I always make the same salad dressing:
2 parts oil
1 part vinegar
Dijon mustard
Maple syrup
Salt and pepper
Don't get me wrong - it's a good backpocket option, but I think I'm guilty of overuse. Which is why it was so exciting when this very different dressing popped up on my radar. It's originally intended for fattoush salad, but I think you could put it on anything you want.
2 teaspoons paprika (or sumac if you can get it - I couldn't)
2 teaspoons warm water
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fattoush also involves chopping ingredients into tiny pieces and adding fried pita pieces, which really, are both great ideas pretty much all the time.
-Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen
Nov 23, 2014
Sep 21, 2014
Chickpea stew with couscous, for camping or otherwise
So on the expert and helpful advice of M. Cohen, I planned a few meals for an early fall camping trip (more collected camping recipes and suggestions from M. Cohen forthcoming, ideally in cute zine form). This meal was in the plan, though I believe what actually happened was a huddled dinner of sandwiches and then a quick retreat to the tent to get out of the rain and wind. Fall. It's not like summer. BUT this recipe was just as good cooked in my temperature controlled kitchen the next evening.
Date and Chickpea Stew with Couscous
What you'll need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup pitted dates, sliced
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup couscous
1/2 teaspoon salt
The stew:
1. Heat the olive in a pot or large cast iron pan and saute the onion until browned (7-10 minutes).
2. Add the spices and garlic and cook briefly (30 seconds). Then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1/4 of water. Cover and simmer (10 minutes).
3. Add the dates and lemon juice, continue to simmer to taste.
The couscous:
1. Boil 1.5 cups of salted water (you can add stock or bouillon for more flavor).
2. Stir in the couscous, remove the pot from the heat source, and cover.
3. The best part.... fluffing! Use a fork to ruffle the couscous just before you're ready to eat.
Place couscous in bowls and top with the stew and some chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
-Recipe courtesy of Dirty Gourmet.
Date and Chickpea Stew with Couscous
What you'll need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup pitted dates, sliced
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup couscous
1/2 teaspoon salt
The stew:
1. Heat the olive in a pot or large cast iron pan and saute the onion until browned (7-10 minutes).
2. Add the spices and garlic and cook briefly (30 seconds). Then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1/4 of water. Cover and simmer (10 minutes).
3. Add the dates and lemon juice, continue to simmer to taste.
The couscous:
1. Boil 1.5 cups of salted water (you can add stock or bouillon for more flavor).
2. Stir in the couscous, remove the pot from the heat source, and cover.
3. The best part.... fluffing! Use a fork to ruffle the couscous just before you're ready to eat.
Place couscous in bowls and top with the stew and some chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
-Recipe courtesy of Dirty Gourmet.
Jul 7, 2014
Louis Drummond's Avocado Margaritas
Hey y'all!
A guest post from none other than Gail!
Louis Drumond's Avocado Margaritas
1oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
1oz fresh lime juice
1oz simple syrup
1/4 ripe avocado
Leaf or three cilantro
Blend with equivalent of a 14oz glass worth of ice cubes
Gail says: "Story is, invited Derek and his 4 boys to Prouts Cocktails and a quick-snap e-convo ensured over the course of the week.
Louis + his wife Vickki run a resto in the interior of BC.
Shake + Smile"
A guest post from none other than Gail!
Louis Drumond's Avocado Margaritas
1oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
1oz fresh lime juice
1oz simple syrup
1/4 ripe avocado
Leaf or three cilantro
Blend with equivalent of a 14oz glass worth of ice cubes
Gail says: "Story is, invited Derek and his 4 boys to Prouts Cocktails and a quick-snap e-convo ensured over the course of the week.
Louis + his wife Vickki run a resto in the interior of BC.
Shake + Smile"
Apr 26, 2014
anti-oppression margaritas
After extensive testing, I decided there are many many ways to make a drinkable margarita, but if a person wants to keep one's friends as friends, it might be a good idea to invest in some sort of juicing apparatus that isn't giving your friend a fork and a bag of limes. Disclaimer aside, here is one of my favorites. For best results, drink on my porch.
A few preliminary thoughts:
Tequila is magical. Also sort of like a drug. There are loosely three kinds but anything you buy should be 100% agave. Blanco is clear - just distilled agave. Resposado is aged in oak barrels for up to 1 year, and anejo between 1-3 years. Or to put it another way: blanco $, reposado $$, anejo $$$.
Conveniently, blanco is great for margaritas.
Simple syrup is a 1:1 mixture of water and sugar. Heating the water helps the sugar completely dissolve, so maybe make this ahead of time and store it in a jar in your fridge so it's cold when you feel like a drink. I don't think it ever goes bad. I may or may not still be using a jar of ss that I made last summer and that may have traveled to the Gaspe and back. I promise not to serve you a drink with the 2013 vintage. I will make a new batch for this summer.
Also ratios instead of measurements - infinitely preferable and great for growth potential. Not like unsustainable inequitable capitalist growth, like more friends on your porch growth.
_____________________________________________________
The breakdown:
1 part tequila
1 part simple syrup
1 part lime juice (fresh is best)
a squeeze of orange juice in every glass
chunky salt for the rims (si quieres)
lime slices for the rims
Tips for the salt: slice a lime into smiley sections and make perpendicular cut across the centers of the sections. Use this cut in the lime to wet the rim of the glass and then twist gently in a pile of salt (the tops of yogurt containers are great salt-holders). Return the lime slice to the rim of the glass as a garnish. Probably wash the lime before you do any of this.
Por arriba
Por abajo
Al centro
Y al dentro
A few preliminary thoughts:
Tequila is magical. Also sort of like a drug. There are loosely three kinds but anything you buy should be 100% agave. Blanco is clear - just distilled agave. Resposado is aged in oak barrels for up to 1 year, and anejo between 1-3 years. Or to put it another way: blanco $, reposado $$, anejo $$$.
Conveniently, blanco is great for margaritas.
Simple syrup is a 1:1 mixture of water and sugar. Heating the water helps the sugar completely dissolve, so maybe make this ahead of time and store it in a jar in your fridge so it's cold when you feel like a drink. I don't think it ever goes bad. I may or may not still be using a jar of ss that I made last summer and that may have traveled to the Gaspe and back. I promise not to serve you a drink with the 2013 vintage. I will make a new batch for this summer.
Also ratios instead of measurements - infinitely preferable and great for growth potential. Not like unsustainable inequitable capitalist growth, like more friends on your porch growth.
_____________________________________________________
The breakdown:
1 part tequila
1 part simple syrup
1 part lime juice (fresh is best)
a squeeze of orange juice in every glass
chunky salt for the rims (si quieres)
lime slices for the rims
Tips for the salt: slice a lime into smiley sections and make perpendicular cut across the centers of the sections. Use this cut in the lime to wet the rim of the glass and then twist gently in a pile of salt (the tops of yogurt containers are great salt-holders). Return the lime slice to the rim of the glass as a garnish. Probably wash the lime before you do any of this.
Por arriba
Por abajo
Al centro
Y al dentro
Feb 9, 2014
Buckwheat pancakes
My favourite brunches are usually savoury but the past two weekends's I've found myself cooking these buckwheat pancakes - easy to make with ingredients you may have around - and been very pleased. I find they are a bit more savoury and flavourful than your average pancake, and that they lend themselves to many delicious toppings. The recipe is from the Rebar cookbook.
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or DIY by putting 1 1/2 tbsps vinegar in a bowl and pouring 1 1/2 cups milk on top, letting it sit for 5 - 10 minutes to curdle)
2 tbsp molasses
butter for cooking
1 cup hazlenuts for topping
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
1. Mix together flours, baking soda and baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk eggs then add buttermilk and mollases. Mix. Combine wet and dry ingredients, not stirring too much.
2. Cook on a medium-hot buttered pan. I use a cast-iron pan, and if I ladle in a 1/3 of a cup batter they usually cook with a couple of minutes on the first side and a bit less on the second. I flip once the pancakes have a few bubbles.
Put the finished pancakes into the warmed oven to hang out while you make the rest.
I particularly love these pancakes with berries and toasted hazelnuts and maple syrup. I chop about a cup of hazlenuts and toast them while I'm cooking the pancakes.
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or DIY by putting 1 1/2 tbsps vinegar in a bowl and pouring 1 1/2 cups milk on top, letting it sit for 5 - 10 minutes to curdle)
2 tbsp molasses
butter for cooking
1 cup hazlenuts for topping
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
1. Mix together flours, baking soda and baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk eggs then add buttermilk and mollases. Mix. Combine wet and dry ingredients, not stirring too much.
2. Cook on a medium-hot buttered pan. I use a cast-iron pan, and if I ladle in a 1/3 of a cup batter they usually cook with a couple of minutes on the first side and a bit less on the second. I flip once the pancakes have a few bubbles.
Put the finished pancakes into the warmed oven to hang out while you make the rest.
I particularly love these pancakes with berries and toasted hazelnuts and maple syrup. I chop about a cup of hazlenuts and toast them while I'm cooking the pancakes.
Jul 22, 2013
Lamb-tastic Chops with Rosemary and Garlic
Hey boos!
Wow, it's been a while since I posted too. F-bomb, thanks for your philosophical musings. It sounds very smart aside from the fact that anchovies are mega gross.
I had my friend June over for dinner last night, who is currently on a food cleanse to try and figure out what's irritating her stomach. In any case, I had to meal plan around an extensive one-page document of do's and don'ts, which lead me to just say eff-it, I'll cook meat, even though I'm mildly terrified of doing so given that I've cooked vegetarian all my life. A trip to Blah-blahs (Loblaws) later, I found this recipe, and it was sooooo good. I might have to do it again tonight. I was cooking on the fly so didn't have time to marinate at all, and compensated by just making hella marinade. It worked out just fine. My sides were quinoa, shitake mushrooms, and asparagus salad.
Wow, it's been a while since I posted too. F-bomb, thanks for your philosophical musings. It sounds very smart aside from the fact that anchovies are mega gross.
I had my friend June over for dinner last night, who is currently on a food cleanse to try and figure out what's irritating her stomach. In any case, I had to meal plan around an extensive one-page document of do's and don'ts, which lead me to just say eff-it, I'll cook meat, even though I'm mildly terrified of doing so given that I've cooked vegetarian all my life. A trip to Blah-blahs (Loblaws) later, I found this recipe, and it was sooooo good. I might have to do it again tonight. I was cooking on the fly so didn't have time to marinate at all, and compensated by just making hella marinade. It worked out just fine. My sides were quinoa, shitake mushrooms, and asparagus salad.
The things:
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 18 small lamb rib chop
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
The actions:
Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Rub about 1/4
teaspoon mixture over each side of each chop. Sprinkle chops with salt;
place on plate. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4
hours.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over
medium heat. Add 9 chops to skillet; cook to desired doneness, about 3
minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to platter; cover with foil.
Repeat with remaining oil and chops. Garnish platter with rosemary
sprigs, if desired.
Courtesy of Epicurious
Courtesy of Epicurious
Jul 13, 2013
Freedom
Hi loves! I miss you.
I have not been posting here recently because I have hardly used a recipe in months. I have hardly used a recipe and I think I am finally learning how to cook. I have been inspired by my various roommates over the last year who have come home many nights and whipped up a meal for one with whatever's in the fridge. By contrast, the contents of the fridge would stare out at me blankly and I felt overwhelmed and left them be, preferring a couple of slices of bread from the freezer toasted.
My roommates were the inspiration, but a particular book has been the tool that helped me overcome my reliance on recipes and the belief that everything worth making takes at least one hour. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. It's prose but not one of those cooking memoirs, it's very much about how to cook.
She writes, for example:
"If we were taught to cook as we are taught to walk, encouraged first to feel for pebbles with our toes, then to wobble forward and fall, then had our hands firmly tugged on so we would try again, we woul learn that being good at it relies on something deeply rooted, akin to walking, to get good at which we need only guidance, sense, and a little faith."
The book is about taking small experimental steps in cooking and learning from each one. She has basically a whole chapter on boiling water. She has another chapter on anchovies. She starts by talking about how to find good anchovies and then provides some areas for exploration. Try them fresh, packed in oil, packed in salt. Try them plain. Learn their flavour. Then mash them with plenty of garlic, olive oil and butter and try this sauce on a variety of boring kitchen standards: boiled potatoes, wedges of raw cabbage, soft-boiled egg, lightly boiled celery, or endive. Experience their flavour in combination with other simple flavours. I think through this constant experimentation you develop instincts about cooking that allow for greater complexity down the line.
I tend to only peruse the book while standing in the kitchen waiting for my oatmeal to finish so I haven't read it all, but the overwhelming message appears to be to taste everything you do, at each stage. I'm getting pretty good at this. And I have never enjoyed cooking like I do now.
Kisses to all...
I have not been posting here recently because I have hardly used a recipe in months. I have hardly used a recipe and I think I am finally learning how to cook. I have been inspired by my various roommates over the last year who have come home many nights and whipped up a meal for one with whatever's in the fridge. By contrast, the contents of the fridge would stare out at me blankly and I felt overwhelmed and left them be, preferring a couple of slices of bread from the freezer toasted.
My roommates were the inspiration, but a particular book has been the tool that helped me overcome my reliance on recipes and the belief that everything worth making takes at least one hour. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. It's prose but not one of those cooking memoirs, it's very much about how to cook.
She writes, for example:
"If we were taught to cook as we are taught to walk, encouraged first to feel for pebbles with our toes, then to wobble forward and fall, then had our hands firmly tugged on so we would try again, we woul learn that being good at it relies on something deeply rooted, akin to walking, to get good at which we need only guidance, sense, and a little faith."
The book is about taking small experimental steps in cooking and learning from each one. She has basically a whole chapter on boiling water. She has another chapter on anchovies. She starts by talking about how to find good anchovies and then provides some areas for exploration. Try them fresh, packed in oil, packed in salt. Try them plain. Learn their flavour. Then mash them with plenty of garlic, olive oil and butter and try this sauce on a variety of boring kitchen standards: boiled potatoes, wedges of raw cabbage, soft-boiled egg, lightly boiled celery, or endive. Experience their flavour in combination with other simple flavours. I think through this constant experimentation you develop instincts about cooking that allow for greater complexity down the line.
I tend to only peruse the book while standing in the kitchen waiting for my oatmeal to finish so I haven't read it all, but the overwhelming message appears to be to taste everything you do, at each stage. I'm getting pretty good at this. And I have never enjoyed cooking like I do now.
Kisses to all...
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