Special Day Crepes

This past weekend I made a special meal to honour Valentine's day and got reminded how wonderful crepes are.  They are so easy to make and remind me of winters in France or Switzerland.  Not that I've spent winters in France or Switzerland, although I have spent time in Quebec and in Moncton which has a great french vibe... and an awesome crepe restaurant Cafe Archibald! 

You can make a bit batch of crepes, freeze them and then pull them out to stuff whatever you feel like for a quick but elegant meal. 

Crepes
Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 -3/4 cup water (add less first, you can always add more)
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• more butter for coating the pan

Instructions:

1. Blend it all in the blender! It makes it so easy, you can pour the batter right out from the blender into the pan.  The batter should be thinner than pancake batter.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat.
3. Melt a little butter, about 1/4 tsp in the pan.
4. Pour enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  Don't worry, as Julia Child used to say 'when making crepes you throw the first one out' because that's your time to get the batter right and get used to handling the pan.
5. Swirl the pan to move the batter to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
6. If you need to add more water to the batter feel free. The batter should move pretty easily over the bottom of the pan before it cooks. 
7. Continue until you use all the batter, piling them up on a plate in the oven if you are going to use them right away to keep them warm or spread them out a bit on a cutting board if you are going to store them for later.

It might take a couple of tries but once you get your crepe making groove on it'll be easy peasy lemon squeezie!

Ready for the freezer for another meal later!  I only got 7 crepes out of this batch but usually I get 10 or more.  It depends on how big your pan is.  I used my largest pan and then remembered I usually use my smaller one.

I made a little sauce to pour over our filling.  It was soo good and sooo simple.  And there's leftovers of the sauce too.  I'm thinking spinach and shrimp crepes later.

Havarti Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Havarti cheese, Gruyere or Emmenthal would work too
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp chopped chives (I have butter mixed with chives frozen in a log in my freezer, I just cut off a piece to finish off the sauce.  ps. the chives came from my garden!)

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat
2. Add the flour and whisk, heat until just starting to turn brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute
3. Slowly pour in the wine then the chicken broth, whisking continually. 
4. Blend until heated and bubbly. 
5. Add the cheese a bit at a time, whisk until melted, continue until you've got all the cheese in.
6. Whisk and let bubble for a minute.
7. Add in the cream, butter and chives, whisk until blended and heated through. 

I served this with some ham and asparagus.  They were so decadent!

Simple Sides

Wow, it's been over 2 months since I shared a recipe. Funny I haven't stopped cooking... I just made the Moroccan Chicken, Turnip and Carrot Tagine right off this very blog.  Mom actually picked up her plate and drank the remaining sauce.  It wasn't pretty but did prove how tasty this did was.  This reminded me of a dish Mom raved about over the holidays that I really must share.  Over the holidays we went to cottage in the woods, on a lake.  It was gorgeous and I wanted to spend my time relaxing, hanging with the dogs and not in the kitchen so I made simple dishes.  I cooked a ham, a pork tenderloin, roasted a prime rib, steamed some mussels but the sides, oh the sides did sing.  And I made them ahead!  Easy peasy.  This first one freezes beautifully.  It's a real treat to have veggie sides ready to go.  So here goes.

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Makes 8 - 10 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lb sweet potaotes, peeled and shredded
• 3 tbsp veg oil

Instructions:

1. Mix everything from flour to the salt and pepper. 
2. Stir in the eggs and enough of the milk to make it moist, toss in the sweet potatoes and add more milk if necessary to make a nice stiff batter.  Don't worry, you really can't screw it up. 
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high until hot.
4. Drop 1/4 cup of the sweet potato mix and flatten with a spatula.  Repeat until the pan is full but NOT crowded.
5. Cook 5 - 8 minutes until golden, flip and repeat on the other side.
6. Place cooked pancakes on a paper towel lined plate and cook the rest of the mixture. 
7. Serve with yogurt or
8. Cool completely before freezing.
9. Reheat by placing on a single layer on a baking sheet in a preheated 325F oven for 10 minutes or until hot through.

**If you wish to bake these you can.  Do it on parchement paper and at 425 for 10 minutes, flip and cook another 5 - 10 minutes. 


Here's another make ahead that actually does freeze well.  I like to reheat it in the oven.

Mustard Tatties
Serves, well that depends on how many tatties you peel...

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes per person plus 1 extra for the pot (seriously, this is how I learned to plan enough mashed potatoes)
• Mayo
• Mustard
• Sugar.
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel the potatoes and place in a pot.  Fill with an inch of water.  You want to steam the potatoes more than boil them.  You can use a steamer if you like.
2. Cook the potatoes until they are tender when poked with a fork.
3. Drain the potatoes and let cool a bit, about 10 minutes
4. Mash the potatoes
5. Add equal parts mustard and mayo to start.  I usually start with 1//4 cup of each if I'm making potatoes for 2.  Taste.  Add more mustard and/or mustard as you like.  Add a tsp or 2 of sugar to balance the mustard.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper if necessary.  Taste.  Are you getting my point?  It's all about your taste. 
6. Once you've got it to your liking you can serve it warm or cold (Newfoundlanders have this as part of a "Cold Plate" for all sort of functions all year long!)
7. You can also freeze this but if you do you really have to serve it warm after the it's defrosted.  Just heat it in a baking dish at 325F for about 30 minutes until heated through.  It's quite nice.

Harvest Autumn Chili

I've been holding on to this recipe from the September 2007 edition of Chatelaine.  It was the inspiration for this dish.  Seriously worth the wait.  Totally hit the spot on this chilly fall Saturday that was spent watching college football all day long (yup, I'm grinning from ear to ear - perfect day!!).

Harvest Autumn Chili
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb pork sirloin, cut into 1 inch chunks (2cm)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder (add more if you like it spicy!)
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup diced can tomatoes
• 3 apples, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp chicken broth powder and 1 cup water or 1 cup chicken broth or stock
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch/ 2cm chunks
• 1/2 red pepper, diced (I use jarred roasted red peppers but you can use fresh)
• 1 19 oz/540ml can of red kidney beans
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Ingredients:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat with the vegetable oil drizzled in the pot.
2. Brown the pork and toss in the onions, cooking until soft.
3. Add the garlic, chipotle, chili, cumin and cinnamon, heat for 30 seconds.
4. Add in the tomatoes, apples and chicken broth.  Stir and reduce heat to medium low.
5. Simmer for 1 hour until the meat is tender.
6. Add in the sweet potatoes, red pepper and kidney beans. Increase heat to medium
7. Stir, bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
8. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!

Coq au Vin

Holy moly I whipped up some lovely Coq au Vin this weekend.  Quite a while ago I made this dish in my crock pot and I was totally disappointed.  And I had to take the dish to a potluck.  I wasn't very 'gourmet goddessy' that day!  This version redeems me.  I had to refrain from licking the dish.  (I was having leftovers at work)

Be sure to use a red wine that you would drink.  Something light and fruity goes well here.

Coq au Vin
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp each, butter and olive Oil
• 2 slices of bacon, diced
• 5 chicken thighs and 2 breasts, bone in and skin on is best.  I remove any fat clumps I find just to lighten it up a bit.
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 - 3 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
• 1 large clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
• 1/2 tbsp fresh sage or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1/4 tbsp fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste

Instructions:

1. Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat in an ovenproof shallow saucepan with a lid or dutch oven.
2. Add the bacon and saute until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside
3. Place the chicken in the pan and cook until brown on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add the onions to the pan and cook until softened and lightly brown.
5. Toss in the mushrooms and garlic, cook for 2 minutes.
6. Stir in the thyme, sage and rosemary and cook for 30 seconds
7. Add the flour and whisk until fully mixed in
8. Slowly pour in the wine, whisking to blend it with the flour mixture
9. Stir in the chicken broth and tomato paste.
10. Place the chicken and bacon back in the pan
11. Cover the pan and place in oven.
12. Bake (actually you are braising at this point) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the chicken starts falling apart. Serve with potatoes and something green like brussel sprouts or steamed broccoli. 

Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

I whipped this up the other night.  I LOVE leftover soup for lunch and it needs to be interesting, tantalizing, and full of flavour because I work around some of the best restaurants here in Halifax.  The temptation to go out for lunch is full on most days. But this soup could go up against the best out there. 

Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup still in the pot!

Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
Serves 4 -6

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp veg oil
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 cups seafood or veggie broth (you can make your own seafood broth by taking the shrimp shells and boiling them for 15-20 minutes, drain and there you go - seafood broth!)
• 14oz can coconut milk
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic chili sauce
• 1/2 roasted red pepper chopped
• 2 cups edamame (without the shells)
• 3 cups chopped green onions
• 3/4 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp lime juice

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium high heat
2. Saute the celery and onions until soft, about 5 minutes
3. Add the garlic, ginger and coriander and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant
4. Pour in the seafood broth and the next 6 ingredients through to the garlic chili sauce. 
5. Heat until simmering. 
6. Toss in the red pepper, edamame, green onions, and shrimp.
7. Simmer until the shrimp are opaque.
8. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.

Enjoy!

Nicoise Inspired Lunch

Welcome to back to school season.  I know it can be tough, getting back into the routine but we all have to do it.  For me, September is about renewal.  It's the start of the year for me, time to establish new habits.  While I haven't been writing much about food I sure have been thinking about it, the eating more so than the cooking.  I totally get why people don't feel like cooking at the end of the day.  So here's a big hint - when you do cook make lots for leftovers, freeze what you can or take the rest as lunches.  Let me tell you about a salad I take for lunch pretty regularly these days.

This creation is inspired by the French Nicoise salad and is a great way to use the leftover veggies we see at the market this time of year. 

Nicoise Salad:
Ingredients:
Any of the following or whatever else interests you at your local market these days

• a couple of boiled, bbq'ed or roasted potatoes
• handful of green beans, cooked or raw depending on how you like them
• cucumber
• tomato
• peppers
• olives
• hard boiled egg, peeled and cut in quarters
• tuna, leftover chicken or shrimp
• beets, pickled or roasted cut in quarters.

• Balsamic, Italian or Sweet Onion vinaigrette

Instructions:

1. Place each item in it's own section on your plate or lunch container.  Yes, they can touch but you don't toss them together (but you could really, I won't be by to check...)
2. Place the dressing in a separate container and drizzle it over everything just before you eat.

That's it.  It's that simple.  Great way to use leftovers! 

Chicken and Peaches

This may be the simplest main dish ever made.  Seriously - 6 ingredients and you have the most lovely dish.  I love to cook with peaches when they are in season and currently they are in season!  YUMMMM

Chicken and Peaches Served with Roasted Potatoes
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast halves with the bone (more flavour and less chance of drying out on the BBQ!)
• Cooking Spray
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp bbq sauce + extra to baste the chicken, I use one for chicken and ribs but you could use your favorite.

Instructions:

1. Preheat BBQ to high
2. Preheat a sauce pan to medium high and spray with cooking spray
3. BBQ the chicken on the BBQ for 30 -35 minutes, depending on how thick the breasts are.  (you can also roast some nice potato wedges at the same time!)
4. In the sauce pan toss the onions and cook until browned
5. Reduce the heat on the pan to medium and add the peaches
6. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes
7. Add the soya sauce and bbq sasuce and simmer on low for another 10 minutes
8. Add water by the tablespoon if the sauce is too thick for your liking
9. Baste the chicken with the extra bbq sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking time
10. Serve the peach mixture over the chicken.  And the potatoes if you roasted some.

With the soy sauce and bbq sauce there is plenty of salt in this dish so don't add any unless you really need it at the table.

Enjoy!

It's summer time and the livin is easy.

Truer words were never spoken.  Lately I've been grilling some meat or fish and serving it along side some farm fresh steamed veggies usually tossed with butter or maybe a salad from the lettuce and tomatoes out of my garden.  There really is only one appropriate summer cooking method - KISS - Keep it Simple Silly! 

I finally found some soba noodles at the grocery store recently so I thought I'd make some of those wonderful snow peas into a Japanese inspired stir-fry.  And the leftovers for lunch would be awesome.  I toasted up some sesame seeds in a dry wok first and removed them from the pan.  I made a sauce out of hoisin, soy, chili sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger and water. I was psyched. 

I set a pot of water on to boil the noodles.  I figured I'd cook the whole package since it indicated it was for 4 people and I wanted leftovers for lunches.  Once the water was at a rolling boil I snipped the top off the package and dumped the noodles in the pot.

Anyone see what's coming?

Yeah soba noodles come tied up in bundles with a thin paper wrap around each one. These paper wraps were now keeping my noodles together in an nice organized fashion as they twirled around in the pot.  I said a few swear words, grabbed my tongs and started grabbing bundles of noodles out of the pot.  Not only were the noodles starting to soften but they were also friggin hot.  I managed to get the paper wraps off but not before the noodles started to stick together forming noodles gluepy noodle masses.  Back into the water they went and I called for back up. 

Mom tried to seperate the gluepy masses while the noodles finished cooking in the pot.  Never to throw food away, I finally said "enough" and I pulled the looser ones out of the pot and tossed them in the stir-fry. 

I currently have a container full of glumpy noodles sitting in my fridge.  I intend to freeze them and use them later in a soup.  I figure they'll work well there. Waste not, want not!  And now I'll go back to simple grilled meats and fish with sides of farm fresh steamed veggies for what's left of our summer.

The realities of a working girl

I just violated one of my golden rules.  I heated up my lunch in a plastic container.  Do you know how many chemicals are released when you heat plastic?! And who in the hell eats soup in July?!  Well I like to keep the office on the cool side so.... Yesterday I went over to Pete's Frootique for a nice bowl of soup cause I was cold at lunchtime.  I had already eaten my leftover slice of pizza and little salad so when they gave me a roll with my soup I thought "now what am I going to do with this?".  So last night I grabbed a soup out of the freezer (Lentil soup from October 2011 - hope I blogged the recipe cause it's quite tasty and I'd love to make it again.) to go with my roll for today's lunch.  I couldn't throw out a perfectly good roll...  although now that I took the roll out of the plastic bag it was in I'm realizing it's got little mold spots on it.  yup, it's stall.  Seriously?  For what Pete's charges for a bowl of soup the rolls should be fresh daily!  I'd take it back but that would entail going outside and it's way to nice to tempt myself by going outside.  No way would I come back to the office.

That's right I'm working full time  - again.  Gone are my mornings on the couch flipping through cookbooks planning the evening meal.  I've got a piece of salmon taken out for dinner.  I've also got some Swiss Chard I picked out of my garden on the weekend to go with it.  Actually that sounds pretty good.  I was going to go on about how my eating habits have changed from gourmet'esgue to quick and more that occasionally, processed.  I'm reheating in plastic and eating prepared foods. Reality bites.  Except for tonight.  Tonight sounds pretty good and I know I have white wine in the fridge ready to go with it.

Now I primarily cook on the weekend, planning meals I can add to my freezer collection and/or things that can translate into sandwiches or salads for the week.  Eggs for dinner rock it (super quick, super easy) and whenever there is a sale on my favorite frozen pizzas I stock up (dinner and lunch the next day).  Last evening I was checking out the lettuce in my garden and all I could think was "oh man picking that and getting it ready to eat would be too damn much work".  See I do know what it's like to be a busy/lazy working person.  I know at the end of the day you don't want to cook (or pick and clean lettuce).  This is why I harp about being organized.  At least I was able to pull out a nice homemade soup from my freezer last night.  Even if I now have to go around and try and scrounge up a roll or some crackers would do.... Glad I had a boiled egg for morning snack (don't judge me, it's a long time between breakfast and lunch).  At least Pete's give you a big napkin with your purchase.  It's lasted me 2 days so all is not lost.

Russia - Shashlyk

Sounds fancy doesn't it.  Well Shashlyk is simply kebabs, marinated for at least 6 hours but overnight it better.  The research I've done has shown the marinade to be pretty simple.  The most important part is to grate the onion instead of chopping it.  Seems this is standard procedure for most eastern European cooking and really releases the onion flavour (I think this will become my new standard for marinades and sauces!) 

The rest of the Euro 2012 menu is here.

Russia - Shashlyk
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef or pork
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cube the beef into 1 inch/2 cm cubes
2. Dice 1 onion into 1 inch/2 cm cubes
3. Grate the remaining onion and garlic, place in a shallow dish
4. Add remaining ingredients to the dish and mix well
5. Toss in the meat and onion cubes
6. Marinate overnight covered in the fridge.
7. Heat the bbq, grill or grill pan to high heat.
8. Place the meat and onion cubes on skewers, alternating meat and onion
9. Grill the skewers on all sides until seared and browned.
10. Serve with steamed root vegetables like turnip and carrots and some pickled veggies like pickled beets.

I enjoyed mine with steamed turnip, pickled beets and some bottle bbq sauce on the side. 

Denmark - Smorrebrod (Open Faced Sandwiches)

Smorrebrod literally means 'butter bread'.  These recipes are wonderful for snacking on during the game or for a light meal.  I don't normally do this but this post covers the topic so well that I'm simply going to link to it. 

NPR Kitchen Window:  The Art of the Danish Open Faced Sandwich

You can pick and choose which sandwiches you would like to make.  I'm making the smoked salmon fish cakes but I'm going to use smoked trout instead of salmon and I think I'll also make the blue cheese, bacon and apple sandwich. 

Enjoy!

The rest of the Euro 2012 menu can be found here. 

Greece - Greek Burgers and Salad

Tonight's meal is super simple since I had done up Greek burgers and froze them a couple of weeks ago. 
The rest of the Euro 2012 menu is here.

Greek Burgers
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried mint (I dry my own so the leaves stay whole and maintain a nice flavour.  You may want to try fresh mint, use 2tbsp - 1/4 cup)
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• more feta, lettuce, tomato, yogurt, tzatziki, hummus to top
• buns or pita

Instructions:

1. Mix beef through to crumbled feta together, divide into 4 equal portions and make into patties
2. Grill or pan fry until cooked through, about 15 - 20 minutes
3. Serve with more feta, lettuce, tomato, yogurt, tzatziki and/or hummus
4. I like mine in a pita!

Greek Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 red and green pepper
• 1 small red onion
• 2 green onions (scallions)
• 1/2 cucumber
• black olives (optional)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Dice the peppers, onions and cucumber into 1/2 inch pieces.  Add in the olives if using
2. Mix the oil through to lemon and pour over the veggies (or use a nice bottled Greek dressing if you like)
3. Stir in the feta.
4. This salad is nicer the longer it sits.  I like to make mine a couple of hours ahead of time.

England - Chicken Tikka Masala

Many people will say that this popular Indian dish has become the unofficial dish of England.  I'll play along.  I love Indian food, any shape, any size but when it gets a little westernization then it's just fun on the tongue.  I have some serious Indian cookbooks and love to cook authentically.  Most East Indian people I know are Vegetarians so I always get a little chuckle at the meat recipes.  This is an excellent recipe for the western palate.  It's comfort in a dish, perfect for those who haven't been very adventurous when it comes to trying new things.  For all the fish and chips in the UK, it's amazing how many people love 'a curry'.  This particular recipe is deadly simple. 

Add more chili powder if you like it spicier!

Simple Chicken Tikka Marsala
Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" /1 cm cubes

1" fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup/small handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish

Juice and zest 1/2 lime

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 red onion, chopped

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 cup light cream or plain yogurt

2 tbsp tomato puree

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Instructions:

1. Mix the chicken with the ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime and 1 tbsp of the oil. Let sit for 1/2 - 2 hours (I like a long marinate time)
2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a saute pan or wok and saute the chicken until cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside
3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the same pan and cook the chili powder and onion until the onion is tender, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the turmeric and cumin and cook another minute.
4. Add in the cream/yogurt and simmer 5 minutes.  Add the tomato puree, salt and pepper and lemon.  Simmer another minute.  Add the chicken back and cook another minute
5. Serve with basmati rice and sprinkle with cilantro. 

Enjoy! 
The rest of the Euro 2012 menu is here.

Spain - Tortilla (Spanish Omelet)

Getting ready for Italy V Spain.  Should be a big game.  Crap where is Torres?  He has got to make a turnaround in his career.  I know he's capable...  Just saw Italian fans dressed like Venetian boats' men.  Holy crap that's funny.  Gotta love football fans! Sergio Ramos got a haircut.... looking seriously yummy!! I think it makes him look taller...

Tonight's meal is in honour of Spain.  Usually a traditional Spanish Tortilla is made with just potatoes but there are versions with the veggies as I've done below.  I like to sneak in veggies wherever I can.  This is usually served as a tapas, cut into cubes or slices and served with toothpicks.  Great for snacking on during the game....

The rest of the Euro 2012 menu is here.

Spanish Tortilla
Serves 4 as a meal or 8 as a snack or appetizer

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 green and red pepper, chopped
• 11/2  cup cooked and diced potato (mine are new so I didn't peel them but it's up to you)
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 6 ounces/175 g shredded cheddar or Parmesan cheese (if you can find a Spanish cheese use it!)
• 3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375F, prepare a 8" X 11" pan or a round quiche dish by spraying it with some cooking spray and set aside (you can also do 4 individual dishes if you making a main course)
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. 
3. Saute the garlic, onions and peppers until tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool
4. Add the potatoes to the cooled pepper mix
5. Beat the eggs, sour cream, cheese and chives together.  Add in the potato mix and salt and pepper as needed
6. Pour the whole mixture in the prepared pan.
7. Bake 30 - 40 minutes. 
8. Remove from pan and serve sliced in cubes if serving as a snack, slices if serving as an appetizer or 4 sections if serving as a main.

Enjoy!

Germany - Wiener Schnitzel and Potato Salad

Welcome to day 2 of the Euro 2012.  If today's games are half as good as yesterday's games (and they should be with the group of death playing!) then we're in for some excellent football!  Wowzers.  It is sad that when they introduced the refs for the Russia-Czech Republic game I said "hey, I know him!" ?!  I think I'm officially an international football fan when I recognize the refs... 

Okay on to today's meal.  If it is hot and steamy where you are you could just through some nice German sausages on the BBQ and serve the potato salad cold.  As it is here the temp is 12C (56F) on my deck and it's raining to beat the band.  You know it's raining hard when 2 hardy Bouviers (dogs, see pic on right) won't go outside.  So I'm not BBQing!  I love Wiener Schnitzel and this recipe is really simple.  Traditional recipes call for veal but veal can be hard to find around here so I often use pork sirloin which works perfectly in this dish.  It's actually part of my regular menu rotation, just steam some veggies on the side for a super quick weeknight meal.

Here's the rest of the Euro 2012 Group Stage Menu

Wiener Schnitzel
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1lb pork sirloin cut into 4 equal portions
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 tsp sunflower oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
• 1lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Instructions:

1. Place pork between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or place in zip lock bag.  Pound pork out until it's 1/4 inch thick
2. Beat eggs in a shallow dish
3. Place flour in another shallow dish
4. Place bread crumbs in another shallow dish
5. Dip pork in flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs, set aside
6. Place butter and oil in a skillet and heat over medium high heat.
7. Saute the pork portions until golden on each side.  They shouldn't take long, 4 minutes or so on each side.
8. Serve each piece with a wedge of lemon. 

Potato Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 cups diced potatoes (new potatoes work wonderful here) peeled or unpeeled, your choice
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• Grainy Dijon mustard

Instructions:

1. Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to boil.  Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile heat a skillet over medium high heat and add bacon.  Cook the bacon until crispy.  Remove the bacon and let drain on some paper towel. Crumble when cool enough to handle.
3. Cook the onion in the bacon grease until tender.
4. Add the vinegar, water and sugar.  Simmer until the sugar is dissolved
5. Toss in the potatoes and bacon and heat through. 
6. Serve with the Grainy Dijon mustard on the side.

Add some additional veggies, preferably something green to make this a complete meal!'  Ill be adding a side of brussel sprouts.  Yum!

Euro 2012 Menu

As most of you know, I love to make international sport events into culinary events.  It's nice to give your menu meaning and it makes menu planning a little more interesting.  Food and sports.... yeah, pretty much my happy place.  Join me.

I love international Football (or soccer to us North Americans) and Euro 2012 should be a be a blast.  I was just starting to go into sports withdrawal as the NHL playoffs wind down and we're a ways away from the start of NFL, EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A,.... well you get the idea...  There is that Olympics thingy happening later this summer.  Thanks Goddess!

Okay here's the menu for the 12 day group round.  I'll link the recipes as I make them so you can check back to this page and get to whatever info you want.  Since there are 2 games a day I added 'simple' to the theme of this menu!  The meal matches one of the teams playing that day.  I know, I'm a little kitchy...

Euro 2012 Group Round Menu

1. Poland (since it's one of the hosts, might as well start with Polish cuisine!) - Kielbasa, Perogies and Greens.  No recipes, just saute diced kielbasa with perogies and toss in some greens.  Done
2. Germany - Wiener Schnitzel and Potato Salad
3. Spain - Spanish Omelet/Tortilla
4. England - Chicken Tikka Masala
5. Greece - Greek Burgers and Salad
6. Denmark - Smorrebrod (open faced sandwich)
7. Italy - Pizza (frozen or take out - everyone needs a day off...)
8. Sweden - Toast Skagan (Shrimp on toast and one of my faves!!) I've claimed this dish to be Danish for the FIFA 2010 World Cup but it's on most menu's in Sweden...
9. Russia - Shashlyk (kebabs) and Turnip
10. Croatia - Brodet (Braised Fish on Polenta)
11. Ireland - Corned Beef Sandwiches and Coleslaw (Summer version of Corned Beef and Cabbage!)
12. France - Crepes with whatever veggie is freshest at the market and some nice cheese

There is also this Croatian dish of Swiss Chard called Blitva that I might try one of these nights.  I'll keep you posted...

As per usual - when Canada is not involved I cheer for Sweden.  Sverge, Sverge, Sverge!

Bravo to Disney!

Have you heard the news?!  Disney is taking a stand against junk food by eliminating all advertising on it's various media outlets and in it's theme parks by 2015 (delayed due to current ad contracts already in place).  This is HUGE. They are also looking at improving the health value of the food offerings within their theme parks.  Disney is a highly successful brand and they're setting a new standard. Here's to hoping many follow. 

Now the question is, will they follow a fresh, natural approach or will they go with a highly sponsored, well advertised 'healthy' processed food approach?  This is the bee in my bonnet that continues to permeate our culture.  Packaged foods with 'blue' labels claiming to be healthy, being low in fat while high in salt or claiming to be low in sodium but high in fat.  Never mind the processed ingredients in these products.  It's been interesting to watch the development of the packaged "healthy" foods market.  And it will be interesting to see what direction Disney heads.  Remember - shortest distance between Mother Nature's hands to your mouth is always best!

Food Revolution Day!

Jamie Oliver has become a strong voice in the fight for real, healthy food on every table in every home and school.  He's challenged governments to rethink what they serve their kids in schools.  He's challenged people to think about what they eat in their own homes.  Today he has declared it Food Revolution Day.  Today is a day to think about what we eat, where is comes from and what food choices we are making daily.  It's time to celebrate local food.  Time to celebrate the simple act of cooking (and it can be very, very simple!).  Time to celebrate one of the single most important things we do every single day - EAT!  It's the fuel that keeps our minds and bodies going.  And if we continue to gunk up the works with crap then well..... we won't be functioning to our optimal level.  Never mind the long term implications... 

So today instead of grabbing that frozen snack or meal, or something from the fast food joint around the corner, make an omelet, toss a salad, boil a little whole wheat pasta and mix in some of your favorite in season veggies.  If it's not too late head over to your local farmers market.  I spent $21 CAN this morning at my local farmers market.  $6.25 of that went to some plants, lettuce, swiss chard and eggplant to go in my garden for veggies later on.  The remaining $14.75 was spent on some lovely leaf lettuce, spinach, eggs, turnip (which make great turnip fries on the BBQ), a garlic onion loaf that I use for croutons in salads and some whole wheat hamburger buns for our holiday Monday pork burgers.

At the very least, take a little time today and think about where your food is coming from.  Do you know?  And what about your favorite restaurant?  Do they support local farmers which is not just good for your local economy but also for the environment as the less shipping produce and food product has to travel the less fuel is used, less pollution, etc.?  Does your favorite chef use as little processed food as possible?  Is he or her making things from scratch?  Investigate a new ingredient that you haven't eaten or don't eat often and don't really know how to cook.  We are always hearing about new things that are good for us... know what quinoa is?  or how to cook it?  (hint it's easy, cheap because a little goes a long way, and super healthy!)

Most of all today celebrate good, real food.  Really want to celebrate?  Try a local beer or wine to go with it.  After all it is a holiday around these parts and the kick off of summer so - Cheers!

Eggplant Parmesan on Spinach Polenta with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Once again there are no pictures as the meal was so good it was devoured before I could get any...  There are a few steps to this recipe but it's worth the effort, fancy enough for company and deadly cheap!  I've made homemade tomato sauce before, check here but I'll share what I did today.  I wanted something light.  Mostly I was trying to use up the fresh basil I bought last week before it wilted.  Geez I love fresh basil!

Eggplant Parmesan on Spinach Polenta with Homemade Tomato Sauce.
Serves 6

Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce

• 1 tbsp/15 ml olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 dried red chilies, crushed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce/ 796 ml can of diced, no salt added tomatoes (check the italian brands, they usually don't have any salt added)
• 3 tbsp/45 ml tomato paste
• 1 tbsp/15 ml sugar
• splash of red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• pinch of salt as needed

Eggplant Parmesan

• 1 large eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Polenta

• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 3 cups chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp butter
• pinch of salt if needed

Instructions:
Tomato Sauce

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
2. Saute the red chilies and onion until tender
3. Add in the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and red wine vinegar
4. Simmer for 20 minutes
5. Toss in the fresh oregano and basil.  Salt as needed

Eggplant Parmesan

1. Slice the eggplant and sprinkle with lots of salt.  Let sit on paper towels for 20 minutes, wipe and turn.  Let sit another 20 minutes.  Pat dry.  This is an important step - do not skip it!
2. Heat the oven to 350F and place a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray in the oven
3. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat sprayed with cooking oil
4. In one plate place the flour, in another plate beat the egg, in another plate toss the bread crumbs with the parmesan.  Dip each slice of eggplant in flour, then egg then bread crumbs.
5. Brown each eggplant slice on each side in the frying pan and place in the oven on the baking sheet.
6. Cook the eggplant for 10 minutes and then top with the mozza, bake until the mozza is melted

Polenta

1. Heat the water in a pot over high heat. 
2. When it starts to simmer slowly add in the cornmeal while whisking quickly and continuously.
3. Continue whisking until the polenta thickens.  About 5 minutes
4. Whisk in the spinach and then the parmesan.  Toss in the butter and stir until blended.
5. Taste and salt if needed.

Assembly
Scoop 1/2 cup of polenta on each plate
Top with a slice or 2 of eggplant
Spoon tomato sauce on top.  Sprinkle with a little more parmesan if you wish.
Enjoy!

Migraine, Allergies and Food Triggers

I want to talk about migraines, allergies and processed foods.  There is a connection.  Now just to be clear - not for everyone, not everyone fits into nice cookie cutter definitions when it comes to the human body.  It`s a complex entity that often defies current theories.  However there have been some triggers identified that may be the cause of migraines in some people.  Processed foods and allergies are 2 of them.  Or as my doctor pointed out... could be a combination of the two...  I like my doctor, she doesn't stick to a black and white view of modern medicine.  Yesterday I went to see her to get some meds to fight the migraines.  I haven't had a migraine in at least 6 years.  And it's so frustrating to have them come back.
I'm not just having migraines with their tell tale auras, light and sound sensitivity, I'm also having some amazing throbbing in my sinuses.  Ever feel like your eyeballs were on fire?!  Holy mackerel, it's brutal.  And then last night I had some nice hives develop on my eyelids.  Oh when it rains it pours, doesn't it?  The thing about hives around my eyes is that it takes 12-24 hours for the swelling to really go down and my eyes feel foggy until it does.  If it weren't for the fact that the dogs keep making me laugh and NJ beat Philly last night (NHL) I'd be one cranky camper.  But I digress.

So what started all this crap?  I was fine.  I fight with my allergies year round and take 2 different pills and a nasal spray daily to keep them under control.  Anyone who reads this blog regularly has heard me rant and rave more than once about eating food that has followed the shortest distance between Mother Nature's hand and your mouth.  (In other words - with as little human intervention or 'processing' as possible)  These days we're hearing more and more about the evils of processed foods.  So there can't possible be any of that evil foodstuff in my house, right?!  Hey I can get sucked in just like everyone else as I make my rounds at the grocery store - lean, low fat, low cal - sounds great!

First thing my doctor asked me when I went for my appointment was if I had identified any triggers.  She emphasized that identifying the triggers would be the most beneficial in fighting migraines but she also acknowledged that it might not be easy.  The fact I hadn't had any is so long was a pretty good indication that my triggers were something I recently bought and brought into the house.  I had already thought of this.  The only things I've had different in the house are beer (for the playoffs!) and processed meat, some turkey bacon (bacon is bad enough but what kind of processing do you think it takes to make turkey into 'bacon'?!?!) and some deli meat.  Even though the deli meat was nice and lean...  Still it's 'processed'.

I've also been wondering about the chemicals on the apples I've been enjoying lately.  Just because it's fruit doesn't mean its innocent.  Apples are one of the worse fruits for chemical pesticide residue.  Lately I've been enjoying some really nice ones from the market.  But could those chemicals be causing my migraines?  It stands to reason that they could be.  I'll eliminate them too just to be sure. 

Last night I had 2 beers and today I'm fine so I'm going to cross beer of the possible trigger list (amen!).  Tomorrow maybe I'll try an apple...  Then we'll try to turkey bacon or deli meat....  If you really like deli meat for lunches try roasting up some extra turkey breast, chicken breast, roast beef or even pork on the weekend and thinly slicing it for sandwiches during the week.  You can season it any way you can!  One of these days I'm going to get a smoker and make my own bacon and ham...  Ah a girl can dream...

ps. my blood pressure was 114/74 or to quote my doctor "perfect"!  It's worth bragging about.

UPDATE:  I've tried all the possible triggers I could think of but have yet to have another migraine.  While that is good news it is a little frustrating not to know what caused them.  I guess the doctor was correct when she suggested it could be a combination of a couple of things.  However in the future if I have another migraine I will make notes of the things I have eaten and done before hand and I will note the time of year, weather conditions, etc.  I've heard of thunderstorms and drastic weather fluctuations causing problems for some people.  Of course now that I have medication and am prepared it's unlikely I'll have another migraine.  It's just Murphy's Law!