Shepherds Pie

 

I know have made shepherds pie before, but this one is different. The mash layer on top is made with cauliflower and parsnip, yielding a lighter smoother topping. Plus a bonus for anyone avoiding the carbs!
For the topping, simply steam a whole head of cauliflower plus two peeled and rough chopped parsnips. Once tender, transfer to food processor and season liberally with salt and pepper. Puree to smooth, add one egg and top your favourite sheperds pie filling. Once my pie was heated through, I browned it under the broiler. It was delicious, even Rob, my meat and potatoes guy, loved it!

I made it!

Sushi, that is... And it is the easiest thing in the world...

 

The most important part of sushi is the rice.. I am sure that my method is not "the right" way, but it is what works for me.

Sushi Rice enough for 2 rolls

1 cup sushi rice
1 1/4 cups water
seasoned rice vinegar

First, set yourself up with a steaming apparatus. I put a ring mold in the bottom of my widest pot with lots of water, then balanced a bowl on top of the ring mold (a cookie cutter would work, or a short tin can with both lids removed). Get the water boiling.
Then, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the measured amount of water and place in the steamer; cover and let steam for 25 minutes.
Remove the rice from the steamer and add seasoned rice vinegar to taste. Stir in and allow to cool.


After the rice is set up, the rolling is easy. Just make sure you have a bowl of water handy to dip your fingers in before pressing the rice onto the sheets of nori.

The fillings are easy too, make what tastes good. I did a california roll (crab, avocado) for Rob and an asparagus, sesame ginger chili avocado roll for me.

Bubble and Squeak part II

 

A couple weeks ago, I was playing with bubble and squeak and I felt like my technique needed a little refinement. Plus, Rob was loving it and insisted I make it again. Last night we had it with lamb and spinach meatloaf and green beans.
I can't really write a recipe; I think the nature of Bubble and Squeak is that it changes every time you make it.
Last night I cooked red potatoes, turnip and brussels sprouts till they were tender, mashed together and added lots of salt and pepper. I heated a cast iron skillet over medium to medium low heat, lubricated with duck fat and added my mash. I flipped and stirred every ten minutes or so until the mash was all crunchy caramelised bits...

Wednesday

 

The first of the year's fresh salmon is in! Rob picked up a beautiful piece from Longliner on Granvile Island for me to cook for dinner. I love salmon so I always cook it as simply as possible and Rob loves the crispy skin on salmon, so I always sear the skin side. My technique is not for the squeamish though ~ I happen to prefer my salmon medium rare.
Season Salmon with salt. Place skin side down in a cast iron pan over medium high heat. After 3 minutes, flip, cook one minute on the flesh side. Serve. This is what the inside of my salmon looks like.

 

Served with steamed broccoli and herbed quinoa.

I am off today (!!) so Rob and I heading out for a picnic at the beach. I'll try not to get too sunburned...

Pork Fried Rice

Pork Fried Rice
Originally uploaded by kayaksoup.

Remember yesterdays pork roast? It has been reincarnated as Pork Fried Rice, another budget friendly meal. I used leftover rice, leftover pork and whatever vegetables and herbs were in the crisper. Add eggs and tamari and voila. Easy AND cheap. I served baby bok choy along side which topped out at a whopping 18 cents per serving.

Simple yet elegant

 

I actually made myself a nice dinner this week. Well, part of a nice dinner; the smashed potato cake was a donation from work. I bought two lamb chops and marinated them in red wine, garlic and herbes de provence. After a couple hours, I took them out of the marinade and seared them in a smoking hot frying pan 2 or 3 minutes a side. While they rested on the counter, I deglazed the pan with more red wine and let it reduce slightly to make a pan sauce. A few green beans, blanched cut and tossed with slivered almonds rounded the meal out.

Ladies Who Lunch

Today, I had a nice leisurely lunch with a friend I haven't spent time with in a while. We each contributed a part of lunch (and a bottle of wine) and it was so tasty.

 

My contribution was two savoury tarts pulled out of the crazy recesses of my brain. I rolled out two sheets of puff pastry, scored them to make an edge and docked the dough before eggwashing and blind baking. THe first tart started with Meyer lemon juice and zest, light ricotta, half a beaten egg and salt and pepper. I spread a layer of this mixture on the prepaked crust, then laid down lightly blanched asparagus spears. THe other tart started with 4 kalamata olives, chopped fin and half a teaspoon of garlic paste blended with a tablespoon of beaten egg. I brushed this concoction lightly over the base of the crust. Then I latered sliced tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. Both tarts went in the oven for another 10-15 minutes before I packed them up.
Katie made a delicious warm lentil salad with olives, pomegranate molasses, orange, arugula, cinnamon and other spices. We sipped a nice riesling with lunch.

After, in light of the bleak Vancouver day, we curled up on the couch and watched Persuasion, following our Riesling with a Gray Monk Gamay Noir.

 

Of course, the star of the whole afternoon was the lovable and infamous George.

Dinner Delivery

My grandparents have been in town for a few days, attending a PAMEA conference and they very graciously agreed to keep me company last night. (It was my first lonely night sans Rob.) They had treated the two of us to dinner the night before, so it was my turn to provide the sustenance. Unfortunately, I was so caught up in serving dinner, I forgot to take pictures until dessert.
The logistics of the whole thing were challenging; they were staying in a hotel about an hour by foot and bus from my house. They had no microwave or any other cooking related device. I wanted to make a nice hot meal.
I settled on roasted chicken breast with Meyer lemon and basil, baked potato and salad. As soon as I got home from work, I cranked the oven, popped the potatoes in and filled a small cooler with boiling water. I then marinated the chicken in Meyer lemon zest and juice, fresh basil, olive oil and white wine vinegar. 20 minutes before departure time, I seared the chicken, then popped it in the oven. As it cooked, I packed a backpack with cutlery, plastic plates, sour cream and butter (in little jars), salt and pepper, salad and dressing, as well as the dessert requirements and a thermos of hot water for tea. As soon as the chicken breast were done, I wrapped them in heavy duty foil, lined with parchment. They went into the cooler with the hot potatoes, everything gut covered with a warm towel and I locked the lid down. Then I rushed out the door.
I made it to Richmond in just under an hour and the food was still piping hot!
For dessert, at home I took the Braun to a pot of ricotta cheese with honey and vanilla added. Once the grainy texture was gone, I packed it up. I also brought a can of tropical fruit (papyas, mangos, guava etc) packed in juice and some of Anna's Almond Thins. Onsite, I layered the ingredients to create the dessert below. I was pleasantly surprised by how well everything turned out!

On the bus home, I got stuck next to a drunk guy, but at least he was an entertaining one who shared his secret to Yorkshire puddings and his favourite red wine to have with roast beef dinner!

Warm Eggnog

I didn't know if it would work, but I wanted a rum and eggnog and I didn't want to have a cold drink (its -9C here, we are so not used to this. Not complaining though).
I use Light eggnog because I found the fullfat stuff totally cloying. Simply heat a serving in a saucepan, whipping it violently to get a good head of foam. pour a shot of rum in a glass, add warm eggnog, reserving foam for last. Top with nutmeg.

This was all the cooking I did yesterday (besides work). I had Subway for dinner!