Monkfish

 

It was really hard to get pretty picture of this seabeast in its finished state; it is almost as unattractive in living colour

I first tried monkfish last summer in Portland (unfortunately I was in a blogging slump, so never wrote up my fabulous evening at Fenouil). It played second fiddle to a killer lentil side, but was still tasty. As I wandered through the market the other day, I saw monkfish fillets on offer and just had to try them.
No recipe today, just another one of those "freeform" dinners. The monkfish was wrapped in serrano ham, seared and baked. i served it with a blood orange zest beurre blanc. Red lentils with sauteed fennel was one of the sides and a salad of blood orange, roasted beets and julienned fennel was the other, adding to the colourful plate.

Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce and Sweet Potatoes

I got this recipe from the CLBB, but the original source was Shape Magazine. I made very little modifications and it was an excellent week night dinner. I will post my modified version.

Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce
Over Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Shape, January 2004
4 servings

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
and cut into 2-inch chunks
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
salt
black pepper
1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin
(about 90%-95% lean)
1/2 cup diced shallots
1/4 cup panko
1 egg
worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup sliced fresh shiitake
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sherry

Bake sweet potatoes until tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and smash together with a fork until lumpy.
Meanwhile, to make the meatballs, combine salt and pepper with next 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Form mixture into 16 2-inch meatballs.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and saute 5 minutes, until browned.
Add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes, until tender and releasing juice. Add thyme and stir to coat. Add beef broth and simmer 3 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.
Dissolve cornstarch in sherry and add to skillet. Simmer 1 minute, until sauce thickens.
Spoon smashed sweet potatoes onto individual plates and top with meatballs. Spoon mushroom sauce over top and serve.

Nutrition score per serving (4 meatballs, 1/4 cup mushroom sauce, 1/2 cup sweet potatoes): 411 calories, 24% fat (11 g; 3 g saturated), 44% carbs (45 g), 32% protein (33 g), 5 g fiber, 66 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 628 mg sodium.

Lasagna with Lamb, Spinach and feta

 

The same day that I made sushi, I made lasagna for dinner. It turned uot to be one of the best lasagnas ever!

Lasagna is admittedly a freeform dish for me (okay, most dishes are freeform in my world). I used a very simple recipe for the pasta dough, which I then took quite thin on my handy KitchenAid pasta roller.

Pasta Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups semolina flour
6 whole eggs
olive oil
salt

sift salt and flours together on the counter. Make a well; add your eggs and olive oil. Mix then knead until desired consistency is reached (this took me about 10 minutes from start to finish). Wrap and allow to rest for a couple hours.

Roll out sheets; use in lasagna

THe filling came out of that crazy head of mine. I sauteed 2lbs of ground lamb in olive oil, but before it was fully cooked, I added a whole can of crushed organic tomatoes, some oregano, salt and pepper and cinnamon. I let that simmer for a couple hours, adding the rest of my ingredients as they were ready. I sauteed 1 japanese eggplant with lots of garlic and salt, then simmered it in a half cup of red wine. Once the wine was absorbed/reduced, I added the eggplant to the lamb. I also thawed one package of frozen spinach and added that.

I wish I could write a recipe, because this lasagna was the perfect density; but so much of it was made up as we went. The layers included mozzarella, the lamb filling, sheep feta and a bechamel made from about 1l of milk. It was then baked for an hour and allowed to rest for 20 minutes...<

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...

Joint Effort

 

A rare occurrence yesterday... Rob and I were both home from work at a decent hour, so we prepared dinner together. Rob cooked a couple of perfect filet mignons, and suggested a fennel salad. I made a barley risotto and prepared the salad. Crisp fennel, baby greens, olive oil, salt and a delicious honey vanilla balsamic courtesy of Mindy ~ delicious. And Rob absolutely loved the barley risotto.

I didn't have chicken stock, so added flavour with bacon.



Barley Risotto
4 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup diced uncooked bacon
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
juice of half a lemon
1/8 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper

Bring water to boil. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

Sweat bacon in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté 2 minutes. Add barley and season; cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then add white wine. Once white wine has been absorbed, add water a bit at a time, stirring after each addition. this will take 40-45 minutes.
Stir in parsley, parmesan and lemon juice. Serve

Sunchokes

 

Sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes, are one of my favourite little tubers. I know they have been done to death, but I just love the way they taste and I picked some up at the Farmer's Market. Last night, I was not feeling the cooking vibe, but I did it anyway, preparing garlicky lamb chops with a red wine sauce, green beans and a sunchoke and yam gratin. Rob raved about it and, very sweetly, thanked me a million times over for making him dinner every night at such an "ungodly hour" (he gets off work at 9 pm. I get off at two.)

Please bear with me, the recipe is in rough development, but here it is.

Sunchoke and Yam Gratin

1 small yam, peeled, sliced thin
Sunchokes, enough to yield 2 cups, thinly sliced.
1 cup cream
bay leaf
salt
peppercorns
pinch of lavender

Simmer cream with salt, pepper, bay leaves and lavender for 10 minutes. Strain off herbs and pour over yams and sunchokes. Layer in a small ovenproof pot, than bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serves 4 (Or two if one of them is my boyfriend).

Gratitude

Sometimes, you just need a friend to listen to you, to distract you, to share their own stresses. I was very lucky on Saturday, as K and R took me off to the farmers market. I know, a farmer's market in March, crazy! It was a lot of fun, featuring a couple of interesting performers

 

The view from the farmers market was incredible as well and this photo does not do it justice.

 

After we shopped, R dropped K and I Cafe Barney on Granville and we had a good breakfast and a wonderfully therapeutic chat. (Thank you!!)

 

Anyway, two days later, Rob and I reaped the benefits of the market trip with Organic potatoes from Helmers, Mushrooms from somewhere else, greens from Langley growers and a nice free run chicken breast from Tenderland.

 

This is the mushroom saute action...

And the finished product:

Indian Comfort Food

 

I know, two days in a row, my heading features the term "comfort food". Today's title refers to the name of a little stall on Granville Island where we enjoyed a meal.
Picture the scene....
You are having many drinks with friends at a lounge on the island with abysmal, overpriced food... You are starving, you need an alcohol soaker, your server offers to guard your table, drinks and all. You run over to the market, looking for something fast, tasty and reasonably priced. Enter Indian Comfort Food.

All five of us ordered the Dehli Wrap, filled with butter chicken, rice, mango chutney and other yummy things, served with a side of vegetables and extra butter chicken sauce.
It was enough to fortify us for another four hours of catching up and generally frightening other patrons of the lounge with our "kitchen language"...

Comfort Food

 

As I mentioned in my last post, things haven't been 100%... Comfort food was needed. The picture sucks a little, but we had Sausages, Bubble and Squeak, Gravy and salad.

A lot on My Mind

I have a lot to think about right now and it seems to be pulling me down a little. It was an extreme effort just to make this simple meal last night, most of it mental effort...

 

Sablefish with a blood orange and star anise sauce, roasted asaparagus and sushi rice with green onion.

The Village Wine Shop Guy made another great recommendation, Quails Gate Chardonnay.

Somehow, I think it would taste sweeter if I wasn't so damn stressed and bogged down in thoughts. Here is just a sampling...
I am waiting (not patiently) for a referral to a dermatologist for a biopsy of a bizarre skin lesion on my shoulder...its been two days and still no phone call with the appointment.... I can't stop thinking about it; never mind that I ignored the damn thing for almost a year, I want results now!
My littlest sister is sick (siezures) , but communication is an issue, as is her steadfast refusal to see real doctors...So I have no real concept of what is going on and she is determined to go ahead with her wedding... A whole other can of worms for me.
I turn 29 in a month. No idea why that is weighing so heavily on my mind.
Should I stay or should I go? Have I learned all I can, gained all I can from my current employer? Or are my frustrations there just caused by my own worries at home?
OMG NEW YORK!!!!

How much is too much?

OFF TOPIC WARNING

Okay, where does one draw the line on expensive skin care products? 20$? 50$? 162$?!!!!
I have thin, pale sensitive difficult facial skin. I usually don't use anything because products just do a number on my skin. Then I heard about this line, SK-II, from Japan. I ducked into Holt Renfrew today, just curious. One product in the whole line, the basic, you-must-have-this-product, is 162$ for a bottle ACCCK. The look on my face was probably a dead giveaway. The saleswoman handed me a one week free trial.
So first treatment went on today. Check back in a week and see how I feel about spending roughly 2$ per day on my face....

PS. Skin already feels tingly and smooth.

Cooked My Goose

 

When I screw up, I REALLY screw up. THankfully, all I could do was laugh at this one. Alot.

Story:
Rob calls me "I'm bringing home free goose, legs and breast. Think of how you are going to cook it up for dinner".

I thought about it for a while and decided I would take the duck approach; they are both waterfowl, right?
I got a beautiful wine to pair with it "Jimmy My Pal". Despite the odd name, the wine was perfect, thanks to the reccomendations of the lovely people at Village Wines.
The goose arrived and it really did look like duck, so I soldiered ahead, searing the bits, then popping in the oven. My first mistake, I let the breast go slightly over... it was leaning more to medium than medium rare. My second mistake; thinking I knew what I was doing when it came to cooking the legs! I gave them more time than the breast, obviously, I made a delicious glaze/sauce with pomegranate molasses, red wine and honey, sauteed up some garlicky eggplant and served it all alongside a multigrain rice dish. The breast was tasy if a little tough. I tried to cut the leg... no dice. I picked it up and tried to bite it.... Then collapsed in laughter as my teeth refused to tear through the rubbery flesh. Rob gave it a shot as well. OMG, worst dish ever. I laughed some more, removed the legs from our plates and continued to enjoy the rest of the (delicious) meal.

Tuna Salad

A fast, simple, delicious and, I suspect, relatively healthy dinner.

Ingredients:
Tuna, well seasoned and seared rare
Eggs, cooked to desired doneness ( I love mine runny, so seven minutes in boiling water and straight into a cold water bath)
Olives, preferably nicoise, but any good variety will do.
Green beans, blanched
Ripe tomatoes, wedged
Potato ( i made a simple cold salad with a light vinaigrette)
Greens, your choice.
Coarse Salt
Cracked Pepper
Assemble, dress with favourite dressing, enjoy.

Chinatown

Sunday, sunshine and congee lured me over to china town. After lunch at Hon's in Chinatown, I grabbed an egg tart from New Town Bakery and wandered over to Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden. The gardens are absolutely stunning, especially in the early spring sunshine....

more photos can be seen on my flickr page.

Dinner, pictured here, was stirfry made up of ingredients purchased from T & T.


IMG_9416
Originally uploaded by kayaksoup

Kitchen Shots

Bad blogger that I am, I do still take food pictures once in a while. Here is a collection of photos from the last two months, starting with new tears day.

Sablefish with Ham and Black-eyed Peas














Handmade Perogies and Polish Sausage from Edmonton Farmers Market














Jerk Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with roasted yams and Broccolini














Steamed Halibut With Szechuan Peppercorns

Kicking Myself....

Sunday was one of those amazing days in Vancouver. The sun shines for teh first time in a month and the whole city comes alive with crazy people , shivering on patios, running on the seawall, walking along the beach. I stopped at Go Fish for a season opening lunch and the moment was so perfect I was kicking myself for not bringing a camera. Sun shining, perfectly cooked fries in front of me, and incredible view of False Creek and Downtown. A big stupid smile on my face that matched the faces of those around me...

I know, I never write anymore, in fact I would be surprised if anyone actually reads me anymore! I have news though! I am going to New York in August, solo. I am so excited I can't stop thinking about it even though it is months away....

LeftOvers!

 

Leftover roast becomes shepherds pie....

I simply cubed the leftover meat, about 3 cups worth, then sauteed onions and carrots. To the onions and carrots, I added leftover gravy, wine, more seasoning and a little bit of thickening action. I poured the sauce over the beef in a small glass baking dish, topping with mashed potatoes with one egg mixed in. Bake and eat!

Vegetarian Lasagna

 

Last night's dinner was a lasagna with wild mushrooms, caramelised onions and arugula. Tasty goodness ~ so much for all that healthy eating I had planned. And hey, I am blowing off the gym right now to write this.

On the plus side, my friend at Barbara Jo's showed me a new cookbook that was very inspiring ~ Charlie Trotter's Spa Cuisine. Once you get past the million photos, the recipes are totally accessible and look very clean and simple. I am craving miso soup with mushrooms and poached egg... too bad we are having shepherds pie for dinner.
Recipe for Lasagna to follow... still working on it.

Detoxify Me

 

Full of rich foods from Christmas dinner, starved of nutrients from a month of working too much and eating crappy food?
This should help ~ it certainly made me feel better!

Teriyaki Soba
serves 4

1 lb soba noodles
3 japanese eggplant, cut in medallions
1/2 lb king oyster mushrooms (regular are also okay)
2 peppers, julienned
1 lb baby bok choy, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 sheet toasted nori, julienned

Sauce:
4 tbsp chopped ginger
1 cup tamari
4 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Himchimi Togarashi (Japanes chili powder)


1. Combine sauce ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat, allow to steep for 15 minutes, strain to remove chopped ginger, set aside.
2. Cook noodles according to pkge directions
3. While noodles are cooking, stir fry the vegetables, starting with eggplant and mushrooms. Then add the julienned peppers. Add a splash of sake or water to help speed the cooking process along. Add bok choy and sauce, allow to cook until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetablkes from wok and reduce the pan juice until thick and syrupy.
4. To serve, spoon vegetables over noodles, drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with sesame seeds, nori threads and green onions.

From Rebar, with a few very minor modifications.

New Town Bakery

We sat in the car eating the hot steamed pork buns, shrimp turnover and pork turnover. Outside, cold gray rain. Inside, delicious greasy food!

Sunday Lunch

IMG_9054
Originally uploaded by kayaksoup

I stopped into the butcher/deli at So.cial for lunch today and had a small roast beef sandwich with soup.
To be honest, the soup did not thrill me (yes, I am a soup snob) but the sandwich was delicious. The specialty meats in the butcher case also looked delicious and I will have to go back when I have some money to spend on fun food.

Fall Days

I got lucky today! Rob and I had a rare day off together ~ I slept till 9:30, waking up to the smell of bacon (mmmm bacon). Rob made me a HUGE breakfast ( I didn't actually eat ALL of that bacon>)

 

After breakfast, we ran some errands; I went to the library for the first time in 4 months (so glad the strike is over). The weather was gorgeous, crisp and clear. All the leaves are turning too. I love this time of year...

 

In the late afternoon we watched a movie together, napped and generally luxuriated in our not working state.

The plan for dinner was simple ~ salmon, rice, salad. But while in the market, we saw the most beautiful chanterelles, so I had to grab some of those.
Unfortunately, as I started to prepare dinner, I discovered that the salmon was less than fresh smelling. Change of tack; I marinated the salmon with olive oil, lemon and tarragon. The mushrooms were sauteed with tarragon, butter and white wine, then I made a cream sauce and added the mushroom mixture to it, before spooning it over the cooked salmon.

 

Sunday Dinner

Rob was curious about Rabbit ~ having never eaten it, so he brought one home from work. I used a recipe from Bones for Herb-Roasted Stuffed Rabbit and served it with couscous and Carrots glazed with bay, orange and honey.

 

The Verdict? He thinks its tasty but totally not worth the 30 dollars/rabbit they charge at his work.
I made a fantastic rabbit dish way back in culinary school, but despite my best efforts searching through the archives, I cannot find it ~ I think it was the day I forgot to bring my camera to class... It was a fun stroll down memory lane though!

Dinner with Katie and Ryan

The pictures aren't the best... I blame the fabulous wine that Katie brought....

 

Caramelised Onion and Gruyere Tart with Green Salad

 

Lamb, Fall Vegetables and a yam and Potato Cake.

 

"Pearfait" (name courtesy of Katie)

Inspiration and Motivation

Without going into details, my life has been lacking in both inspiration AND motivation. I am hoping by actually posting I can start the ball rolling. Tomorrow I am having dinner guests, so I am getting a little bit excited about cooking...
Of course, I have no idea what I am actually going to cook ;D

Portland here I come!

So excited! Off to Portland for 5 days and cannot wait. My flight leaves first thing tomorrow. I need to start compiling my list of must -see places...

Inspiration

I attended a class at barbara Jo's tonight (love their classes) on Jams and Jellies, specifically Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures.
I used to do so much jam, jelly and preserve making, but time constraints have depleted my will to can. I am all fired up again after tonights class. The Tomato and Apple Jam with Rosemary has my name all over it and I can't wait to make it.

 

Oh and hi to Trevor's Friend in Winnipeg!

Chicken Tacos

 

A quick and easy way to use up leftover chicken. And it tastes good too!

The dreaded veal

 

I had this fear of, or rather, aversion to, veal. Rob made veal chops for us once and I could barely eat them. My challenge this week was to make myself, at the very least, be able to eat them. I salted them very thoroughly before rubbing with garlic and allowing them to rest for an hour or so. Then I cooked them in a cast iron pan over medium high heat until they were a solid medium. Served with couscous and summer vegetable stew. The verdict? They were delicious!

 

We sipped a Spanish rose, recommended by the wonderful staff at Liberty Wines Granville Island. Possibly the new favourite of the summer.

Warm Pasta Salad

 

This is so simple, but quite tasty. Like a greek salad with warm pasta and shrimp sauteed in olive oil and lemon zest. Serve warm or even room temperature.

More hot weather meals

 

THis one was a salad of crisp vegetables and bean thread vermicelli with marinated seared beef. The dressing on the salad was a combination of rice wine vinegar, fresh ginger, sugar, sesame oil and fish sauce.

Tomato Basil Tart, Halibut

 

The heat continues in Vancouver, and for the first time in a long time, I have time to cook almost every night of the week.
This is another simple meal~ a tomato basil tart with savoury mascarpone and Halibut poach/steamed with capers and pink peppercorns. We ate on the patio, sipping a glass of Soave.

Another Summer Meal

 

Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad With Sweet Chili Shrimp

July 5th Dinner

Summer has finally arrived! And with it, my desire to cook rich food goes out the window.

 

Lemon Oregano Free Range Chicken Breast, Tabbouleh, Tomato, Cucumber, Kalamata Olive Salad.<

July 3 Dinner

Even when I was working away, too tired to blog (or partying away), I was still cooking and taking pictures. Here is the dinner I made on July 3rd.

Rack of Lamb with Fresh Pea and Mint Pesto, Smashed potato cakes and Honey Coriander Carrots.

Figs Braised in Balsamic and honey with Mascarpone.

Early Dinner

 

I made dinner for Rob and I before my job tonight; Halibut and Fresh Broad Beans steamed in parchment and a warm potato salad with a tarragon grainy mustard dressing.

Delfino Vineyards B&B

 

Back from Oregon and the most amazing B&B I have ever stayed in; Delfino Vineyards. Rob and I stayed two nights in the guest cottage here and did not want to leave!. As we pulled up the drive, I felt a wave relaxation pour over me. The cottage was spacious (bigger than our place) but cozy and homey with all sorts of little details that made it special. A bottle of wine was waiting for us when we arrived, along with the sweet and generous innkeeper Terri and four very friendly dogs. We poured a glass and then wandered down the hill past the vegetable gardens and the chickens to the pond. Rob took me for a canoe around the pond before we headed out to dinner and when we came back, we brought worms and I caught my first ever fish (and released it too). After the first fish, I just fed worms to them ~ I couldn't deal with the whole hook thing. Much later, we got in the hot tub with our glasses of wine and stared up at the stars.
The first morning, we had to leave very early, so Terri dropped off Fresh Blueberry Muffins the night before, along with some bread, butter, milk, strawberries (local) and eggs from their chickens and Rob and I made ourselves a breakfast. The second morning, we had breakfast delivered ~ fresh cut fruit and warm delicious dried cranberry scones (I can smell them still). After That amazing breakfast, we took a short hike through oak trees to high wild rose meadow and on to the vineyards. When we finally said goodbye to Terri and Jim and took off for Portland, I did not want to leave.
I will be back, but in the meantime, I hope that if anyone is heading that way, they look this place up; a true gem and worth every penny and more.