Valerie 的个人资料A Canadian Foodie:照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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2009/3/10 Raw Beets: Beet Pesto with my ThermomixRaw Beets: A Jewel of the Harvest: Beet Pesto two ways
After visiting Janice Beaton's FARM Restaurant last October, I was not only inspired to prepare my charcuterie on platters paired with complimentary flavour combinations; I was inspired to make the beet pesto. Raw beets are another discovery of mine this year, believe it or not. I had never eaten a raw beet until about a year ago now. Neither had any of my friends, yet I have met many others who certainly have. I am so pleased that I ventured forth. After reading Jamie Oliver's recipe for his Raw Beet with Feta and Pear and Mint Salad from Jamie Oliver Cooks, I had to try it. Spectacular. So simple. So delicious. So nutritious. That was the beginning of my raw beet fascination.
These pestos are really delicious, but the yellow one discolours later the same day it is made. I have found that both need to be eaten very soon after they are prepared.
Raw Beet Pesto
Ingredients
Preparation
   I had some leftover Piave cheese the first time I made this, and it was "to die for"! So, now I make sure I have some when I want to make this.
I like to season at the end with the Fleur de Sel. I really like the flavour on my tongue. Whatever nuts you choose must be toasted first.
So I did the yellow beets first. They are so bright! You hardly have to pulse the machine at all to get it to this consistency. Yummy.
I used 2-3 beets for this batch as I was expecting a bigger crowd. Everyone loved it, but it was still too much. Less is more, and I will definitely remember that and just make it with one beet next time. But, no complaints. I enjoyed every last morsel as I spooned the glistening bits onto little toasts for my breakfast the next morning. Each is similar to the other, yet different enough I found myself constantly going back and forth tasting one, then the other to determine which I liked best. I still can't decide.
 AND PRESTO! You have BEET PESTO two ways!
Roasted Root Vegetables with Horseradish SauceRoasted Root Vegetables with Horseradish Sauce: A Carmelized Harvest Feast
 This dish was inspired by a fall trip to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market several years ago. This was my contribution to the Slow Food AGM and Brunch at Mary Bailey's house this year. Root vegetables are plentiful after the harvest, and there were some I hadn't tried, and some I wasn't sure would work with this recipe this year, but I just bought every one of them that I could find to go home and play with!
   The sauce pulls the entire recipe together for me. The sharp and tangy horseradish with the herby dill and fatty butter (yes butter) meld so well with the starchy fall roots. I used a huge variety. See how many you can find in the photo.
 There are white and yellow beets, and pink potato (a large one that I peeled) and the parsnip and the yam. The white disc at the bottom middle of the photo is the parsley root and the rutabaga is a bit above it. The purple and pink baby potatoes and a carrot are what I see.
Below is the rutabaga and the parsley root, and then some baby beets and the pink potatoes.
  I usually try to scrounge some horseradish myself, as it grows wild all over the northern Alberta countryside, but haven't been too lucky in that area lately. It is surprisingly expensive at the market, but worth it. I have a wonderful soup I make with it I will have to post before spring.
I used: turnip, rutabaga, parsley root, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, and a whole variety of baby potatoes as well as a variety of baby beets. It was so much fun cleaning them and smelling their earthy goodness. I made a double batch of the sauce, tossed them all in it, then sorted them all out again for the roasting on individual cookie sheets. I make this same recipe in a casserole dish, but parboil the vegetables instead of roasting them, simply toss them in the sauce and then keep them warm to finish in the oven. The outcome is considerably less "rustic", and lacks the caramelization the roasting creates. I thought this occasion suited "rustic".
I have also grated the horseradish on a regular hand held grater, and it turns out lovely. it just takes a considerable amount of time as it is such a hard and woody root, so found my Thermomix did a superb job of the horseradish in seconds
.
 Horseradish Dill Sauce for Roasted Root Vegetables
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Best served as soon as all are roasted and tossed together again.
Each root different than another makes the perfect Harvest side;
the ideal metaphor for our Prairie home. Eggplant Salad Eggplant Salad or Dip: AKA Baba Ghanoush, Salata de Vinete, and a variety of other Aliases
 The first time I tasted this salad I was sitting at a table in the late 1980's with people I didn't know serving a meagre meal; however, every morsel of that meal was bursting with flavour. I am adventurous, but did hesitate when offered this dish. It looked like a transluscent bit of slime. Truly. I had no frame of reference for anything like it. I had never before even eaten eggplant in anything other than Eggplant Parmigiana. I took a little on my plate to try. When everyone was deep in conversation, I poked my fork into it, and tasted the tips of the tines. Even that tiny tidbit got me excited. I know I actually uttered an audible expression of pleasure without realizing it because all eyes turned on me as I was just scooping up the rest of the bit on my plate and stuffing it into my mouth. More moans of pleasure. Oh my goodness, this was a completely new flavour experience for me. "Pass the bowl please!" I could not get enough. "How do you make it?" My hosts were so excited with my interest that they described how to make the salad in detail. I, however, had never roasted anything on a grill at that point of my life. And, I was actually an early bloomer in food related adventures that were bursting onto our paririe stage throught the 1980's.
So, I was not about to do this on my own for the first time, and invited Juliana, a friend who knew how to make it, over to my house a couple of weeks later (I would have had her the next day, had she been available) to teach me how to make this dish. I could have never accomplished the same results without her help. Tips from Juliana:
The only thing I do not do is use a wooden or a plastic knife. I don't have one, have never found one that was acceptable for using comfortably and find that my product is lovely anyway. (To me!) The first time I tasted the salad, it was infused with oil "until fully saturated", my hosts instructed. Juliana said she prefers hers with mayonnaise, so that is how she taught me, and I never tried to make it with oil because I absolutely loved, loved, loved what we created that day. I have made it the same way for the last 20 years, and have never had one I liked better - yet.
So, to get started, pre-heat the grill to high. Place the eggplants on it, close the lid, and set your timer for 10 minutes. Go about your business as usual. When the timer rings, you may have to leave it in the same position for another 5 minutes. The skin should be blackened that was on the grill. When it is, turn it over 180 degrees. From now on, it will be less time for each side to turn. This one should take about 10 minutes to blacken. I then do the other two "sides" about 5 minutes each, depending. The weather blowing around your heat source will change the timing, as will the temperature of your grill, and the density of your vegetable.   I prop them into a bowl immediately after taking them off of the grill. If the bottoms have not already "crackeled" open, or even "burst" open, I slit them to let the liquid escape. I usually leave them a couple of hours, draining the liquid now and then, before I peel them. Some people peel them immediately, and then leave the flesh to ooze and strain before using. Either must be fine because what I am doing works very well, and the flesh seems to pull , or separate, from the skin better when cooled.
  Not pretty pictures, but it is important to understand there will be a considerable amount of liquid you need to dispell from the vegetable, and it was also important to me, as a learner, to see and understand what the peeling looked like once the flesh was removed. Hope it helps!
   You can see the flesh as it is after removed from the skin on the far left. Then, minced thoroughly, and at the far right, completely ready for the salad.
The onion must be minced into tiny little tidbits, then the mayo and salt is mixed in, and it is just that easy.
Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
2 or 3 eggplants
1/4 to 1/2 of an onion, depending upon th size of the onion, and the size of the eggplant
salt
mayonnaise
Preparation
As the amount of ieach ingredient for this dish is so difficult to determine (completely dependent upon the amount of eggplant etc.) I have provided a photo of above (middle) that shows the correct ratio of each ingredient. Follow the process outlined above, and you will be glad you did!
There are no words to describe the unique flavour of this dish. The smokey flavour is there, but it is so much more than that. This is a staple in our house, and I just cannot make enough of it. Everyone absolutely loves it. Let me know how it works for you!
 I usually use thinly sliced french bagettes to serve this with. Today, I had a thick bit of toasted Dutch bread. YUM.
Did I mention just how delicious this is? Lip-smacking scrumptions! Prairie Chicken Soup Yes, it is the chicken that makes all of the difference. If you do not have a good free range organic chicken, don't bother making the soup. Truly. I buy my carcasses at the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market from Sunworks Farm
 and the broth actually tastes deeply rich and delicious, like it used to in my youth when we would go to my Grandma Maude's and have it. She lived in a small village in Alberta (Clive), and had chickens on her property for a few years. Now, those were free range chickens! They had full access to every part of her yard; we'd run to shoo the chickens so we could open the gate to drive the car down the lane. I was so afraid of them. They were vicious! I loved going in the spring to see the little baby chicks, but they grow so fast, that we would usually miss that stage. Everything grandma made was the best. She had a garden that was almost an acre in size. There were asparagus, raspberries, potatoes, and kohlrabi before anyone knew what kohlrabi was. I got my love for the riches of the earth and the smells of the deep, mineral rich black soil from her. She would be down on her hands and knees digging through the soil in the spring planting her seeds with precision and excitement. There was no end to the weeds, yet she was out there every day at sunrise, hoeing the rows and weeding her little tenders.
When the produce started to come in the spring, the leafy lettuce salad was the first thrill: tender greens with farm fresh cream from the Bell's farm down the road, and a little sugar and vinegar. Every early summer I make this salad and remember my sweet grandma, Maude. Shelling peas with her on her porch, snipping beans out in the sunny yard, picking raspberries by the ice cream bucketful in the fall... I never remember grandma without thinking of her garden. She and her garden were synonomous.
And the years she had the chickens in the spring were unforgettable. Her chicken soup was thick with vegetables; her homemade noodles and rich chicken flavour that I have only come close to replicating. She taught me how to make soup. I remember her making it when I was that young little girl visiting her village home, but she taught me how to make it when I was living in Lethbridge as a new mom.
She taught me that it was all about the chicken. I remember I bought the backs and necks from the grocery store to make a soup; we made it together, but then she had me take her to the local farmer's market to buy a chicken and she went home, cut it all up and saved the carcass for the soup. Now, there was no comparison between the two soups. The first was quite watery and lacked flavour. The second presented a depth of flavour that can only be acquired from a happy and well loved chicken!
This carcass is lovely, and goes into a large soup pot. There are two carcasses here. The vegetables are then added with the seasonings. Even the colour of the flesh is pinker than the colourless necks and backs available at the local grocery stores.
 The colours, aromas and textures are "kitchen art". The simplicity of making such a substantial and traditional soup is gratifying on so many levels. A lesson taught by my grandma to pass on to my grandchildren (one day, I hope!); the production of such comfort for my family and friends. A hearty offering that would beautifully preface any meal, could be made substantial enough for a meal itself, and is most definitely comfort to an ailing tummy.
   This is a little project you do on a day you are staying home. I make a soup every Sunday, or almost every Sunday. I love stayng home on Sundays and preparing a wonderful family meal, as well as the yogurt, and bread for the week. It is the one full day I reserve for myself and my kitchen. I love having my girl friends over for coffee while I am working away at something or other in my kitchen on a Sunday. The humid warmth of the boiling broth is my Sunday at the Spa.
Once the meat is falling off of the bone, I strain everything into a massive stainless bowl. This is a little different from grandma's teaching, but my husband does not like a chicken soup with too many vegetables, or very much meat. And, this is exactly what I would do if I were making a stock, except I would add the onion skins in at the onset to darken the broth.
After taking the meat off of the bone, discarding the dissovling onions and celery, I put the meat back into the broth and cut the carrots into angular bites, and replace them, as well. Then, because my husband loves his homemade egg noodles, in they go, if I have them. Otherwise, I use the ones from a bag. Today, we have homemade.
 And, voila! Here are my noodles going into the soup. My husband is very particular about his chicken soup. I believe I said that already. Not too many vegetables, not too many noodles, richly flavoured broth... I think this will make his little tummy happy. That's why I make it!
Chicken Soup
Ingredients
2 free range, organic chicken carcuses
2 large onions quartered
2 carrots, in chunks
2 stalks of celery, in chunks
a bundle of parsley in an elastic
1 t whole peppercorns
3-4 bay leaves
1 cup of fine egg noodles
salt and pepper to tast when finished
Preparation
Place the first 7 ingredients into a large soup pot and cover with water
(Hopefully there will be enough room in the pot to let the soup cook at a slow rolling boil with the lid on)
Cover, and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the soup cooks at a slow rolling boil for 3-4 hours, or until the meat falls off of the bone
Then, I strain the stock and recoever any meat and the carrots
Add them back intot he stock with the noodles, and season to taste after the noodles are cooked
Thank you, Grandma! XO2009/3/9 Thermomix: Sweet Potato (Yam) SoupThermomix: Sweet Potato (Yam) Soup: Comfort-in-a-Bowl on a Cold Day
The yam has resurfaced in a variety of ways the last few years. Oven baked fries has become a popular favourite at trendy eateries. I like to mix the yams with the russets when I do oven roasted fries. The big draw is that this rich, sweet, velvety root comes packed with potassium, vitamin C, fibre, and a variety of other "really good for you" nutrients. I was always the little girl at the Christmas table scraping off the brown sugar, butter, and (heaven forbid) marshmallows. Yams are so perfect on their own. The additional sweet stuff is so unnecessary. And the colour is just gorgeous, isn't it? I still love to peel a yam to reveal the unexpected deep orange flesh. It is the rich and velvety smooth texture of this root vegetable that creates the luscious ribbon of flavour on the tongue.
 This entry is for Diane. She and Christine were over Saturday. I made them this soup and didn't pay attention to the cooking time. She had said she was craving this soup, as she had it when she was over another time... and I was so excited that I could make it for her so easily. I always have the ingredients for this soup. However, this time, no ginger....I rushed, and after they left, I realized I needed fifteen minutes to cook the vegetables instead of the ten I took. So, Diane, this is for you.
I am sure you can figure out how to make this soup without a Thermomix if you make soup; however, with a Thermomix it is an absolute pleasure. This could almost be a wordless recipe, but I will include the recipe at the end of the writing, as always. The Thermomix is my new toy this year, and a big gift to myself as I had been so ill last year. I cannot tell you how much my health has improved as I am able to prepare healthy meals that I can actually digest with this "wonder machine". If you have never heard of a Thermomix, and you are in Edmonton, or Alberta, call me for a demonstration! If you are from somewhere else, just Google your area and I am sure you can find someone to show it to you. Many find it costly, but it has actually saved money for me this year. It is all about what you like to do and what you enjoy. I love cooking and this machine has widened the possibilities in my little kitchen laboratory about 1000%!
   Start by mincing the onion, garlic and ginger; scrape down the sides, and sauté.
For three minutes at 100 degrees C, speed 1. It heats up so quickly, that before three minutes are up, it is 100 degrees and steaming!
Smell it! YUM! Open the lid, place in the yams, potatoes, and chicken broth. Make sure all are cubed evenly for best cooking.
   For fifteen minutes, this time, at Varaoma temperature, speed 1. This is the part I love. The soup cooks, gets stirred constantly, and the Thermomix calls me when the time is up! Add the cashews, the milk, the salt and pepper and puree.
Can you feel the silky smooth texture? Nothing purees with greater precision than the Thermomix.
I have just finished this, and I am craving it again! I think I have to go and have a bowl. I love it with a dollop of my homemade yogurt and a bit of fresh nutmeg grated over the top. Yum. Yum. Yummers. ENJOY!
2009/3/1 Breakfast at Leslie's: A Perfect Start to an Early Weekend MorningBreakfast at Leslie's: A Perfect Start to an Early Weekend Morning
Leslie and I used to do a Dinner Club together. I am not quite sure what happened to that. I think it is her turn. Maybe it is mine. Anyway, the last one was a few years ago. I think what happened is she got into designing and remodelling her 1913 Victorian/Arts and Crafts heritage home in the 123rd Street area in Edmonton. It has been a long project, particularly as she wants to be as true to the original structure as she can be in her refinishing. However, last year they really got things going. Lifted the house right off its foundation, moved it, built a basement under it, and moved it back. So much was happening so fast it was like watching a DVD on fast forward. Then I got "the" call. An invitation for breakfast. The kitchen is done. Ta-da!
I headed over, trusty yogurt in hand, and was really looking forward to some girl friend time as both of us have been so busy lately. Her cousin, Janet, was joining us. The door opened, and the smells of a hearty breakfast danced in the air, excited to get the door closed to keep out the icy breeze. Leslie greeted in her gold and green striped apron, and the stage was set. I flowed into the kitchen seamlessly.
I walked into a Victorian Tea house at the farm. I loved that juxtaposition in the room. The cabinets were handcrafted by Leslie's cousin Don Scantland from Timber to Timber. Notice the bead board backsplash, and the furniture-like footing next to the floor? The practical dish rack over the sink is a nice focal point, but the pièce de résistance for me was the two inch honed and fired granite counter top. I haven't seen anything like that, and with the farm sink, it really makes a substantial statement, particularly when paired with the Aga stove. I almost felt like I was playing house, but it was all real.
Leslie's quaint period dishes graced the family farm table and the morning light beckoned me to sit on the built-in bench. it was truly comfortable! I was not expecting that. Take a peek!
Janet had just returned from New York, and we will be going at the end of the month, so the conversation was focused on what to do and where to go. She fit in the MoMA, the MET, and the Guggenheim which I am looking so forward to, as well. The quality of the table conversation directly affects the quality of a meal. Our conversation was inspiring. Recipe suggestions:
Isn't the stove a show stopper? Everything was truly delicious. However, two parts of the menu really made an impression upon me. The first: the simple addition of thyme to the eggs added such a lovely dimension to the omelette; and second: the breakfast smoothie. According to Leslie, a super simple recipe of Guava juice blended with fresh watermelon. I felt loved and edified.
  Leslie's presentation of the omelette on the rustic board charmed. I get more satisfaction from the ambiance than I do from the actual "eating" experience. But, I have known that for a long while now.
PS: My good friend Leslie is an Interior Decorator and has recently had their also newly renovated master bedroom showcased in two local mnagazines: Condo Living and New Home Living, February editions. These are usually found for free at varous shopping entrances.
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