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.