Who knew I could feed myself from a front yard garden alone? Other than the flour, I grew everything for this dish in my small, urban yard; potatoes, garlic, chard, tomatoes and squash. I may have mentioned my front yard transformation last spring. With the ...
Where have I been having vanished with the summer? Sheltering from the rain, I'd replaced my passé front yard with an edible garden. I tried my luck with a few heirloom seeds and a few more old stand-by vegetables. Summer may have squeaked by, but not without ...
Returning with something super simple but so delicious. During the detox, while on the search for various grains to keep things interesting, I remembered barley. My mom used to use it in many of her soups when I was a kid. This, of course, makes it an ...
JANUARY The citrus obsessed that I am decided away with diets and and that pink grapefruits were way underused: Red Grapefruit Curd Filled Donuts Every winter likes the cold and every winter I battle it with something extra warm:...
Dinner, oh dinner. Yeah, this is the big one. It's also the one that by experience has proven that planning ahead, pop it in the oven kind of dinners are waaaay more enjoyable than missing out on events while slaving away in the kitchen. Plus, ...
Considering it's chilly, I couldn't help but to think warm. So when Jeanne, over at Cook Sister told me to go topless, I thought, well, that's cheeky, it's November. All snickers aside, I grabbed for the freezer door to find my handy pack of puff pastry. So ...
Stuffing is easily the highlight of most Holiday dinners. It's what turns Sunday dinner in to a Holiday feast and there are about the same amount of people who eat it that there are ways of making it. Here, I've combined a few of my favourites with a little seasonal flare, creating something scrumptious, festive and memorable. What would be lovely on it's own, shuffled up beside stewed cranberries, I originally thought I would stuff red onions. Upon a quick search, I found that the beautiful site, Smitten Kitchen had already done just that but with much different stuffing. Having a surplus of onions and one lonely pumpkin still left from Halloween, I decided to march forward and give you all one more pumpkin dish. Naturally the stuffing can be baked up on it's own, or in any other found cavity, but I really liked the moisture and the sweetness of this little pie pumpkin. It really complemented the dried persimmons and roasted chestnuts headlining the dressing. ...And I still had a little left over for a few onions after all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. Enjoy the day, your friends, family and your dinner.
Upon returning from vacation I couldn't help but notice one of my pumpkins from my collection. The skin of my Marina Di Chioggia had turned much darker than its original green and although I don't know a whole heck of a lot about pumpkins and their various shades green, I do know that my prized Marina Di Chioggia is one of the most delectable of all the gourd breeds. From the coasts near Venice, love is in the air for the pumpkin aptly nicknamed "Deliziosa". The hard, green shell of this heirloom pumpkin may be a pain to peel, or even get into for that matter, but it's sweet, subtle flavour and silky flesh certainly make it worth it. To claim victory over the tough to surrender peel, just make one cut around to get in and clean out the seeds, then simply roast the pumpkin in a short depth of water for about 90 minutes at 350ºF. Of all the heirlooms gathered from the patch this season, the glorious Marina Di Chioggia is perfect for just about any recipe. It's sweet yet delicate and can hold it's own beautifully in pies, pasta and of course, gnocchi. Perpetually intimidated by making gnocchi, with or without eggs, I found that this pumpkin is a great addition to the delightful dumplings. Typically worried about them being gummy and dense or at worst, falling apart in the cooking water, I found nothing of the sort. The dough was quite soft, so depending on the extent of draining you do, climate you live in and any other moisture factors, you may have to adjust the amount of flour to create a workable dough. ...And with a terrific yield, everyone can look forward to a few great pumpkin recipes to add to autumn and holiday collection.
One of my most favourite places to explore is any neighbourhood China Town. Bustling with people, new aromas, and spilling produce, this exciting area of most major cities is a feast for the eyes. Here in Toronto, tucked a few blocks over from the mainland China Town is a small but wonderful Japanese store. After refilling my wasabi prescription, I gaze along the long aisles of offerings. Included are various teas, Hello Kitty Pocky sticks, every shade of miso, enoki mushrooms and of course, noodles. Wheat, rice, green tea, tofu, ramen, udon and soba noodle varieties ready for any dish the Far East has ever created. How elated was I to discover that soba is the name for buckwheat in Japanese? For those of you who weren't sure, like me, buckwheat is neither a grass or related to the wheat family. It's a flowering plant which produces the seeds for great things like pillows and yes, buckwheat flour. Asian noodle soup has to be in my top list of most amazing meals. The simplicity of them makes them satisfying and perfect. The noodles and broth create a host bowl for just about any combination imaginable.
Back when I was younger and maybe a little more daring, dinners at home were sure tear jerkers. My room mate and I at the time would frequently bring home or make our own sushi. In fact, it was our equivalent to most other twenty something's macaroni and cheese. About a bottle of sake later, the games would begin.... Starting with a fleck, then working up to a gob, we would up each other's wasabi intake. For those unfamiliar with the powers of the great green Japanese horseradish, wasabi most closely resembles a spicy hot mustard sensation. Serving our sushi with it's typical Wasabi-joyu, soy sauce combination for dipping, we embraced the festivities, upping the ante with the additional blob atop the sushi itself. You see, when wasabi is a even a little over loaded, the sensation is nothing like the burning tongue of a pepper. Starting with a tingle, it continues, flurrying up your nasal passage, stopping only at the bottom of your eye, usually finishing with a tear and a jolt of adrenaline. Watching someone suffer is not only entertaining, but addictive, which, I suppose is why we did it. As juvenile foodies, I'm sure there is much more mischief we could have been getting ourselves into. But oh, it hurt so good.
FolioGrid - a Premium Wordpress Theme by FrogsThemes.com