Beety nutty salad

I go through phases when it comes to salads... this is my latest obsession!

Salad

• lettuce
• toasted slivered almonds and sunflower seeds (I don't normally like sunflower seeds, but they definitely add something to this salad!)
• grated beets or beets and carrots (in the salad pictured above I used golden beets and no carrots but any combo of beetiness and carroty-ness is great)
•  thinly sliced bell peppers
• feta cheese if you happen to have it
• whatever else you feel like putting in there - it's a salad, it's flexible! 

Dressing

• roughly equal parts oil and apple cider vinegar (to match the rest of the ingredients here, say about 1/3 cup each)
• a large teaspoon full of honey 
• a small clove of minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp grainy dijon mustard (since I don't like mustard I put very little)
• salt + pepper

Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers

This recipe came to me via family in Portland.. I'm not sure exactly what the origial source is.  They are some of the best veggie burgers I've had though! Last time we made them, we did a huge batch (grating all those beets and carrots by hand was a major pain, so this time we'll be using our new food processor).  We froze a whole bunch of them and could always have a quick and easy meal by popping a couple of them into a frying pan!

Ingredients

butter for greasing baking sheet or some parchment paper
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled, grated beets (about 1-2 med beets)
2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 minced onion (about 1/2 onion)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tbs flour
2 tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (we line with parchment paper, which we then use as separators between the patties when we freeze them)

2. Place a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir them in the dry skillet until lightly browned and fragrant (about 3-5 minutes) - careful not to burn them! Remove from heat and transfer to a dish to cool.

3. Toast the sunflower seeds in the same way you did the sesame seeds.  Add them to the dish containing the cooling sesame seeds.

4. Combine the beets, carrots, and onions in a large bowl, then add all of the other ingredients.  Mix well.  You will probably need to get your hands in there!

5. Form patties, squishing out excess liquid as you do, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.  The recipe says it makes 12.

6. Bake until brown around the edges - about 20 mins.  You probably don't need to, but you could flip them partway through cooking.

Enjoy on buns with you favourite toppings or just on their own with some salad or steamed veggies on the side.

When life gives you too many apples...

... make Apple Rings!

We don't have a peeler/corer but that's not an issue:
#1: I kinda like apple rings that have their skins on, so the peeling wasn't an issue.
#2: The spout of a Ceres juice box makes an excellent corer, as long as you slice your apples first.

The result: rings of deliciousness!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I'm going to make these again today since the ones I made the other day vanished so quickly!
Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Combine the egg, yogurt and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
2. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

 

Vietnamese-style Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Poor ilan is sick so yesterday in Vancouver we found him some Vietnamese hot and sour soup for lunch.  It was super yum, so today I decided to try to make something similar at home.  I pulled ideas from a whole bunch of different recipes and websites and here's what I ended up doing (roughly)...

Ingredients (prep everything first)

- 3 tbs minced garlic
- white part of two lemongrass stalks, sliced finely and minced
- 2 red chili peppers with seeds, finely sliced and minced (this made for spicy soup! Use 1 if you want it milder and/or remove seeds)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- some mushrooms (I think I used 7-8 creminis), quartered
- 3 celery stalks, cut into about 1cm long slices
- 1/2 head green cabbage, sliced into strips (next time I might leave it in somewhat bigger chunks)
- 3 large tomatoes, cut into 6-8 chunks
(You could use different veggies than the above if you like!)
- 1 can of pineapple tidbits
- 1/4 cup fish sauce plus a little more
- about 650mL of chicken broth (we had a yogourt container full in the freezer)
- if you have it, 2 tbs tamarind (I'm sure the soup would be fine even if you don't happen to have this on hand)
- about 1 cup boiling water to prep the tamarind
- fresh herbs for garnish: I used basil (even though I only had a wee bit), mint, and cilantro (could also use some spring onion, possibly even some fresh oregano)

Directions

1. Prep tamarind.  Put the tamarind paste in a bowl and add the boiling water.  Let sit about 15 minutes so tamarind softens.  Press the tamarind and water through a fine sieve into another bowl to extract as much tamarindyness as you can then discard the remaining tamarind chunks.

2. Prep the chicken. Slice the raw chicken across the grain into roughly 1/2cm thick slices.  Put in a bowl with some fish sauce and ground pepper then cover and put it in the fridge until you're ready for it.

3. In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, saute 2/3 of the garlic with the chili peppers and 2/3 of the lemon grass in some olive oil and/or schmaltz.  Once everything is nice and fragrant (about 30s), add 1/4 cup of fish sauce and cook for 2 minutes to reduce it.  Yes, it will smell intensely fishy.

4. Add the chicken stock and tamarind juice to the soup pot, adding a little extra water to help you get everything out of the bowls.  I'd add at least a cup or two of water at this stage.  You can also throw in the lemongrass tops in larger chunks if you like.  Bring to a boil.

5. Add the can of pineapple with juice and again rinse the can with water to get it all.  Add the chopped veggies (in my case, celery, mushrooms, cabbage, and the tomatoes - I added the tomatoes a little later than everything else and maybe should have waited longer than I did).  Reduce to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes (maybe less).

6. While the soup is simmering, heat some oil/schmaltz in a frying pan and add the remaining garlic and minced lemongrass.  Fry till fragrant (30s) then add a couple tbs of fish sauce.  Again, let it cook a minute or two to reduce down but not so much that everything starts sticking to the pan.  Add the sliced chicken and cook until just cooked through (about 4 mins).

7. Add the chicken to the soup, check to make sure everything is sufficiently cooked, and turn off the heat.

8. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh herbs.  Eat and enjoy!

ilan says: "If this soup doesn't cure me, nothing will!"

Sauteed Green Beans

I had a busy weekend of cooking... I'd like to share here a couple of the delicious things that I made :)

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252123/sauteed-green-beans-cherry-tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (I just grabbed a few from the garden - not nearly this many but it was still yummy!)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.

Cottage Pie (that's Shepard's Pie that's made with beef!)

See also http://eatlikekat.blogspot.ca/2012/10/vegetarian-shepherds-pie-with-cheddar.html if you want a vegetarian dish instead..

But if you want a meaty version, this one was delish:

Based on http://www.rachaelray.com/recipes/seriously-flavorful-shepherds-pie-savory-beef-and-mushrooms-with-cheesy-mashed-parsnip-and-potatoes-on-top
If you have parsnips, then go for it and just follow the recipe above.  I didn't happen to have any so I did this instead (ie. I dropped a few other ingredients that I didn't happen to have):

Ingredients

• 6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into largish chunks
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 1 pound mushrooms, crimini or button, quartered
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme + 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary (or whatever combination of herbs you happen to have/want to use)
• Coarse black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef sirloin (I might have had closer to a pound?)
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 rounded tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• About 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup dry red wine or dark beer
• 2 cups beef stock (I used mushroom stock made from cubes since that is what I had)
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded or crumbled very sharp white cheddar cheese (we only had a cup or so of the orange stuff, so that's what we used)

Directions

1. Place potatoes and parsnips in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and season with salt, cook to tender. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Heat a large Dutch oven or frying pan over medium-high heat with a couple tablespoons EVOO, 2 slow turns of the pan. Add mushrooms and brown completely. Season with thyme, salt and pepper and remove to a plate.
3. Add 1 turn of the pan EVOO to the pot and heat until it begins to smoke. Add meat and caramelize until deep brown. Remove to a plate and add remaining tablespoon oil, another turn of the pan. Add bay, vegetables and garlic, and reduce heat to medium. Cook 12-15 minutes, until tender, then sprinkle in flour. Cook a minute then stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire. Deglaze the pot with wine or beer and stir in stock. Add the mushrooms and beef back to the pan.  Reduce heat and let simmer to thicken and combine flavors. When ready to assemble casserole, remove bay leaf.
4. Drain and mash potatoes with milk and butter. Melt in cheese and season mash with salt and pepper.
5. Place meat/mushroom mixture in a large casserole dish and top with the potatoes. Bake 20 minutes or until brown.