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Archive for December, 2008

Dinner Project: Trout

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

The last time we went to the farmer’s market, the fish stall had a special on trout. We managed to get two whole, deboned rainbow trout for about $8.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper and dusted it with some flour, then I pan-fried it in butter so that they developed a nice crust. This is, for me, the only way to eat trout. I wish I knew how to fish, because having this fresh out of the water would be amazing. These trout were frozen, but they were still plenty tasty.

For vegetables, I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower that were leftover from a party veggie platter and dressed it with a yuzu citrus dressing from T&T. I also boiled and peeled some golden beets, and some incredible potatoes from the farmer’s market. Paul doesn’t remember what variety these are, but they cook up so creamy, it’s like they mash themselves in the skin.

This is the reason I cook at home. This was an amazing dinner, and it cost about $12 for both of us. That’s a lot for a home-cooked meal, but if you were to order trout at a restaurant you’d be paying twice that for one plate. I don’t mind paying the extra couple of dollars for farmer’s market meats– they’re just better. But when I make something vegetarian, the cost of cooking is only a couple of dollars a serving, usually. And I love cooking. It makes me feel good to make something with my own hands, and to share it with Paul. That’s not something I can order at a restaurant.

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Dinner Project: Natto Soba

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Paul had to work late tonight, so I was on my own for dinner. I hate cooking for only one, so I decided to fall back on a simple, quick meal that I really love, but Paul doesn’t care for. Not the soba part; who doesn’t love a nice hot bowl of noodles? No, it’s natto, the sticky, slimy fermented soy bean condiment that even some Japanese people despise. I can’t get enough of it. In fact, it’s what I had for lunch today, too. You can make this, with or without natto though. I won’t be offended.

I made a soup base with some powdered dashi, soy sauce and a bit of mirin and let it heat. In another pot of boiling water, I cooked the noodles. They make them really thin these days, so it take only a minute or so. At the same time, I cooked a little more of that great spinach from yesterday.

Natto is sold frozen in individual portions. I defrosted one, mixed in the packets of broth and mustard that is included and gave it all a good stir. In a bowl, noodles go in. Then spinach, then natto on top. I cracked an egg in there too, and poured the soup in after that to poach it slightly.

I freakin’ love this stuff.

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Dinner Project: Salmon from my mom

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Every once in a while, my mom will bring me food. This time, she brought me some salmon, marinated in some form of teriyaki. Now, my mom is a GREAT cook. Her story is that when she got married, she didn’t really know how to cook. Why would she? As the second-to youngest of seven children, she always had someone else to do the cooking for her. But when they moved to Canada, my dad bought her a copy of Good Housekeeping’s cookbook, which served two purposes: to teach her how to cook, and to improve her English. She went through it, choosing one recipe every night to try until she mastered all the techniques necessary to make pretty much anything.

When my sisters and I were little, she would have us all in the kitchen, peeling vegetables and stirring pots. I learned pretty much everything I needed to know over her shoulder. Later, I learned even more working in a French restaurant. But it still surprises her that I can manage a kitchen. Therefore, she brings me food.

The salmon, I grilled in the oven a few minutes each side. As a vegetable, I wilted some spinach in a little boiling water, drained it, and added a little butter and pepper. Paul mashed a rutabaga with a potato last night, so I reheated that for a starch. It’s a very simple, very light dinner. The salmon was quite sweet, almost candied which was great eaten with the mashed rutabaga. So thanks, mom!

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Dinner Project: Split Pea Soup

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Remember the book about the two hippos, George and Martha, and how on a date, she serves him split pea soup? He hates it, so he keeps pouring it into his loafers. Martha thinks he’s eating it all up, so she keeps serving him, but when it comes time to leave he can’t because he has soup in his shoes. Then he’s forced to ‘fess up, and she says, “Why didn’t you just say you didn’t like it?”

When I first read the story, I had never tried split pea soup, but I loved it already. And as it turns out, split pea soup is delicious! This was the first time I made it, and it was a raging success.

I rinsed and soaked two cups of split peas, then simmered them in 10 cups of water and a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon. When they got a little soft (couple hours?), I added some chopped celery, onion, and carrots. Paul then came home with a treasure: a small cooked ham, which I cubed and added to the pot. This, I believe, was the key to this entire soup: what a gorgeous hammy flavour! That and a bit of thyme. After the peas and vegetables were cooked, I melted a bit of butter, added two tablespoons of flour, and a little of the soup liquid. When this became smooth, put the veloute into the big pot and gave it a stir.

I served it with some sprouted grain organic bread from Planet Organic and a couple bits of Sylvan Star gouda. A simple, nourishing, delicious meal. I will make this a lot this winter.

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Dinner Project: Steak

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

It’s been 25 below today, almost -40 with windchill. Couldn’t ask for a better reason for steak night.

We had a couple of nice organic steaks from the Farmer’s Market in the freezer, which I seasoned with only a bit of salt and pepper. I fried it in a cast iron pan a couple of minutes on each side. As I was doing that, I heated the oven to 350F to warm some garlic bread– just the kind you get from Safeway, but personally I think there’s nothing more delicious.

So anyway, after the meat seared a little on each side, I threw them into the oven with the bread while I reheated the vegetables.

Earlier in the day, I had boiled some golden beets and peeled them. A little butter and pepper– so tasty! For greens, I thawed and heated some frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Not such a great idea, but when the rest of the meal was so perfect, I didn’t mind (so much).

Sorry there’s no photo. I did take one with my cellphone, but the bluetooth on the laptop is being flinchy tonight and won’t download it.

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Dinner Project: Oden

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

It snowed all day, and it was cold enough that Henry refused to go for a walk. What’s better on a day like this than a traditional winter dish? Oden is what they eat in Japan to warm the body. It’s a mixture of vegetables and fish cakes simmered in a light broth, ingredients vary by region and the cook’s whim. I’m not even sure if I’m making it properly; I’m working from memory.

My version includes kombu (kelp), which is an important base for the broth. In a large pot, I heated some water and cooked briefly the kombu, then removed them so they don’t overcook. Soy sauce and a splash of mirin to taste completes the broth. Chunks of peeled daikon and carrots go in, fish balls and tubes go in. Peeled boiled eggs, konnyaku which is a sort of vegetable jelly– I’m not really sure how to describe it. Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water. You should throw that mushroom water in, too.

Usually some kind of tofu goes in, but I FORGOT! And didn’t I buy some bamboo shoots? No matter. This is comfort food, and I was more than adequately comforted. I’ll throw in the shoots for tomorrow’s leftovers, of which there will be days’ worth. Because you can’t make a small portion of oden; it’s a big cauldron of a meal.

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Dinner Project: Salmon Sausage

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

Paul and I went to the Farmer’s Market intending to get only vegetables for the week since we already have a freezerful of proteins to use up. But when we rounded the west side of the market, the fish booth had a special on one of its new items, salmon sausage. Salmon! Sausage! Two of the very best things! Who could pass that up? Not I.

Following the package directions, I baked the sausages (a little expensive at $8 a pack of 4, but we got $2 off) in a 325F oven for 20 minutes.

While they were going, I boiled some baby potatoes and carrots. I finished the potatoes with a little sea salt, and the carrots in a dollop of garlic-onion jam– yes! Like the salmon sausage, an amazing and inspired combination! You can purchase this and other amazing jams at the Italian Centre Shop. For greens, I sauteed some rainbow chard in olive oil and butter. Why two oils? It just tastes better, that’s why.

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Dinner Project: Gnocchi in Veggie Pesto Cream Sauce

Friday, December 5th, 2008

I live a few blocks away from the Italian Centre Store, which for a pasta lover and lazy cook is a godsend. Henry and I walked down for some quick supplies and came home to make a quick and delicious meal.

Pre-made gnocchi is available in many different varieties here. I got a pack of spinach ones, figuring that the more vegetables in a meal, the better. It’s winter after all, and we have to battle against our carb and fat cravings. Plus, gnocchi takes no time to cook.

For a sauce, I sauteed a chopped onion, zucchini, red peppers (always cheap here, for some reason) and mushrooms. I made a veloute (butter, flour, stock), added a little cream and a hunk of pesto (also cheap at the IC) and stirred it together with the veggies. S&P, and ta-da!

For a salad, I halved the grape tomatoes I got from the farmer’s market last weekend, plopped in a small container of bocconcini, and dressed it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A little fresh ground pepper– delicious!

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Dinner Project: Chickpea Curry

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

I’ve had a craving for Indian food all day, so I thought I’d ask the internet how to make something simple, like Chickpea curry. Thanks to bbc.com, I found something do-able. The actual cooking of it was easy, but somehow I couldn’t hit the right proportions of spices, so it wasn’t quite right. First try, though! Better next time!

To make it, you soften a chopped onion and garlic in a knob of butter. Then add spices (salt, tumeric, cumin, chili, coriander), cook for a bit, then add chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and a can of tomatoes. That gets cooked for a while, then add some grated ginger and a pinch of garam masala.

To go with this, I cooked some basmati and tried to make naan. I halved the recipe (from indianfoodforever.com), so it wasn’t entirely successful. Nor do I have a tandoori oven. I think next time I’ll just buy some.

For a vegetable, I steamed some cauliflower and broccoli and served it as a marinated salad.

Indian food is so good, but it takes so much time. And there is obviously a trick to it, which I need to find out. Help me, Madhur Jaffrey. You’re my only hope.

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Dinner Project: Unagi-don

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

The amazing thing about this dinner is you barely have to do anything! You can get pre-cooked, pre-sauced unagi kabayaki from T&T Supermarket for about $8, which has two or three portions. You can heat it in the microwave.

To make it a proper meal, cook some white Japanese rice and serve the heated eel on top. To go with it, I made:

Miso soup. You heat a cup or two of water, add a little powdered dashi (again, T&T, and you should get the all-natural type with no MSG or the tea bag kind). Dissolve a couple tablespoons of miso swirling it in a ladle, or some people press it through a sieve. I soaked some wakame in hot water for my soup, but you can also add cubed tofu.

Spinach. I washed then boiled for a minute some spinach. Drain. When it was cool enough to handle, lay it out nicely and squeeze the water out. A sushi mat can be useful for this to make tidy little rolls. I thought I had sesame seeds, but no. I only had some soy sauce to put on top.

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Hooray for you, Mari Sasano.

Archive for December, 2008

Dinner Project: Trout

Dinner Project: Natto Soba

Dinner Project: Salmon from my mom

Dinner Project: Split Pea Soup

Dinner Project: Steak

Dinner Project: Oden

Dinner Project: Salmon Sausage

Dinner Project: Gnocchi in Veggie Pesto Cream Sauce

Dinner Project: Chickpea Curry

Dinner Project: Unagi-don

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