Japanese carrot-ginger salad dressing

Don't let the idea of an orange dressing hold you back! This is a delicious ginger-y, carrot-y, vinegar-y, sesame-y salad dressing balanced out by the sweetness from the apple. Excellent on a kale salad with sesame seeds.

Dressing:

• 125 grams carrots
• 30 grams shallot
• 15 grams ginger
  
• 40 grams apple
• 60 ml rice vinegar 
• 60 ml neutral oil (avocado is good)
  
• 1 tbs soy sauce
  
• 2 tbs cold water
• 1 tbs toasted sesame oil 

Peel and roughly chop the carrots, ginger, shallot, and apple. Add these and the rest of the ingredients to a blender or magic bullet and blitz into delicious-ness. If you prefer your dressing slightly sweeter, add a bit of sugar/honey/maple syrup to taste.

Break free from the dressing doldrums

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

Enchiladas Verdes

Back in the land of grey buildings and personal injury lawsuits, I am missing Mexican food. I am relearning to discard toilet paper in the toilet bowl, and enjoying the calmness of traffic and taxicabs, and going unnoticed on the street as a guera/whitey. I learned this recipe from various Mexican mothers and grandmothers but like any good oral tradition, this likely inadvertently includes my own toque especial. My favourite thing about enchiladas is that they can be enjoyed at any time of day: breakfast, lunch, dinner or as drunkfood.

Serves 4.

You will need:
- corn tortillas (12?)
- oil for frying
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot (or was it garlic? luckily this is not very important)

For the salsa verde:
If you are a lazy person you can buy this pre-made. I think Herdez and La Costeña make good ones. But it's not as good as homemade! It may however, be cheaper.
- 10? tomatillos (these are the green tomatoes that come with a papery covering, generally found at Mexican specialty stores like at Bloor and Dufferin. If you don't have one near you, you can buy a tin of them), papery covering removed
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 6? serrano or jalapeño chillies (green and hot are the two key characteristics)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt?

Toppings:
- iceberg lettuce, chopped
- crema (Mexican specialty store again, or just use sour cream)
- a mild shredded or crumbled white cheese

Prepare the chicken:
Put it in a pot with the onion and carrot and/or garlic and cover with water. Boil until cooked (no red juices emerge, and it's not creepily tender), about 30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the water and pull off the meat into small pieces with your hands. [Unrelated to this recipe but a happy byproduct: Throw the chicken carcass and skin and ligaments (mm!) back into the water, add some veggies and herbs, simmer uncovered for 3 hours and you have delicious chicken stock!]

Prepare the salsa (unless you are lazier than a Mexican and bought it in a store):
Blanch the tomatillos in as little water as possible. In the same water, boil the chillies until tender (about 10 minutes). Do not discard the water. In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chillies to taste. Add cilantro to taste and blend. It should be very very liquid so add the chilly water as necessary. Transfer to a deep frying pan or pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

Prepare the tortillas:
Heat some oil in a frying pan. Fry each tortilla in the oil for about 30 seconds. You don't want them to brown, you just want them to take up some of the oil so they don't get soggy in the salsa, and be hot so they are easier to fold. Keep warm in paper towl, plastic, or between two plates.

MAKE THE ENCHILADAS!
Place chicken meat onto one half of each tortilla and fold over. One at a time, place the stuffed tortilla in the frying pan with the salsa verde and submerge it for a few seconds. Remove to each individual's plate. Top with extra salsa verde. Give to your guest to add toppings.

Put on some cumbia and sit down to eat.

apple butter (fall bounty)

dear friends,

fall is a very glorious time of year. harvest time! i am enjoying it immensely on the west coast (except, of course, for the curious absence of fall foliage colours. the leaves just fall and die in victoria, there is no transition!) in any case, to celebrate the wonderful harvest bounty, i made apple butter. it is a good thing to do while getting other things done (like about 600 pages of catch-up law school readings) - only requires a stir once every 15 minutes or so. plus, it makes your whole house smell delicious for the 5 hours that it takes to finish.

i used about 15 spartan apples with a couple of other kinds mixed in. if you have a bigger, wide-mouthed pot than i do, you can use as many apples as you have! peel if you want (i didn't. i hate peeling fruits for jams/butters. the skins give it a nice pink tinge, and also are full of vitamins and minerals that you would otherwise be throwing out just to get a texture that is a bit smoother. boo!) chop them up into a reasonable size, removing the cores. put them into a big pot and cook on medium heat with a little bit of water added here and there until they are soft enough to be mushed with a spoon. at this point, use an immersion blender if you've got one to puree into apple sauce. if you don't have one, you could always use a regular blender... or if you are like me and have a serious aversion to pouring hot liquidy things into receptacles, just keep cooking the sauce down until its soft enough that you can mash it all up.

after you have the apple sauce, it will take a couple of hours (maybe even 5) until it is spreadable, giving it a nice stir every 15 minutes. add some spices while it is cooking dowm (i used a bunch of cinnamon and a bit of cardamom, but i would have used ground cloves if i had them!) and sweetener to taste. i used brown sugar which was delicious, but you could also use honey, maple syrup, or regular old sugar. in the last 5 minutes, add the juice of one lemon.

once you're done, either eat everything you have made right away with friends and lovers. alternatively, can it for the winter! pour the hot butter into clean jars (sterilize jars in pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. it is preferable to use new lids), being sure not to leave any air bubbles. bang the jar on the counter to remove any, or slide a knife along the edges. put your lid on, then boil the jars again in a large pot for 15 minutes. i learned a neat trick from a fellow internet canning enthusiast. to test the seal of your jars once you are done boiling them, remove the ring of the lid and lift the jar by the rim. if it stays on tight, you are good to go!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

love, beeks

impromtu peanut sauce

why? why not! everyone gets tired of the old low-quality olive oil and garlic combo. but if you've got some vegetables that, if i may quote the great isaac hayes, are aching for some hot buttered soul, why not try the peanut?

a few spoonfuls of peanut butter
some water (for thinning purposes)
sesame oil
tahini
brown sugar
chopped garlic

put the ingredients all up in each other's business in a frying pan, adjust quantities by taste and pour a little out for george washington carver, the peanut pimp daddy.

spiced whipped cream with a side of pumpkin pie

This year, I made two important discoveries about pumpkin pie. The first was that you can eat and and revel in it all year round, not just while coloured leaves cling tenuously to their branches. The second was that whipped cream becomes infinitely more delicious when you throw in some spices.

Spiced Whipped Cream
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
splash vanilla

Beat all the above together until peaks are formed in the whipped cream. Ideally, you have an electric beater, otherwise, you have a group of willing diners with strong biceps and a whisk. Serve with pumpkin pie and let autumn dance across your taste buds like a ballerina across the stage.

Pumpkin PiePreheat oven to 375˚ F, with rack placed in the middle
Pie crust (I usually buy one, but I have eaten this all-butter crust recipe and it was great)
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
2 cups freshly cooked or canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together all of the above ingredients. Pour into the crust. Put in the oven!

Cooking time can really depend--in the Joy of Cooking Irma tells us that it is ready when "the filling seems set but quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 35 to 45 minutes." In my experience, it takes quite a bit longer than that, more like an hour for it to be fully cooked.

After you have deemed it fully cooked (sticking in a fork for wetness helps), let it cool completely on a rack. Serve warm or cold, but definitely with spiced whipped cream.

Asparagus Sesame Salad

This is always a big hit, so much so that if prices are good and so are the appetites, I'd recommend doubling.

First: Put into a big pot of boiling water a bunch of asparagus, sliced diagonally into two-inch pieces. Keep a close watch, cooking for about one and half to two and a half minutes until cooked but still crunchy--the only way this salad can go wrong is if the asparagus overcooks. Once cooked drain immediately and then refill pot with cold water and let it sit until all heat has left the asparagus. Then, drain (dry) and refrigerate until cold, about an hour.

Second: prepare the dressing. Whisk together:
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons soy sauce 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Third: toast 4 teaspoons of sesame seeds, then add immediately to dressing

Fourth: when the asparagus is cold, and the dressing is ready, toss together. Eat!

Credits: go to Joy of Cooking

everything in transit - the kitchen dilemma.

dear real life friends on the interweb,



with the exception of square-cesca, it has been a long long time since we have been posting. to be honest, i think about it every three days or so and make notes to get my shit together and do a little something something. but i don't and you don't and i fear that we are falling off what was once a very good bandwagon. so here i am, writing an e-apology to no one in particular but maybe to the concept of our technological mystical recipe circle. no more, she says! i find it very hard to feel comfortable in a new kitchen with new tools and new space (moving is the worst) - i know, i know. excuses. but seriously. i have been suffering from very poor motivation and inspiration with all food-related things these days. so let's get this show on the road, a'iiight? to quote my mother circa 3 minutes ago, "it's 5 o'clock and time to rock!" thanks.

the only thing i can offer at this time is... well, actually, it's pretty fucking good. rico and i made what will only be called "black velvet compote". mysterious? sultry? romantic? AFFIRMATIVE! i had no idea that this kind of apricot even existed until the one and only rico snogger dumpster'ed a bunch of super ripe ones from the goldmine of all dumpster-ing locations, jean talon market. so in a very large soup pot in a familiar kitchen with familiar things (saint joseph apartment), we sterilized 4 jars with proper canning lids. then, we sliced and diced all those black velvet apricots (i am still so fascinated by these. if you feel like wikipedia'ing these tasty delights, please do it. and tell me all about them. but i'm too tired for that kind of quality research for the post right now). because we wanted to make a lot of jam and only had something like 9 apricots, we also chopped up a whole bunch of juicy quebec peaches (at least 20). in the large pot on low/medium heat (but high heat in our hearts), we combined all of the fruit and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. then we added 1/2 cup of sugar (a little more if you like it stickier - this version makes a fairly loose, chunky, real fruit compote), turned the heat to low, and let simmer for a bit more than an hour. when the jam appears to be doing what it should do, add the juice of half a lemon (or more, to taste), and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

when all is said and done, put your jam into the sterilized jars (it will be very hot - this is good for the sealing process) and put them into a pot of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes until a seal is created (you will know when the top of the jar doesn't pop up anymore when you push on it).

the end!

note: you can make compote with anything you've got following those general guidelines. it is very easy and tastes about 700 times better than buying it at the store.

Godmama Marie's Signature Salad

Dressing:
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Honey Dijon mustard

Salad:
Pine nuts, toasted
Blue cheese
Soft pear
Mixed greens

the inaugural run of nutter butters, inc.

dear friends,

here is, get this, an ORIGINAL recipe that has come from my blossoming new passion for nut butters. i call this one mystery butter #1: what i did instead of kicking someone in the shins (a la waitress movie).

get a whole bunch (ie. maybe a cup) of raw peanuts, half a cup of raw shelled pistachios, and about 6 squares of dark chocolate (55% or higher, HOLLA), and raw honey (or whatever you got). preheat the oven to 300, roast the nuts until slightly browned and fragrant, about 6 minutes. then, in a food processor, combine all ingredients and honey to test, blend blend BLEND until smooth and delicious (this should take about 10 minutes or so).

put it in your favourite small jar, and if you're not going to eat it imminently, store it in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

happy buttering!

nothing beats beets (or beeks)

If you're rooting for root vegetables, this is the dish for you. ChocolateZuchinni as usual has a delish recipe that you can follow more precisely from the link. Basically, though, you grate an equal weight of beets and carrots, combine with an oil, a vinegar, some mustard and minced garlic, salt and peppa, throw in some toasted nuts (pine nuts, walnuts?) and add feta.

Disclaimers:

(1) if you have quantitative estimation skills like madeleine’s, deleg(r)ate (HAH!) determination of beet and carrot numbers
(2) much as we here at ‘c is for kitchen’ disapprove of the propagation of gender stereotypes, this is the recipe to get yourself a boyfriend for. or a burly lady. polyamory is ideal. your flabby biceps will thank you.
(3) there are inherent dangers related to the consumption of beets some of which will not be discussed on this blog. if you develop a health issue shortly after beet consumption, do not contact us, instead frantically call/email your mom or any of your friend’s parents with medical degrees. the other major danger: stainage. you could wear rubber gloves but then you would be lame AND you would not be able to utilize any of the following:

brilliant suggestions on how to use beet juice to break up beet grating monotony:
necessary equipment→ beets, and unsuspecting victims

(1) the vampire: crude, works best with small children. it is best if they aren’t yours (for many reasons, but in this case, nightmares = not actually funny.)

(2) as accurately as possible, replicate the following photo sequence (bonus points for leaving gratings that make it look like you have a deep wound) (call off the joke before they take you to the hospital, unless you’re canadian or are studying for your degree in joyless sterile interior design, in which case you just hit jackpot baby):




(3) self-tanning accident. actually, if you hang with the right people (read: lindsay lohan or active-living florida retirement community), no one will notice.

(4) possibly the best: stigmata. if all your friends are jewish and don’t know what you are talking about, make new friends. trust me, this is worth it.

don't you wish your salad dressing was hot like me?

MoneyTeph's delicious dressing:

1 part vinegar
1 part oil
splish splash of soya sauce (not too much)
1 clove garlic
1 plop of honey mustard
salt and pepper to taste

shake, don't stir and serve.

booya.