Family favorites

When i was growing up we had a few recipes that really made the rounds of our dinners, some i still make, others i have for some reason abandoned. Growing up eating little/no meat a lot of our meals were from "hippie cookbooks" with had drawn illustrations. The real favorite was "Mushrooms on Toast". I made this for years after moving out, then finally one day looked at my mom's original recipe - i wasn't even close!!! No matter who's version of mushrooms on toast i make, its always a great one. (even recently my dad made it - which is a miracle in itself)

A simple toasted tomato sandwich with mayo and cracked pepper is always a treat in the summer. Another family classic is caesar salad. My mom had this hand-written recipe on lined paper that has been folded and re-folded so many times. I can't remember the story but its the recipe from a famous toronto restaurant. I've got the recipe pretty much memorized, and i my humble opinion it is one of the best you'll ever have. I've tried tweaking it, but i end up coming back to the original. Its got egg yoke and anchovies which i think is one of the best things about it.

Most people find eating cheese and crackers as a meal a bit odd, but not me or my family. Sitting around the dining table with a variety of cheeses, assorted crackers, some olives being one of the most satisfying meals we could have. When i was younger i remember having a friends over for dinner, we were having cheese and crackers, they leaned in to ask me what was for dinner. I laughed and told them to eat up!

When i'm feeling a little rich i will stop by a nice grocery store, or kensington market and pick up a few cheeses for dinner. My favs - extra old white cheddar, caraway gouda/havarti, swiss, smoked cheeses. Lately i have been experimenting with adding chutneys and other savory additions like branson pickle. The best thing about these dinners is they leave you with great grilled cheese ingredients! (especially with my mom's rhubarb chutney)

Photos

Toasted tomato sandwich
Caesar ingredients
Fancy caesar salad with poached egg on rosemary crostini
Hippie Cookbooks
Dinner of champions! aka cheese

Dinner for One

You may have figured out that i love to cook, the problem is that its kinda tough/repetitive to do it for one. Most importantly there is no one to do the dishes/clean up while you watch. (i'm better at making messes rather than cleaning them). I struggle in particular with dinner, its so easy not to bother.

On occasion i do make the effort and treat myself to a nice homemade solo meal. It usually involves me picking up a piece of fish on my way home from work, usually halibut or cod. I know a lot of people are so "over" black cod, but i'm new to it and i still enjoy its texture and buttery flavor. Foxley on Ossington has this amazing black cod and bok choy dish that i have fiddled with. The restaurant version is more of a wine, butter broth, for mine i used green curry and coconut milk and added broccoli to the bok choy. (both of which are excellent sources of calcium)

Sometimes i will whip together a quick cream sauce for linguine, usually with mushrooms and shallots. I have a lot of trouble keeping pasta portions down, and i end up throwing a bunch out. I also try and use this spicy black bean sauce i got at T&T in mississauga, i really like it with bitter greens like rapini. T&T is one of those places that makes me really excited about cooking- the vegetables are incredible and there are so many exotic sauces/ingredients.

Of course there are also days when i get home, and can't be bothered to make anything and i'll end up eating popcorn or getting takeway from Curry Twist in the Junction. (yeah, i'm serious about the popcorn thing - i eat it with butter and sriracha)

Above:

Black cod with bok choy, peas and brocoli in a curry
Stir fry with baked tofu, shrimp and black bean sauce
Halibut also in black bean sauce with sauteed rapini and spinach and couscous
Lazy quick pasta
Okra and purple eggplant with nan from Curry Twist

For the Love of Bacon

I have a confession to make.... I was seduced by pork. Many years of strict vegetarianism down the drain all for the the sweet deiciouness of the pig. Like many before me, bacon led me astray. I have yet to buy a package of bacon, mainly because i don't think i could control myself, but its become one of my obsessions. At first i was fine with the odd BLT, but now i'm trying pasta with bacon, ham and swiss sandwiches, baked and slow cooked ribs, pulled pork. The pork has seduced me and i'm a changed person.

My first experience with the pulled pork was at a truck-stop in cottage country I read about on Chowhound Toronto board. This summer my parents spotted a pulled pork booth at the Orangeville farmer's market. I spoke to the really nice owners - apparently, and they will be opening their own store at Islington and Burnhamthorpe!

I have yet to make pulled pork, i think the thought of buying a "pork shoulder" is still a little too much for me to handle. (this from a woman will tear apart a crab with her bare hands!) Of course it is winter and i do have a slowcooker....

Above:

Getting ribs ready for the slow cooker
Cuban sandwhich - two types of pork, pickles, cheese and mayo
Pulled porked from the truck stop
Ham for mini mac n' cheese

Orphan's Christmas/Pot luck

As if one turkey experience wasn't enough my friends Jared and Victor decided to host a host christmas dinner for the neighbours. In many ways it was quite a subdued affair as most of the attendees (including myself) had been out for a birthday night of dinner/dancing on college the night before, so there were a lot of slow movers.

Of course in the name of food (my personal god) i volunteered to help out. This one was a lot more organized that the riding girls - we put together the menu in advance. (aka i made them plan) Victor and Jared made turkey, two types of mashes and stuffing. They turkey was 18 lbs, and Victor lovingly basted it for hours - as usual, i didn't have any, but there was a lot of mmmming all around.

Mor made an awesome hummus and pita. (styled by Jared) I put together some ribs in the slow cooker, which i will tell you from personal experience does not transport by car very well. I also made caesar salad and bruschetta. It was quite a spread overall.

Above (from top)

Our fabulous hosts, Jared and Victor
The table. (plus some addict's crackberry)
Delicious hummus
The turkey

Trimming the Turkey with Mommy

To be honest, i'm not a big fan of the bird, not just turkey, any bird, but in my dedication to food i decided this year to help my mother with the Christmas turkey. (or if you asked my mom dry-heaving when i saw the raw neck in the sink). This year she ordered an organic free range turkey from a local shop in Orangeville - the thing was 21 lbs, which is excessive when only five people are eating. I was fascinated and disgusted all at once!

I made a sage-butter rub, which i allowed my mother to put under the skin - after the neck incident i was a little gun-shy, and she also made a breadcrumb, sage and walnut stuffing. The bird was too big for the roasting pan, but we tied it up and forced it in. You were supposed to suture the bird shut, so my mother sewed it with a needle and thread. Apparently my grandmother taught her that. This was probably the coolest part.

There was so many contradictory pieces of advice on how long to cook it and i really wasn't much help. We finally settled on three hours covered, an hour and a half uncovered and half an hour of rest. Luckily we also had a fancy President's Choice digital thermometer - and once we figured out the Fahrenheit and Celsius we were ready to rock.

The timing work out pretty good with all of the veggies, but the bird was pretty greasy and really difficult to get out of the roasting pan that we had wedged it into. The dogs were super attentive during this whole production, hoping that we would drop the whole thing. Antony carved, and as usual i passed on the bird. Somehow seeing how it was done didn't tempt me.

It was agreed between my mother and i that next year we are doing ham.

Corn tortilla ideas???

I'm looking for input on this one. I am blessed that my local grocery sells two different brands of fresh corn tortillas, but there are sooo many of them. I've frozen them the day i get them, but when i've tried to reuse them they fall apart and the texture is all wrong. I must add that i do not own a microwave, which seems to be the most recommended method of heating them. I can't seem to find any tips for defrosting/reheating them.

If i don't freeze them i can have tacos for two days, then tostadas and quesadillas for a couple more, but i can't say that i really want to eat them for that many days. (you're going to notice a theme in my blog about too much of one thing- cooking for one is a challenge). Any brilliant suggestions?

But here are some highlights of my corn tortilla recipes. Sorry these are some of my earlier pictures so the lighting is a bit off.

• The brand i usually get
• Chipotle shrimp tostatda with bib lettuce, tomatoes and avocado
• Black bean and fried egg tostada
• Mexican breakfast - fried egg, tortilla, salad and refried black beans
• Salmon tacos from El Sombrero in Mississauga!
  

The fine art of Soup

For a long time soup was a mystery to me. Working at Richard's back in the day i would watch the Chef make these all day stocks with things that made my stomach turn. I thought that i would never be interested in slaving over bones all day. Then i discovered if you buy nice, low sodium, organic stock (bouillon or boxed) alarms are not going to go off everywhere. It still tastes quite good and there are no eyes floating in the mixture! Its easier than boiling your greenbin scraps for hours.

Since falling for soup, and my mother upgrading her hand-held immersion blender. (I benefit from all of my mother's kitchen redecoration projects) I have become obsessed with how easy soup is. My main problem is portion control. The recipes are often really large and for one person, by day five, no matter how tasty it still is, i'm sick of it. I'm also not a freezing person, i just end up throwing things i freeze out whenever i move.

Soup for me is a fall thing, so most of my soups have featured fall vegetables, squash is what you could call a theme! Once 've found one i like, i make it once or twice and just abandon the recipe and start making it as it comes. (ie whatever is left in my fridge)

Above - some of my favorites (from top)

Secondary ingredients for sweet potato, corn and jalapeno soup
Finished sweet potato, corn, jalapeno soup
Cali flower chipotle soup with Gruyere toasts

Silicone egg poaching gadgets

i

I've never been good at poaching eggs, or making hollandaise for that matter. I was shopping at this amazing kitchen goods store in Orangeville with my mom and saw these bad boys. Eggs are a kinda new thing for me, so i'm endlessly trying different ways of cooking them on weekends to enjoy with the crossword.

They were actually quite good. I also noticed while getting my dad stocking stuffers, they have them at Lee Valley. I have yet to try baking in them, which they apparently are also good at. They are a lot more technically formed than ones you make in that mysterious way i have yet to conquer. But that can be a good effect. They are a bit annoying to wash. (by hand - i don't know of this other device - the dishwashing machine).

Riding Girls Pot Luck - Shrimp Enchiladas

So my sister was organizing a pot luck for the riding girls and spouses. We had no real theme or plan - everyone wanted to bring desert (thanks joanna for that pecan chocolate pie - i have been thinking about it for days). So i decided to bring Shrimp Enchiladas. It was one of those all day cooking recipes which i actually really enjoy. I couldn't get real tomatillos, but found some canned San Marcos ones. Last time i used the Herandez ones - if you have a choice pick those.

The first time i made this recipe i purchased persimmons instead of tomatillos and roasted them with the other veggies. (i know i should have used google images) Anyway i liked the effect so i added them again. They were tasty if a little dry. I topped them with shredded bib lettuce (i had some left over and wasn't going to let more cabbage rot in the fridge) avocado, red onions and a mixture of lime and sour cream.

Facebook isn't for food pictures

So i started posting all my cooking pictures to facebook because, well, i'm a nerd. Its an akward format, probably all the girls i went to Girl Guides with don't want to see pictures of roasted vegetables, and it just seemed like time.

I love to cook, and by taking pictures of the food i make it forces me, a single woman with awesome takeout in every direction to make exotic (well sometimes) food. So hence i shall blog!

Forgive the photography, i've been learning the fine art of food styling.

Above: Poached egg on rye with spinach. Mushroom, tarragon sauce.