Roasted Sweet Potato and Banana Mash

This dish came about as a result of my desire to do a potato side that was different from standard mashed potatoes, and while I LOVE candied yams they are not the most healthy option. Since I am ramping up on the whole getting into shape thing for my wedding next year, I am always looking for satisfying dishes that are a bit healthier. Sweet potatoes are generally better for you than plain old white, if you don't douse them in tons of sugar and syrups. I decided to roast up some sweet potatoes and banana, mix it all with maple syrup and voila, a healthier answer to candied yams and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Baked Cranberries

In honor of Thanksgiving coming I cooked up some tasty and easy dishes to enjoy along with a deliciously juicy roast turkey, a recipe I'll post soon too. The first of which is insanely easy and delicious. This dish was inspired by something a friend brought to a potluck I hosted a few years ago. It looked so beautiful in the glass dish and as I thought about it seemed so easy to make so I put together this version of my own.

Peach & Radish Salsa

I first heard about Summer Fest 2009 from Jaden Hair, one of the organizers, via her blog Steamy Kitchen. I love the idea of this cross blog celebration of fresh-from-the-garden food. Each week there is a different topic, I missed out on last weeks fresh herbs but am jumping in with this week fruit from trees. See below for more info on Sumerfest and how you too can participate.

One of my favorite fruit from trees are peaches. I have sung the praises of peaches here before so I won't bore you, other than to say I was ecstatic to find that peaches are grown right here in Ontario and I found this past weekend that they are now in season here in Ontario. On a stop at a local farmer's market on our way up north I acquired some gorgeous local peaches, radishes, peppers and jalapenos. As we continued on our way to the cottage I decided to make a peach and radish salsa, not only to use the beautiful fruits and veggies from the farmer's market but also because I've been challenging myself lately to make at the very least mostly local dishes, with the goal being completely local. I have yet to wean myself from spices yet and as there is no salt or pepper local to Ontario it may be a awhile before I go completely local.



Peach & Radish Salsa

4 small peaches
4 large or 6 small radishes
1 small orange bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1 handful fresh cilantro with stems
1/2 lime - juice
salt & pepper

1. Blanch cleaned peaches in boil water for 1 minute, then immediately place in a large bowl of iced cold water. Let sit in water for 2 minutes or until cool enough to handle and carefully remove the skins.
2. Cut peach flesh away from pit and cut into a 1/2 inch dice. Wash radishes and cut into a 1/2 inch dice.
3. Wash & seed orange pepper and cut into a 1 inch dice. Wash & seed half a jalapeno pepper and mince finely. Roughly chop cilantro.
4. In a non reactive bowl toss together peaches, radishes, peppers, cilantro and lime juice. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately or it will get soggy.


This was a deliciously sweet & savory salsa with the sweetness of the peaches pairing nicely with bite of the radishes. I'm not a huge radish fan but really enjoyed this. We ate the salsa with just some multi grain tortilla chips, but I think it would also be delicious on a grilled hot dog with some shredded cheddar.

How you can join Summer Fest

Summer Fest 2009 is a four-week, cross-blog celebration co-created (alphabetically listed) by A Way to Garden, Matt Armendariz of Mattbites, Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, and Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple, with guest appearances from Shauna and Daniel Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl, Simmer Till Done’s Marilyn Pollack Naron, and Paige Smith Orloff of The Sister Project. And from you—that’s critical. Your contributions are desired, and needed.

Will you play along? Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting today, with the subject of herbs, you can contribute in various ways, big or small. Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:

Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2009 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites).

Summer Fest 2009 Schedule:

• Tuesday, July 28: HERBS. Any and all.

• Tuesday, August 4: FRUITS FROM TREES (also known as stone fruits, but we won’t scream if you toss in a berry or another fruit, promise).

• Tuesday, August 11: BEANS-AND-GREENS WEEK (either or both, your choice).

• Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK. How do you like them love apples?

Hope you'll join in or at least check out what some of the other participants are doing. Enjoy!

Pickled Golden Beets

I have to start this post by saying beets are a veggie I've never been a fan of, I tried them as a child I've tried them as an adult and they just aren't up there on the veggie list for me. The problem here is that the boy LOVES them, and they are a veggie that you can easily and cheaply get in Canada year round. I experimented with oven roasting them this winter and enjoyed them, and I would like to try to use them to color the next red velvet cake I make, but I don't know that I'll ever be excited to eat beets.

All that being said, in a effort to try to make things not only that I like but that the boy likes too I happily accepted the golden beets that came in this weeks Mama Earth basket. Red and golden beets add such beautiful color to any plate so whether I like to eat them or not I'll always enjoy how they look. In an effort to not heat up the kitchen too much I thought pickled beets would be nice and decided to try a recipe I saw on Simply Recipes. I've never pickled anything before, so instead of futzing with Elise's recipe I followed it as written.


Pickled Beets
from Simply Recipes

1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper

1. Remove greens from beets, save for future use (I may try them in a green smoothie or braise them with some white beans). Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Steam or boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not.

2. Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets.

3. Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature.

The boy really enjoyed these. Mainly because I did something with beets, but also because they are just plain good. While I don't know that these will convert me to a beet lover, I am looking forward to putting them on a salad of organic romaine with some delicious goat cheese. I do love what a simple and straight forward recipe this is, and quick and easy way to prepare any beets that come in your CSA box or if you happen to buy some at a local farm stand. They are full on in season and beautiful in Ontario right now. Enjoy!

Salt Potatoes

We recently had an amazing and delicious Lobster Feast up at the Boy's family cottage. Lobster is one of my all time favorite things, just steamed with some drawn butter and I am happy. Most people need a bit more so we also did some grilled corn on the cob and an old favorite in my house growing up salt potatoes. These potatoes are so easy and go perfectly with any of your lobster, crab or any other shellfish dinners you'll be enjoying this summer.

Salt Potatoes
serves 8

4 lbs washed new potatoes (should all be about the same size)
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
cold water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
fresh chives - roughly chopped

1. Fill a large pot halfway with cold water. Add the salt to the water and stir until much of the salt dissolves.
2. Add in the washed potatoes. Turn stove to medium high, bring water to a boil and cook potatoes at a rolling boil for 15 minutes or until tender.
3. While potatoes boil melt butter over low heat, until completely melted.
4. Once potatoes are tender drain in a colander. Return to warm pot and toss with butter and chives.


This is my favorite type of dish, one with few steps and ingredients and lots of flavor, of course alot of the flavor is attributed to have super fresh potatoes. There isn't much to say about these, they are great, everyone loved them and the boy has a potato-eating family. Make them this summer and let me know how they turn out. Enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

To go with the fabulous and oh so rich Pork Belly we decided to simple and easy on a side dish. The boy's parents had some beautiful asparagus that we decided to grill up. Rather than worry about keeping them hot I decided to do a salad treatment with a delicious lemon vinaigrette. They were the perfect foil to the pork belly and something I anticipate making all summer long.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

ASPARAGUS
1 bunch of asparagus
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

DRESSING
1 scallion - chopped (whites and greens)
2 tsps lemon zest
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

1. Preheat grill to medium/medium-low (approx 300F). Gently bend asparagus stalks towards the bottom until they snap, discard the bottoms and rinse the tops. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. Lay on the heated grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes, turning as the asparagus browns.
2. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, except the Parmesan and pour over top of the asparagus. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and let cool to room temperature before serving.


This is a perfectly easy summer dish that really showcases the flavor of the asparagus and is bright and fresh all at the same time. Enjoy!

Arugula Salad

With the warm days we've been having recently and after my recent trip back to LA I've been on a bit of a salad kick lately. Arugula is one of my favorite greens, it's got a nice peppery bite and is perfect mixed in with other greens or on it's own. Citrus season is just about over, but as I was putting this salad together I had one last blood orange that I wanted to put to use and decided to make it into a vinaigrette which along with the arugula and fresh raspberries made the perfect salad for a warm day.

Arugula Salad

4 cups fresh arugula - washed and dried
1 pint raspberries
2 Tbsp blood orange juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 + 2 Tbsp cup - extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt & Pepper

1. Place arugula in a salad bowl.
2. Put the blood orange juice into a small bowl and stream in the olive oil, whisking the whole time. Taste and add salt & pepper to your preference.
3. Pour dressing over arugula and add in 1/2 of the raspberries. Toss and top with remaining raspberries and a pinch or two of sea salt.


This is my favorite kind of dish, so simple in preparation and yet so full of flavor. The peppery arugula goes so well with the sweet dressing and tart berries, and then the occasional crunch of the seas salt. It's something I anticipate making many different variations of as different fruits and vegetables come into season. On a side note, I just recently converted to using sea salt as my main salt in the kitchen and I have to say I LOVE it. It has made such a difference in everything I make, whether it is cooked into a dish or sprinkled on top of eggs, it's wonderful. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Broccoflower

We first bought broccoflower a few months ago and really enjoyed it. The first time we had it I just steamed it and the next time the boy pureed it with some cauliflower and mashed potatoes for a Shepherd's pie topping which aside from the slight greenish tint was absolutely delicious. This most recent go I decided to oven roast it and now think this is my favorite treatment of broccoflower. Easy and full of flavor it's something I highly recommend trying out.

Oven Roasted Broccoflower

1 head brocoflower - washed and separated into equal sized florets
1 tsp garlic powder
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
fresh cracked pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Toss broccoflower with olive oil, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
2. Spread on a baking sheet in one layer. Lay rosemary sprigs on top of the broccoflower. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until tender with nice golden bits. Enjoy!

I don't post too many vegetable dishes on here because I'll be honest veggies aren't my favorite. I know I need to eat them and have been consciously trying to eat more lately. This recipe is the first of hopefully many where I'll be playing around with different vegetables and recipes. It's also a fabulous recipe, oven roasting vegetables really brings out the flavors and just makes them delicious! I found Himalayan pink salt at my local grocery store and decided to try it out. The package said it's good for roasting and I have to agree. You can of course use sea salt or what ever your salt of preference is. Enjoy!

FNCCC: Beer Battered Onion Rings

In honor of St. Patrick's Day March's Food Network Cooking Club Challenge the recipe chosen was Riccardo's Beer Battered Onions Rings. I was actually looking forward to trying this one as I have never made onions rings before and I love all things beer battered. The major downside was that this treat is in exact opposition to my return to boot camp and attempt at healthier eating. That being said I made them, the boy and I tried some and I threw the rest out! A bit wasteful, I know. but luckily it wasn't a time or wallet intensive treat.

As you know, it's rare that I follow a recipe to the letter. For this one I decided to use white (because I had one in the house) and red (for something different) onions instead of the recommend Spanish onion. I made one batch of batter using pale ale and another using a darker honey brown beer. I also made my own dipping sauces, a Chipotle Ketchup and an Apricot Mustard Sauce.

Beer-Battered Onion Rings
adapted from Riccardo's Beer-Battered Onion Rings

ONIONS
1 medium white onion
1 medium red onion
1/4 cup cornstarch

BATTER
2 cups pastry flour (separated)
4 Tbsp cornstarch (separated)
1/2 tsp baking powder (separated)
1/2 tsp salt (separated)
1 cup pale ale (I used Stella Artois)
1 cup honey brown beer (I used Sleeman's Honey Brown)
oil for frying

1. Preheat deer fryer (or large pot of oil) to 190C/375F. Place a cooling rack on a backing sheet or line a baking sheet with paper towels.
2. In a paper bag or a large bowl, toss the onion rings in the cornstarch to coat well. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Whisk in the pale ale.
4. Using your fingertips or wooden chopsticks, dip the rings in the batter, 4 or 5 at a time. Shake off excess batter and deep-fry for about 3 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, drain on the baking sheet. Season lightly with salt. Repeat with 1/2 of the onions, both read and white.
5. Repeat step 3 with remaining ingredients, this time using the Honey Brown beer.
6. Repeat step 4 with remaining onions.


Chipotle Ketchup

1 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp or more chipotle puree or chopped chipotles in adobo
1/4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Whisk together all ingredients until well combined. Add more chipotle if you like more spice.


Apricot Mustard

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 grainy mustard
1/3 cup apricot jam
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Whisk together ingredients until well combined. Add more jam or mustard to taste.

These were really quite easy to make, although frying on the stovetop I found it hard to keep the oil a constant temperature. It's something that's definitely easier when you have an actually deep fryer, although that's not something I'll be adding to my kitchen arsenal anytime soon!

We could really taste the difference in the two batters and between the different onions. My favorite combination was the Honey Brown batter with the red onions dipped in the chipotle ketchup. The slight sweetness of the batter and rings paired with the spicy sauce was really nice. The boy also preferred the honey brown batter, but liked the Apricot Mustard sauce better. It was a fun Saturday afternoon treat, to taste the different the different rings, with different sauces and pick our faves. The boy liked it all so much, that he is hoping I'll make some beer battered fish for fish and chips next! We'll see when that happens.

Make sure to check out the Food For Thought Blog over at foodnetwork.ca on Wednesday or Thursday to see how the other participants fared. Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Green Beer Day!! For as long as I can remember my family would always have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day. As I was planning my own corned beef dinner I realized didn't know any of the history of this seemingly traditional meal. So over to Wikipedia I went and found this:

"The consumption of corned beef is associated with Saint Patrick's Day, when many Irish Americans eat a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. According to the History Channel, while cabbage is a traditional food item for Irish-Americans, corned beef is not consumed in Ireland - it was originally used as a substitute for bacon by Irish American immigrants in the late 1800s. Irish immigrants living in New York City's Lower East Side sought an equivalent in taste and texture to their traditional Irish bacon, and learned about this cheaper alternative to bacon from their Jewish neighbors. A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada."

It turns out corned beef and cabbage is much more a traditional New England dinner, than an Irish one. Regardless it will always be something I associate with St. Patrick's Day and this year is my first time making it. I decided to test out a slow cooker version of the corned beef using some spices and Guinness and a side of sauteed green cabbage.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef
serves 4

1 2 lb corned beef
1 cup or more of Guinness
3 Tbsp whole grain mustard
10 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
2 Tbsp brown sugar

1. If your beef came with a spice packet, discard it, if it came with spices in the package (like mine did) rinse the meat well with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and then rub mustard all over.
2. Pour Guinness into slow cooker, you want enough to come about halfway up the piece of meat. Mix in spices and sugar. Place meat in Guinness mixture and cover.
3. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve with cabbage and potatoes.


Sauteed Cabbage
serves 4

1 medium head of green cabbage
1 large onion - diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper

1. Cut into quarters, take out the hard stalk, and remove the tough outer leaves. Slice each quarter into 1/2 inch ribbons.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add oil and butter and heat until butter is melted. Saute onions, salt & pepper in oil and butter until translucent. Add in cabbage, stir to coat with oil and butter, add salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium low and cook covered until tender, approximately 15 minutes.

This was a complete hit with the boy and oh so easy. The cabbage took no more than 25 minutes from prep to plate and the corned beef cooked all day while I was at work. A 30 minute meal if there ever was one. And we have leftovers for sandwiches later in the week, corned beef is the best on soft rye bread with some mustard and Swiss cheese. Perfect paired with an ice cold beer after a long day.

Hope you all have a fabulous St. Patty's Day. Enjoy!

Braised Red Cabbage & Apples

This sweet and tender red cabbage is so perfect for the cool winter months. I had read this recipe back before the holidays on The Pioneer Woman's blog and added it to my list of things to make. If you haven't checked her out yet please do. She makes real food on her ranch in Oklahoma and gives excellent step by step directions all along the way. Her writing is fun and she's a bit of my hero because she left the sunshine of LA to move to a ranch in the middle of nowhere. While Toronto is not the middle of nowhere, when I'm missing my city it can feel that way!

Anyway on to the food. I made this along with the saubraten I posted a few weeks back.

Braised Red Cabbage
from The Pioneer Woman

1 medium head red cabbage
1 small onion
2 tart apples (slightly sour)
2 Tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1/2 cup red wine
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper
ground nutmeg
thyme

1. Finely mince a small to medium onion. No big chunks; it needs to blend in with the rest. Cut a medium red cabbage in half. Now simply cut into quarters, take out the hard stalk, and remove the tough outer leaves. Then with a very sharp knife finely shred it.
2. Measure 1/2 cup of red wine (since you're cooking with it you can just got for the cheap stuff). Add 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar to the wine. Grab a large pan with a thick bottom (I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven) and add 2 Tbsp of butter.
3. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, a good pinch of cinnamon, the bay leaf and 2 cloves.
4. Saute the onions over low heat for about 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine mixture, add a heaping Tbsp of brown sugar (2 if you like it really sweet) and your cabbage. Stir. Bring the wine to a boil, lower the heat, put the lid on a simmer for 15 minutes.
5. While the cabbage is simmering, peel and dice the apples. After 15 minutes it's time to add the apples and thyme (I used 4 sprigs). Mix everything up, put the lid back on and cook it all for another 45 minutes over low heat.
6. To finish ad a bit of butter, salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste.

This smells delish when it's cooking and is even more delish to eat! Pure comfort food that will go fabulously with any roast, but when particularly well with the saurbraten. The boy gave it a big ole thumbs up as well. Enjoy!

Braised White Beans & Swiss Chard

Let me start by saying the boy looked at this (which I served with a roasted chicken breast) and thought "at least I'll like the chicken." He luckily didn't say this until after he tried and enjoyed it. I mean the raving kind of enjoyed that I rarely expect to get with vegetables. I've been really conscious of working more leafy greens into the meals I cook at home, because I know he doesn't get them when he's out and with the exception of some salad with lunch they aren't often offered in the chafing dish buffet line where I am getting my lunch these days. So on Sunday I bought some Swiss Chard, having no clue what I was going to do with it. I then remembered we had a can of white beans in the pantry and kinda just threw this together from there.

On a pantry note, canned beans are the best thing to keep around. I prefer black beans and cannellini beans. But will often have chickpeas or kidney beans lying around as well. They go well with so many things and make for an easy side dish or even a whole meal!

Braised White Beans & Swiss Chard

1 bunch swiss chard - trimmed from stems and sliced into 1/2" ribbons
19 oz canned white beans - drained and rinsed
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 clove garlic - minced
1/2 onion - chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch crushed red pepper
salt & pepper to taste

1. Let prepared chard ribbons sit in cold water to rinse. Then drain in a colander and press dry with paper towels.
2. In a pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic, onions and red pepper until onions become translucent being careful not to brown the garlic.
3. Add in drained beans, chard, wine and chicken broth. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes until chard becomes tender. Serve topped with a drizzle of truffle oil (Completely optional, but we had some and it was fabulous)

It may not be much to look at but boy was it tasty. For as long as I have been cooking it continues to amaze me, in a good way, how just a few simple ingredients can come together to make something so flavorful. I also love how a simple sofritto (the Italians mire poix) of garlic, onions and crushed red pepper is the perfect base for almost anything. Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi Two Ways

For February the Food Network Cooking Club Challenge gave participants three different comfort foods recipes to vote on to determine the challenge. The choices were Osso Bucco, Corn Chowder and Gnocchi. I was totally pulling for the Osso Bucco as it's forever been on my list of things to try, but alas Michael Smith's Potato Gnocchi won out. While it wasn't my first choice, I was definitely excited to try this since I do love gnocchi. The recipe as given includes Michael's recipe for a roasted tomato and olive sauce, but I decided to keep it traditional with a simple butter and sage sauce. I cut back on the gnocchi recipe by a 1/3 since I was just making this for the boy and I.

Michael Smith's Handmade Potato Gnocchi
from foodtv.ca

3 large baking potatoes (I used 2)
3 eggs, lightly whisked (I used 2)
3 cups flour (I used 2 cups)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp)
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
olive oil

1. Bake the potatoes until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, about an hour. Scoop the flesh out of potatoes and put into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 2 cups of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. (I slowly added in flour a couple Tbsp at a time to the right consistency)
3. Divide the dough into 4 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. (I rolled one side of each dumpling across a fork and made a small indentation on the back side to help each piece cling to sauce better)
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.


Butter Sage Sauce

8 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 cup sliced fresh sage
freshly grated parmigiano
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a small sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Once it's melted add in the sage and let cook until butter begins to brown, but not burn.
2. Toss gnocchi in butter sauce and serve topped with parmigiano.



These were so tasty! I will admit I tried the recipe twice because the first time I made the gnocchi in the late morning and cooked them in the evening. I left the finished dumplings on a baking sheet and they stuck, turning into an unattractive mass of dough when cooked. The second time was perfect though and I actually peeled, chunked and steamed the potatoes for my second go round. This was to save time, since I was trying during the week and didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to bake. I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever made and refrigerated or froze gnocchi before, because while not completely time intensive it's not something that will always be easy to make right before cooking.

After the success and ease of the standard potato gnocchi I decided it would be interesting to try to make them with sweet potatoes and whole wheat flour. This was initially in an attempt to make them healthier but also for a different take. I found that the sweet potatoes require alot more flour than a russet potato, but otherwise the recipe worked out almost exactly the same as with a white potato. I served them with a cinnamon butter and a dollop of mascarpone to play up the sweetness of the potato.


Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
adapted from Michael Smith's recipe
serves 2 (as a side dish)

1 large sweet potato
2 (or more) cups whole wheat flour
1 egg - lightly whisked
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1. Bake potato at 400F for 1 hour, or until tender. Scoop flesh out of skins into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 1 cup of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. I ended up using 2 full cups of flour.
3. Divide the dough into 2 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. Roll one side of each dumpling against a fork while gently pressing one finger into the back, making a small indentation.
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.

Cinnamon Butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese - whipped (optional)
ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Place butter and cinnamon stick into a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium low heat. Let cook until just golden brown. Then remove from heat.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and toss with gnocchi. Serve topped with a dollop of whipped mascarpone and sprinkling of ground cinnamon.


The boy is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes and wasn't exactly looking forward to my take on gnocchi, but was pleasantly surprised when he tried them. The whole wheat flour adding a different texture to each dumpling which I found to be very enjoyable. They were served as a side dish to some leftover pork roast (stay tuned for a post on that this weekend) and some steamed broccoli. The sweet potato gnocchi went extremely well with the pork roast, especially when paring a bite of pork with a bite of gnocchi. I will be making both types of gnocchi again in the very near future. Check out the Food for Though blog on foodtv.ca (after February 28) to see how the other participants fared. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are just about the only thing you can get fresh and locally-grown in Ontario in the winter. Aside from the obvious carrots and potatoes I haven't really done much with root vegetables. Sure I've had parsnips (Dad makes and amazing parsnip puree) and beets (since they are all the rage in salads these days) but have never felt compelled to cook them. A few weeks ago the boy and I went to dinner at a friends house where they served a nice roast with some delicious oven roasted vegetables, among the veg were beets which the boy made clear that he loved and that my cooking them was the true way to his heart. Now, let me tell you these were not comments I took lightly, not that I felt the need to feed my way to the boys heart, but I'm pro any vegetable that he's excited about plus I really enjoyed the oven roasted beets and this is coming from someone who's never been a big fan of this brightly colored root vegetable.

I try to roast a chicken every other week mainly because it's so easy and it gives us leftovers for a day or so but also because it's just such a great Sunday night meal and perfect in the winter. I took my last roasted chicken as an opportunity to do a real one pot/pan meal, something my dishwasher (the boy) was all for, and just threw in a ton of vegetables. See below for how I did it:

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

2-4 parsnips - peeled and chopped into approx 2 inch pieces (make each piece about the same size)
4 beets - peeled and quartered
4 red potatoes - quartered
2 small onions - quartered
5 cloves of garlic - smashed and peeled
8 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 lemon cut into wedges
1/4 olive oil
3 Tbsps unsalted butter
salt & pepper

1. Spread vegetables and garlic in the bottom of the roasting pan, toss with oil, salt & pepper.
2. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemons over the vegetables and toss all wedges into the pan. Dot with butter and toss fresh herbs on top.
3. Place prepared whole chicken on top (I used this roast chicken) and cook according to the chicken (or other roast) directions.


Next time you make any kind of roast you have to throw some root vegetables in with them. Whatever you have on hand, it doesn't matter. This simple recipe at the bottom of my roasting pan turned my roast chicken into a full meal. While there are no green vegetables going on here but you've got a ton of vitamin C in the parsnips and potatoes as well as antioxidants and potassium in the beets. Overall it was an easy, tasty and completely satisfying meal and one you should make for someone you love sometime soon. Enjoy!

Pierogi

This recipe is another of my Grandma H's. If you aren't familiar with pierogi, you have no idea what you are missing. They are a tasty dumpling often filled with potato and/or cheese. According to wikipedia:

"Pierogi (also perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, or pyrohy), from the Proto-Slavic 'pir' (festivity), is the name most commonly used in English speaking areas to refer to a variety of Slavic semicircular (or, in some cuisines, square) boiled dumplings of unleavened dough stuffed with varying ingredients. In English, the word pierogi and its variants are pronounced with a stress on the letter 'o'."

We have been eating pierogi for as long as I can remember, although I can't say I ever remember my grandmother making them from scratch. I'm still honing my skills with making doughs, learning how elastic a particular dough should be, when to add more flour or more water. So going into this one I was a bit nervous. But was surprised at how well it came together. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, while my grandmother made everything from scratch I don't think she ever had a ton of time to do things. Thus it would have to be easy. There was no recipe included for the filling, so I made up my own based on some web research and what I remembered liking in the pierogi we would eat growing up.

Pierogi
makes about 20

FOR DOUGH
2 eggs
½ cup water
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt

FOR FILLING
1 large potato
up to ¼ cup buttermilk
up to ¼ cup extra sharp cheddar - shredded (I actually used MacLaren's Imperial Sharp Cheddar which looks like a shady cheddar spread but was actually perfect and really tasty on it's own too)
salt & pepper

TO FINISH
1 Tbsp butter
½ small onion - roughly chopped

FOR DOUGH:
1. Mound the flour on a kneading board and make a hole in the center. Drop eggs into the hole and cut into flour with a knife.
2. Add salt & water and knead until firm. Let rest for 10 minutes, covered with a warm towel.
3. Divide dough in half and roll thin, using flour as needed. Cut circles with a large biscuit cutter.

FOR FILLING:
4. Peel and dice potato and boil until tender. Drain water and put potatoes in food processor. Pulse potatoes in food processor and stream in buttermilk a Tbsp at a time until smooth (how much cheese and buttermilk you need depends on the size of potato, taste it as you go). Fold in cheddar cheese.

TO ASSEMBLE:
5. Place a small spoonful of filling a little to one side of each round dough. Moisten edge with water and press edges firmly together. Be sure they are sealed to prevent filling from running out.
6. Drop pierogi into salted boiling water. Cook gently for 3 to 5 minutes. They are done when they begin to float, remove from water with a slotted spoon.
7. In a large skillet brown butter over medium heat. When browned add onions and pierogi. Sauteing until each side of the pierogies is golden and the onions have just begun to brown.

These were a winner with the boy. The dough was a bit tough to roll out and I think I could've gotten it thinner and they would have been even better, but overall I'm happy with my first attempt. It's not necessary to do the final step with the onions and butter, but it makes them taste oh so good with the soft onions and the browned bits that it's worth the extra effort and extra pan. I really like that the recipe is part my grandmother's and part mine. I can't wait to try them again with different fillings. Enjoy!

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

This is a severely delayed recipe as it was something I came up with over the holidays. But it has turned out to be quite appropriate for my current diet. These homemade turkey sausage patties are so delicious and easy to make. Since you are making them yourself you know exactly what is in your sausage and can control everything, since I made these pre-diet, I used pure maple syrup, but you can easily sub in Sugar-free maple syrup for a tasty South beach diet appropriate sausage.

Breakfast Sausage

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp ground sage
2 tsp fennel seeds - toasted
pinch of chili flake
pinch of cayenne cayenne
4 tsp pure maple syrup
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the fennel seed. Don't let the seeds brown very much at all, just heat them turning occasionally until the kitchen begins to smell like fennel. Remove from heat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the spices, the ground turkey and maple syrup. It works best to just get your hands down and dirty for this and mix it by hand. Form the turkey mixture into small patties.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place as many patties as will fit, leaving room between to flip, in the heated skillet. Cooking approximately 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked all the way through.

The boy is primarily a pork sausage kind of guy, but these are so flavorful with a hint of spice and sweet that he really enjoyed them. They are great with eggs and would be tasty on a homemade biscuit for a tasty sausage biscuit breakfast sandwich, way better tasting and for you that McDonald's Sausage Biscuit (i'm actually looking for a whole grain biscuit recipe to try out in the next phase of my diet, post in the comments if you have one). If you make more that you need just freeze them and re-heat as needed, for a quick week day breakfast.

Spaetzle

To go with my Slow Cooker Pot Roast I decided to take a page from my mom and my Grandmother. Mom served spaetzle with her pot roast that inspired mine and when I was home over Thanksgiving my father pulled out a bunch of recipes from my grandmother, one of them was for spaetzle. What is spaetzle you ask? According to Wikipedia (and what I know from my mom) "are a type of egg noodles and small dumplings found in the cuisine of Germany". They are perfect with any kind or beef dish in place of potatoes or rice.

Since it was Saturday and we were taking it easy it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try to make spaetzle from scratch and I liked that I had my grandmother's recipe to guide me. Below is the recipe and she wrote it, with my tweaks in red.

Spaetzle
makes 6 servings
Printable Recipe

2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
water
1/3 cup butter or margarine (not sure anyone still uses margarine, but it's on the card)

1. In a large bowl, using a fork, combine eggs, flour, salt and 1 1/2 cups of water until smooth. Add enough additional water, about 1/4 cup, to form a thick smooth mixture.
2. Into a large pot of boiling water (I used 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and 1 1/2 cups water), press the batter through a large-holed colander or spaetzle maker. Gently boil 5 minutes, then drain. (I didn't have a large hole colander or a spaetzle maker to I used a method I saw Guy Fieri use on Guy's Big Bite. Place dough mixture on a clean cutting board. Flour both sides of the dough and roll into a long rectangle, approximately 12 by 2-inches and 1/8-inch thick. With pizza cutter, cut into strips, 2-inches in length and 1/4-inch wide. )
3. In a large skillet melt butter and cook until lightly browned but not burned. Add spaetzle and toss to coat well.

I'm so happy I have now added one of my grandmother's recipes to my arsenal. The boy had never had spaetzle before but really liked it. I know, I know the browned butter is completely not figure friendly but it would be a mistake to skip it and not have the nice crunchy & golden pieces of spaetzle. Do it, once in awhile won't hurt and I promise you won't regret it.

Zucchini Fries

And here's Part 2 of the little series I'm doing on tasty treats for watching a game with a group. I admit this one was a risk for a group of beer-drinking, wing-eating boys. But I had bought way too much zucchini for the Vegetable Tian I made earlier in the week and needed to find something to use it up. While I'm not crazy about zucchini the few times, I've had zucchini fries or zucchini parmesan I've really liked it. So after some searching I found this recipe which I decided to try because it was healthier than most, had it's own spicy dipping sauce and it called for the zucchini to be cut in rounds, which is how all my leftover zucchini was already cut. So 1/2 my prep work was out of the way already!

Oven Baked Zucchini Fries with Apricot Dipping Sauce

2 medium-to-large zucchini
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup non-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
apricot dipping sauce (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan generously with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Trim the ends off the zucchini and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Sprinkle with kosher salt. This will help draw some of the moisture out of the zucchini. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish. Mix the cornmeal, Parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper into another shallow dish. Dip the zucchini slices into buttermilk, then the cornmeal mixture. Place on the prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake 12 minutes until browned on the bottom. Turn, then bake another 3 to 5 minutes until browned on the top. Serve with apricot dipping sauce.

Apricot Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup no-sugar-added apricot jelly
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 dash hot sauce

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Serve immediately.

You can see I followed the recipe exactly (notice the lack of red comments) and would recommend you do the same. I was pleasantly surprised with how crispy these came out even though they were baked. To my surprise the guys seemed to enjoy them too and one of them even suggested substituting chickpea flour for the cornmeal, which is the one thing I'd considering changing up the next time I make them, just to see how it works. This is a great crispy treat that's so easy to make for a crowd. Enjoy!

Vegetable Tian

Many of my readers know that I am now living up on Canada until next summer to work on the movie and be able to spend some more quality time with the boy. I made the move early this week (after voting of course) and wanted to make a tasty and truly fall-like meal for my first night in town. While the boy was busy working and I should have been unpacking and getting settled, I instead decided to get going with one of my all time favorite meals. Roasted Chicken and Ina Garten's Vegetable Tian. I'll post today about the tian because it is one of my all time favor tie vegetable dishes. It even gets me to eat zucchini something I wouldn't' normally do!

Vegetable Tian
recipe by Ina Garten from her book "Barefoot in Paris"

Good olive oil
2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound medium round potatoes, unpeeled
3/4 pound zucchini
1 1/4 pounds medium tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
2 ounces Gruyere, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with olive oil.

2. In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

3. Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs and drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil.

4. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for another 30 minutes until browned. Serve warm.

The hardest part of this dish is finding vegetable that are all about the same circumference. I find that plum tomatoes work best with the zucchini. My potatoes were a bit too big, but it still turned out wonderfully. I even got the boy to eat a whole bunch of it, and he NEVER ate vegetables at home when he lived alone.

The photo is not one of my best, but I'm still learning how where the best place to take pictures are in my new place and just getting settled into a new kitchen. It's all very exciting and there will hopefully be some changes in the blog in the next month or so. Stay tuned!

Applesauce

The last week and a half has been a little nuts. First I was out of town and then caught a nasty cold that knocked me out for most of this week. Anyway, let's get down to business. We are now officially in Fall and being a New England girl Fall means apple picking and making fun things with apples. While I didn't go apple picking, I saw a recipe for home made applesauce on Simply Recipes and had to try it out. It was so unbelievably easy and tasty that I doubt I will ever buy canned applesauce again!

Applesauce
From simplyrecipes.com
Preparation time: 45 minutes.

The sugar amounts are just guidelines, depending your taste, and on the sweetness of your apples, use less or more. If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances the sweetness.

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.) (I used all Granny Smith)
4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
up to 1/2 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.
Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.
Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

I halved the recipe, except for the amount of cinnamon stick, since I love cinnamon and it came out perfectly. I had some co-workers taste test it and they all agreed. Enjoy!