mixture, and stir until dough forms.

2. Divide dough in half; roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Stack on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment (oops). Using a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut dough int rounds. Place on sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until cookies are firm and fragrant, 8-10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through (again, oops). Transfer to wire racks, and let cool.

4. Spread half the cookies with 1 tbsp cream filling; top with remaining cookies. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 5 days.

(You can feel free to ignore this information:) per cookie: 211 cal; 7.9 g fat (4.8 g saturated); 2.4 grams protein; 35.1 g carb; 1.7 g fibre

Cream filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature, until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar, beating until combined. Beat in 2 tsp vanilla extract.

And try not to eat them all.

recipe-a-week #9: zucchini bread & exciting garden developments

First things first: when the snow melted this week in the raspberry patch, look what was hiding underneath! The first snowdrops of the season. I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted them from across the yard; I zoomed over (in Adam's shoes, since I was emptying the compost and his were closest to the door) to make sure that my eyes weren't betraying me. Yipeee! I can't even express how very, very exciting this is. Prepare yourself for this year's garden pictures!

In indoor news, I'm having fun baking this afternoon while P is sleeping and Adam's at the gym. First, I whipped up these simple and quick brownies, as per Adam's request. I can't say enough good things about them - they are what I would call a perfect recipe. One pot, 4 or 5 minutes, and into the oven they go. Delicious, too, of course. (Edited to add: I originally posted about them with pictures, here.) The second thing, which is currently in the oven, is zucchini bread. I still have some frozen and grated zucchini from last fall in the freezer, and decided that some zucchini bread would be a great way to reduce my stores. The recipe I used is from More-with-Less, and it goes like this:

Zucchini Bread
350, 1 hr, makes 2 loaves

Preheat oven to 350. Combine in mixing bowl and beat well:

3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 c vegetable oil (you can use part applesauce; I used butter)
2 c raw, peeled, grated zucchini (mine was frozen and thawed; I drained off some of the water)
1 tbsp vanilla

Sift together:
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
3 t cinnamon

Add to zucchini mixture and stir until blended. Add 1 c coarsely chopped nuts (I didn't.)

Pour into 2 greased bread pans. Bake 1 hour, or until tester comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on rack. Yum! I like is best cold and with butter, à la post-funeral/celebration/exciting gathering in a church basement. Enjoy!

recipe-a-week #8: my grandmother's bread & hyacinth

I have a hyacinth on the way. Phillip and I are both very excited. He asks to smell it already. See why I chose carnations? They still look great, two weeks after Valentine's.

I've talked about winning things before, and how I seem to have a knack for it. Last weekend, a friend and I went to see Murder is a Game at Th'YARC, in which Ingrid is a star player. I lent the friend $5 for 50/50 tickets, and she won. And promptly paid me back! Tomorrow is the last night for the play - I meant to post about it sooner, but if you're free tomorrow night at 7:30, you should definitely pick up a ticket. It's a fun and entertaining show, and it wraps up all tidily at the end, which I love.

It's my dad's birthday tomorrow, and he always asks me to make him some bread. Chewy, gluten-y, white-flour-y, perfect-vehicle-for-jam-and-butter (yes, and) kind of bread. So I have a batch of his mother's bread rising by the fire as Phillip reads himself to sleep. I only have one memory of my Grammie, as she died when I was a few years old. We were in her kitchen, and I remember her opening the potato bin - one of those ones that looks like a cupboard but when you pull the handle it angles out toward you. My only memory of her husband (these were my dad's parents) is of him lying in his bed not long before he died. Both of my mother's parents died while I was in university, so I consider myself very lucky to have some fantastic grandparents of Adam's who I've taken as my own. I made a Queen Elizabeth Cake last night, which is one of Adam's Grammie's recipes, and tonight I'm making my Grammie's bread, so I'm feeling close to some great women and their kitchens.


Grammie's White Bread
Makes 3 loaves

Dissolve 1 yeast cake (or 1 1/2 tbsp traditional yeast) in 1 cup lukewarm water with 1 tsp sugar.

In a giant bowl (I use a huge metal one), put 2 tbsp butter and 2 tsp sugar. Add 1 cup milk. Pour 2 cups boiling water over, to melt butter. Add 2 cups cold water. To this, add the yeast mixture and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Add flour (approximately 12 cups), and mix until it's lovely and doughy, adjusting with more or less flour as needed. Form into a blob, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down, and let rise again. Divide into loaves, and let rise in pan before placing in oven to bake for approximately 1 hour, until loaves sound hollow when tapped and are golden brown. Of course, it's best served warm with butter and homemade strawberry jam - my favourite combo. My dad likes it with butter and peanut butter (now you can see where I get my affection for butter). Or store bought grape jelly in a squeeze bottle. However you like it, enjoy!

recipe-a-week #7: pfitzauf

We hosted a midwinter potluck on the weekend, and had a lot of fun seeing some friends we hadn't in awhile. Frankly, we just wanted to see everyone - it seems as though the winter keeps everyone home and isolated, and we missed everyone. We're definitely going to do it again, and hopefully soon! One of our friends who came is an amazing cook, as well as an extraordinarily dedicated teacher. And she's one of the loveliest people I think I've ever met. Did you catch that she's a great cook? (She even has one of those fancy little blowtorches!) Oh, and she's German, so I was especially excited that she brought a German dessert. It was heavenly, and I can't wait to try making it myself.

Pfitzauf

250 g flour
pinch of salt
1/2 litre milk
5 eggs
125 g butter

Mix the flour with a bit of milk and the salt. Boil the rest of the milk. Add the eggs and the hot milk. Melt the butter. Butter the pans and add the remaining melted butter to the dough. Only fill the pans halfway. Don't add sugar, rather put some icing sugar on after baking. Bake for about 30 minutes at 200 Celsius. Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!

***
A special note to Ingrid (to know what I'm talking about, see the comments on this post and this post): I will freely apologize for liking Mariah Carey's Christmas album. That is clearly a problem with me. But Sam Roberts? Not liking him is your problem, my friend. I just pre-ordered their new album. Heh heh. And I had fun at lunch with you today. :)

recipe-a-week #6: blueberry galette

This was the easiest thing to make, and was delicious. Back into my usual way of doing things, I didn't measure anything for the filling (I just mixed a couple cups of frozen blueberries with a teensy bit of sugar and a bit of cornstarch). The crust, though, I do have a recipe for. It was written down by me (from this Saipua post) and it isn't from one of my cookbooks, but I'll count it as one of my weekly recipes, since technically it was on paper. I know, it's a stretch.

Galette Dough

1 1/4 cups of flour
1 /2 cup cold butter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Blend until butter is in fine crumbs.

Gradually add in 1/4 cup cold water until dough holds together in a ball. Form into a disk, and cover, then refrigerate for one hour. Then roll it out, and add whatever filling you like - savoury, sweet, cheesy - anything goes! Just turn the edges of the crust up around before baking, and bake until it's done (maybe 25-30 minutes-ish.)

There's a recipe for a blueberry filling here. I turned up my nose when I read that the recipe is from Gourmet magazine and it calls for refrigerated pie dough. Ugh. I think I'll soon try it with a savoury vegetable filling - yum!

recipe-a-week #5: crème anglaise

So... I did make Ina Garten's Ile Flottante from Barefoot in Paris today. It's 8:45 and I literally just finished cleaning up the kitchen - I started making it just after 3:00 this afternoon. I had hoped to have a daylight pic of it. (Thanks to Adam for taking this one!) I don't think I'll be making it again, and the recipe is loooooong, so how about I just share the crème anglaise part of it? (Can you tell I'm tired out?) Of course, I made supper and gave the boy a bath in there, too. And for supper, I made Moroccan Couscous, another recipe from Barefoot in Paris, which was delicious, simple, and quick. I think I'll share that one later in the week. In the photo, the crème anglaise is the saucy bed. I used beautiful, huge, local eggs, so it has a gorgeous yellow colour.

On to the Crème Anglaise:

4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1 3/4 cups scalded milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp Cognac
seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean (optional)

Beat egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachement on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce speed to low, and add corn starch.

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs. Pour the custard mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly (this step took 30 minutes!) until thickened. It will coat the spoon like heavy cream. Don't cook above 180 degrees, or the eggs will scramble!

Pour the sauce through a fine strainer, add vanilla, cognac, and vanilla seeds, if using, and chill.

You can serve this over just about anything. Kind of like whipping cream. Mmmm.

recipe-a-week #4: broccoli soup

This week's recipe is for Creamy Broccoli Soup, from Great Food Fast and it takes 30 minutes, start to finish. It's quite yummy, although I would make a few minor modifications to it next time.
Here is is:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, florets separated, stems peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
salt and pepper

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.

2. Stir in the broth, 1 1/2 cups water (I would use 1 next time), the oats, and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until the broccoli is tender, 5-10 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in batches, and blend with a stick blender, or a regular blender in batches. Return soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
What's that? Oats in soup? Yup. It thickens the soup without adding cream, and you don't see or taste the oats in the finished soup.
We served it with pitas brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh parmesan, and broiled for a couple of minutes. Yum!

Happy Monday! Hope your week is off to a good start.

recipe-a-week #3: root vegetable and split pea soup & comfort week day 1: food

I decided today that ill-fitting socks which slide around in one's shoes are not in accordance with the ideals of Comfort Week.

A chicken pot pie recipe I make is my favourite comfort food. You can see the original recipe here. But I've posted it before, so I'm going to share a new recipe with you which I tried this weekend, was definitely comfort food, and it doesn't have any butter in it. Comfort food without butter? What? I'm also counting this as my new recipe of the week. (Incidentally, I have only been using my print recipes and haven't consulted the internets once so far since that post.)

Like some of the other participants, comfort food to me is often in soup form. And this one is a doozy. I've never had a vegetable soup with the flavour of this one - utterly delicious. Lots of parsnips may have been the ticket, or maybe the split peas - whatever it was, it was yummy. Phillip loved it, too. The recipe is from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes and is called

Root Vegetable and Split Pea Soup

4 cups water
1 1/4 cups chopped celeriac (I didn't have this, so I tossed in 1 1/4 cups of regular celery)
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped parsley root or parsnips (I used parsnips, and probably more than 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup split peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. In saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add celeriac, onions, carrots, parsley roots, split peas and garlic. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, 1 hour.

2. Add broth and parsley. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes longer. Stir in salt and pepper.

I think this might also be delicious pureed, but I left it chunky so that Phillip could eat it a bit more independently. Oh, and I also added some cooked chopped pork that I had on hand. It's soup - completely open to variations.

**
For a list of everyone participating in Comfort Week, have a peek here.

recipe-a-week #2: curried butternut squash soup & "cookings"

When we were visiting one set of grandparents at Christmas, out came an old-school Fisher Price cooking set that my husband and his brother played with as kids. Phillip LOVED it, especially putting "salt pepper" (no "and") on everything, including Nanoo's slippers.
So how excited was I to find this great little Ikea cooking set at Frenchy's last week? Very much so! And so was Phillip. He calls the whole process "cookings".
"Mama, cookings!"
The set, for $3, was in a big bag with a bunch of other play kitchen things, including a little wooden rolling pin, pastry brush, and a plastic fried egg.

This morning, he was holding the frying pan, lid on and egg inside.
P, taking off lid: "Ta-daaaaa!"
(P takes "pa-tu-laaaah" (spatula) and pokes at the egg.)
P, looking at Mama: "Ah-most done."
These were taken at Christmas with the 30 year old set at the grandparent's house. The salt and pepper, which sit on the upper right part of the stove, almost disappeared forever over the holiday. Phillip was in charge of putting all of the garbage in a box, and he decided to put the salt and pepper in there, too. A few days later when he was asking for them, and after searching the rest of the house, I realized where they likely were. And there they were, snuggled in amongst the wrapping paper and packaging, ready to go to the curb.

And speaking of "cookings", we had a lot of fun last night, with oodles of yummy food. One thing I made was a squash soup, from The Food You Crave. I decided to make another new recipe from one of my cookbooks, as explained in this post, although it is very similar to my usual one. Equally delicious. Easy and filling, and a perfect winter soup. And I love that it's creamy and filling without having cream in it. I made it while P was sleeping, and kept it warm in the crockpot until everyone arrived. Naturally, I didn't follow the recipe terribly closely, so I'll give you how I made it:

Curried Butternut (well, -cup, in this case) Squash Soup

1 giant buttercup squash (because there were no butternuts to be had), wrestled into submission, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil (because we don't use canola, as called for in the recipe)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carton (900 mL) low sodium organic chicken broth (because the veg broth has way more sodium in it than the store-brand organic chicken)
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp + 2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
low-fat sour cream for garnish

Saute onions and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes in a large soup pot. Add squash, broth, curry powder, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes (I left it for longer, while I was doing other things). Remove from heat, stir in the honey, and puree until smooth. (I used a stick blender - my food one, not my soap one - but you could pour it in batches into a regular blender.) To serve, garnish with sour cream or yogurt.

Cute Things Falling Asleep. Self-explanatory. Thanks for the heads up, Trudi!

One last thing: it's snowing like mad today, and we're expected to get 20cm. The only letdown is that it's supposed to end early this evening, making a snow day tomorrow less likely. But my fingers are crossed, and I'll definitely be posting if we're snowed in! Hope you're having a restful weekend.

recipe-a-week #1: cheese biscuits

I didn't formally make this as a resolution, but I'm hoping to make one new recipe each week this year, all from print sources. No allrecipes ones for these, folks! It's really to get me using some of my excellent cookbooks more. I also like reading recipes from books - it's much nicer than a printout. (In no way am I disparaging allrecipes - it is my go-to site for recipes. Hmm... maybe I should make a resolution to not use any new allrecipes recipes this year and rely solely on what I have in books and print... now that would be drastic. I'll think about it.)

Regardless, this recipe is from The Globe and Mail, the weekend issue from either this past weekend or the one before. So it's not technically from one of my books, but it is from a print source. YUM.

Cheese Biscuits (with my notes in parentheses)

2 cups flour (I used a bit of whole wheat, which kept these from the fluffiest perfection)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup butter (no wonder they're good)
1 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped dill, chives, or coriander (I omitted this)
freshly ground pepper
1 cup buttermilk (just add 1 tsp vinegar to 1 cup milk for buttermilk)

Glaze: 1 tbsp buttermilk, 1/4 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cheese, herbs, and pepper. Add enough buttermilk to bring together into a sticky dough (slightly less than 1 cup). Scrape dough onto a well-floured surface . Sprinkle with flour and pat or roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured 2 inch cutter (a glass works well), cut dough into rounds and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle each with a bit of cheddar cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 16 biscuits. (I only got 12 with a large round biscuit cutter.) Enjoy!