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Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

May 31, 2012 by 13 Comments

My friend Lisette is a good person to befriend. She’s funny. She’s charming. She has exquisite taste. And wherever she goes, she has snacks.Good snacks. She has bags of granola bars, homemade energy bars and her signature Rosemary Garlic Roasted Almonds.

My children hover around Mrs. Heckathorn on field trips with their best “I’m starving!” faces on in the hopes that she’ll break out her stash of almonds and offer to share. Is it because I don’t bring food? Or they don’t like what I have? No. It’s just that a.) they love Mrs. Heckathorn and b.) they love those nuts. Big time.

 

Why?

Lisette slow roasts raw whole almonds (overnight!) in a very, very low temperature oven with just enough garlic, rosemary and salt to make them utterly habit-forming. The fragrant, piney rosemary flavour amps up the sweetness of the almonds. The garlic roasts down to a mellow, mild garlic presence and the salt. Well, what isn’t better with a little salt?

These nuts aren’t just delicious, they’re simple. Oh my goodness. You have no excuse (other than forgetfulness) not to have these on hand. The most work of the entire process is peeling and mincing or pressing a garlic clove. Slap ‘em on a pan and let them slow-roast to pure savoury perfection while you snooze.

If you’re a little nervous about letting your oven go overnight (even at such a low temperature) you can use a dehydrator if your dehydrator has an adjustable thermostat. Just set it down around one hundred and seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Ta da!

Not only are they crave-able and simple, but they’re oh-so-good for you. In a one-ounce serving of almonds, you get a full twelve percent of your USRDA of protein with zero cholesterol, thirty five (35!) percent of your daily allowance of vitamin E, and about as much calcium as one-quarter cup of milk. (Plus, you don’t have to drink milk. SCORE!*)

*I know, I KNOW. Milk is good for you. I just don’t like to drink it. Never have. Ask my sister who -when we were children- kindly managed a switcheroo with me so she would drink my milk and her own and I wouldn’t have to touch it.

Make yourself nuts today! In a good way!

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Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

These fragrant and toasty rosemary garlic almonds slow-roast in an ultra low oven overnight (so as not to destroy all those good fats that almonds contain) while you sleep. When you wake, you are in possession of one ultimately sustaining and habit forming snack. Make yourself nuts today! In a good way!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups whole, raw almonds (out of the shell)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon whole dried rosemary, crumbled between the fingers to break it into smaller pieces

Instructions

Toss all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until everything is evenly dispersed and the nuts are evenly coated with oil. Pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread them into a single layer. Put in a cold oven and set the temperature to 170°F or thereabouts. Roast overnight (or 8 hours) or until the oil is absorbed and the nuts appear matte. Remove from the oven, cool completely and transfer to a canning jar or another container with an airtight lid. The seasonings may fall off of the nuts. That's okay! Just transfer the seasoning to the jar as well!

These are good for up to a month, kept tightly covered, at room temperature. I seriously doubt you'll be able to keep your hands (and mouth) off of them that long, though!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/31/rosemary-and-garlic-slow-roasted-almonds/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Lazy Sushi Bowls (a.k.a. Scattered Sushi) | Make Ahead Mondays

May 21, 2012 by 4 Comments

I’m really excited about today’s post. Why? It’s another one of those things I’ve been making for years and I’m just getting around to sharing it with you. I always feel a mixture of thrill and guilt when I share these perennial favourites. Thrill because I’m giving you something we love so much and guilt because it took me so darned long to finally give you the recipe.

And then there’s the fact that this is hardly a recipe at all so much as it is an idea. A formula. A how-to, if you will. It seems like these are always the last things I think to put here because, well, they’re so simple it’s almost embarrassing. Every now and then I pull up short and have to remind myself that it is just those kinds of things that I should be sharing! Good grief! Get with the program, self!

Without further ado, I present to you Lazy Sushi Bowls (also known as Scattered Sushi). This is a riff on the honest-to-goodness, real-deal Chirashizushi (scattered sushi) that is served in various regions of Japan. Chirashizushi is loose sushi rice (cooked rice tossed with seasoned rice vinegar) in a bowl topped with seafood and garnishes. It’s a riff because most of the time, the real thing is served with sashimi (raw fish or seafood) and frankly, I’m way-hay-hay too far from any ocean to feel good about serving any kind of seafood I can buy around here raw. Beyond that, though, is the wacky toppings I prefer on my Lazy Sushi. My method is a very culinarily mixed metaphor. On top of the seasoned sushi rice, I pile Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad (or cubed English cucumbers), Asian Style Pickled Carrots, flaked (canned) Albacore tuna, cubed or sliced ripe avocado, cooked shrimp, sliced green onions, tiny cubes of cream cheese (thanks a million times over to Rebecca’s sister, Jennifer, of Ezra Pound Cake for the brilliant homage to a Philadelphia roll for this idea!), torn seasoned nori (or Furikake), pickled ginger (when we have it), soy sauce, wasabi paste, and toasted sesame seeds. Does this mean you need all of that on hand to make this dish? The answer to that is a most emphatic no! We make these with as many or as few of the ingredients as we have or want.

I mix up a big batch of the Sushi Dressing (and really, it only takes seconds), store it in the refrigerator and then have it on hand for whenever we get the craving for Lazy Sushi (which is a pretty common occurrence.) So maybe I’m stretching the Make Ahead Monday theme a bit,  but I’ve waited so long to share this, I couldn’t wait any longer!

Why do I call it Lazy Sushi when there are so many components? Let me break it down. The rice is cooked, tossed with the dressing and set aside to cool to room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients. If you have some leftover Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad, your cucumber portion is ready and waiting. If not? Roughly chop or cube an English cucumber (seedless cucumber). Their skin is tender, so no need to peel ‘em. How simple is that? Thaw some fully cooked shrimp and remove the tails. If you have Asian Style Pickled Carrots on the shelf, you need only pop open a jar. If not? Shred a carrot on a box grater or use a vegetable peeler to get thin strips. Open and drain a can of Albacore tuna. Halve, pit and slice an avocado. Tear a sheet of nori or pop open your furikake. Wash and slice a couple green onions. Fish your bottle of soy sauce and your tube of wasabi from the back of the refrigerator. Cut some little cubes from a brick of cream cheese. Give everyone a bowl and you are off the hook. Proverbially and colloquially. Stand back and let everyone assemble their own dinner.

Are you ready for the bonuses? Because there’s more. This is good for you! (Especially if you use brown rice.) This makes a killer brown-bag or picnic lunch. Finally, the biggest bonus is that The Evil Genius and I can have bowls piled teeteringly high with every single ingredient our gluttonous little hearts desire while the no veg contingent is content with a bowl of rice topped with a couple shrimp and soy sauce. It’s almost endlessly customizable and as all you parents (or spouses) out there know, the ability to make a dish that everyone can love is worth more than its weight in gold. This is another Unicorn Dish in our household.

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Lazy Sushi Bowls (a.k.a. Scattered Sushi)

Lazy Sushi Bowls (a.k.a. Scattered Sushi)

Lazy Sushi -seasoned sushi rice topped with your favourite sushi toppings- is great for fun family dinners, entertaining (because EVERYONE loves it), movie nights and those hot, steamy summer nights when the mere thought of cooking makes you break into a sweat.

These are also great for picnics and brown-bag lunches. Just store the rice outside of the refrigerator (or cooler) and keep the remaining ingredients chilled. Assemble and eat!

Ingredients

    For the Sushi Dressing:
  • 1 cup plain rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons raw sugar or white granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
    • For each serving of Lazy Sushi:
  • 1/4-1/2 cup uncooked short grain rice (preferably sweet brown rice, but short grain white rice is good, too.)
  • 1 tablespoon Sushi Dressing (see above)
  • Optional:
  • 1/4 of a ripe avocado, (peeled, pitted and cubed), tossed with a little rice vinegar to prevent browning
  • 1/4 cup Sweet and Spicy Asian Style Pickled Carrots or 1/2 of a carrot, grated or peeled into thin strips with a vegetable peeler
  • 1/4 cup Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad or about 2 tablespoons of finely cubed English or seedless cucumbers
  • 1/2 of the contents of a drained can of Albacore tuna, flaked
  • 2-4 pieces of fully cooked shrimp (cleaned with the tails removed)
  • 3-4 small cubes (about 1/4-inch or so) cold cream cheese
  • thinly sliced green onions, to taste
  • wasabi, to taste
  • soy sauce, to taste
  • torn or cut nori (or furikake , to taste
  • toasted sesame seeds, to taste

Instructions

To Make the Sushi Dressing:

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a microwave safe bowl (or in a small saucepan), heat until very warm and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour into a canning jar or other heat proof container with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to one month, using as needed.

To Prepare the Lazy Sushi Bowls:

Cook the rice according to package instructions (I prefer to use my rice cooker.) When the rice is done, turn it into a large-ish mixing bowl, fluff it gently and pour the appropriate amount of Sushi Dressing over the top. Fold the dressing in gently, taking care not to smash the rice. Lay damp paper towels over the surface of the rice to prevent it from drying out and let the rice cool to room temperature.

When the rice is cool, divide among serving bowls and let the diners assemble their own Lazy Sushi.

To Pack for Lunch or a Meal Away from Home:

Pack the rice in a container with a tight fitting lid and a great deal of room between the rice and the top of the container. (This is to accommodate the toppings once added.) Pack the toppings in separate containers, combining those items which need refrigeration (such as the fish, cubed avocados with rice vinegar, cream cheese, etc...) Store the rice outside of the refrigerator (preferably in a cool-but-not-cold, dark place) and the remaining ingredients in the refrigerator (or cooler). Assemble just before eating.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/21/lazy-sushi-bowls-a-k-a-scattered-sushi-make-ahead-mondays/

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Fish, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian

Best Buttermilk Pancakes and Make Ahead Mondays Breakfast Highlights

May 14, 2012 by 8 Comments

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I’m still in a glow-y mood. The boys treated me to a cup of tea in bed (that mercifully stayed in the vessel before reaching my mouth), French toast once I was downstairs, a day full of (mostly) getting along beautifully, and a clean kitchen (for most of the day.) I know this post is coming late in the day, but it’s worth it! I promise.

Today, for Make Ahead Mondays, the spotlight is on some of our favourite make-ahead-friendly breakfast foods that have been here on Foodie With Family. You all know I’m not functional until I’ve had a cuppa tea or two under my belt. By that, I mean that I’ve consumed it, not worn it… And to complicate things,  I absolutely despise paying mucho bucks for boxes of cereal that last a day or two at most around here. Therefore, the hot and/or homemade breakfast is the preferred method of morning fuel in these parts.  So the equation looks like this: Bleary-Eyed Mom + Hungry Children in the Morning = Creativity. I need food that is made or mostly made to serve them because folks? They’re not patient when it comes to food.

In no particular order, here are some of the greatest hits from our household:

Six Week Bran Cereal Muffins

These muffins are delicious and nutritious, to be sure, but there are two more, equally compelling reasons to make these. 1.) You make the batter and it stores in your refrigerator where you can bake as few as one or as many as you’d like daily for SIX WEEKS. I’m not kidding. Six weeks. How can you beat that? 2.) You can add in whatever stir-ins you like the day you bake. Chocolate chips, apples (dry or fresh), peaches, raisins, nuts, apricots? Yes, yes, yes and infinitely more yeses. Can I hear an Amen? Or at least a yum? Because you’ll rate a bunch of each when you have these for breakfast.

Baked Maple Oatmeal

 

Just look at that, wouldya? That is what oats are supposed to look like… This is as far from the grey, mucilaginous (yes, I said it again), soupy stuff that most people think of as oatmeal. It’s sweet, chewy, almost nutty in flavour, and smells good enough to make you turn inside out in anticipation. I make two huge pans of this unadorned (sans fruits, nuts, etc…) and leave it covered in the refrigerator all week. The kids, when hungry, take a serving sized scoop, heat it in the microwave and then add whatever they prefer. The favourite toppers in our home are frozen blueberries, fresh cream, or my homemade pie filling from the pantry. In my book, that counts as fruit!

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

Are you playing for a more savoury audience? This is the bees-knees… We’re looking at a sausage patty, baked egg and cheese all warm and melty on a toasted English muffin. Even better is the fact that these are pre-made, frozen and ready for action whenever needed. We reheat them, toss on a fistful of arugula or greens (for those who are so inclined) and hot sauce to round everything out. Life is great when these are in the freezer.

Homemade English Muffins

You had to know I was going here. Right? There is no better way to have a Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast sandwich than on a homemade English Muffin. Just look at those nooks and crannies. They’re crying out for butter and jam, too! And added to the fact that these are as easy to make as pie -No, easier than pie!- is the fact that they freeze like a dream after being baked and cooled. Ta da!

Homemade English Muffin Bread

Do those English Muffins still look like a bit too much fuss? I have just the thing for you! English Muffin Bread. And let me tell you, this stuff is habit forming and easy to boot. Each batch makes three large loaves, so eat one, wrap the other two and freeze for those days when you just don’t have time to bake. …While we’re discussing English Muffin Bread, how about something else that you can whip up to keep in the freezer that uses this bread as a base?

Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches

You can never have too many eggy type recipes if you ask me. Eggs are nearly the perfect food. Heavy in protein and all sorts of other goodies, they’re just the thing to use to start your day right and keep you full until lunch.  I like to make the Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake, slice, freeze and then reheat to serve on freshly toasted English Muffin Bread. This also makes a great, hearty after school snack. Whichever time of day you serve it, you’ll be so happy you did!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This is one of my best successes in mommy-trickery of all time. See that gorgeous, moist, cinnamon swirl? Don’t tell my youngest child, but that’s *gasp* ground up raisins. I’ve had emails from people all over telling me that either they or their kids disliked raisins as a rule, but adored this bread. It’s happy food, my friends. And happily, it freezes very well. A loaf or two of this in the freezer can make the difference between an okay day and a great one. And if you -whoopsie- don’t eat it all before its prime, it makes the most incredible French toast you can possibly imagine- but better.

…And finally!

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

I am willing to bet that most of you -even those who have been with me for a long time- haven’t seen this recipe. Why? Because this comes from one of the first recipes I ever posted here on Foodie With Family in 2008. Wowza. So much has changed between then and now, but one thing has not. We still rely on these pancakes because of their flavour, ease of preparation and the convenience of being able to keep a bucket of this batter ready in the refrigerator for up to three days after mixing it. Double bonus: you can griddle fry all of your pancakes, cool them on a rack, store them in a Gladware container or zipper top bag with wax paper between each layer, and freeze them for even greater convenience. In the morning, grab the desired number of flapjacks and microwave them ’til piping hot. And triple bonus! This recipe is so old, I didn’t even know about printable recipes, so I present to you, today, a printable version of our Best Buttermilk Pancakes. Hooray! Hoorah! Now go forth, and make breakfast!

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Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Fluffy but thin, tangy, delicate Best Buttermilk Pancakes whip up with ease! The batter stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but the griddle fried pancakes also freeze well for added convenience.

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 4 cups buttermilk (or 1/4 cup cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice added to 3 3/4 cups with milk, stirred and nuked for 45 seconds)
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2-4 Tablespoons sugar, to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. Or you can do as I usually do adding all ingredients to a large pitcher and combining them with my stick blender. It’s the cheater’s way! The batter needs to be smooth. No one likes pockets of dry flour in a pancake! The consistency of the batter when I make it is about that of ketchup because we like thinner pancakes. If you like a fluffier, loftier pancake, you can add a couple tablespoons of flour to the batter, but make sure it’s still pourable!

Heat your griddle or frying pan until water sizzles on it and carefully butter or oil the surface. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot pan for each pancake, leaving room for it to expand. You can flip the cake when the bubbles that show up on the top pop and don’t fill back in. The second side will cook much faster than the first side, so DO NOT WALK AWAY!

Serve hot! To really ease the morning time crunch, you can also cool these off on a wire rack, stack them separated by waxed paper, and seal in a bag in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat, remove desired number of flapjacks from the freezer to a plate and microwave for about 30 seconds-1 minute, depending on strength of microwave.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/14/best-buttermilk-pancakes-and-make-ahead-mondays-breakfast-highlights/

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Eggs, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

May 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

Back in the day -when I worked early hours as a prep cook and late nights as a slinger of pub grub- I wondered more than once how I’d ever find true love when I always smelled like garlic, onions and a fryolater. It was a valid concern folks… I remember one particularly busy week (the café where I worked was in a tourist town that hosted an insanely well attended annual festival) when I broke apart,  peeled, and minced hundreds of heads of garlic and almost as many onions. I spent hours upon hours on my feet frying onion rings and French fries and Monte Cristo sandwiches and dill pickles. I went to a social event at my college after getting off of my shift without hitting the shower first. I heard no fewer than five people say -as they walked by me- something like, “Woah! Are they making garlic fries? I totally smell garlic fries.” or “Something smells like old oil!”

I  was sure that I had to give up cooking or live a lonely life. As it was, I was looking at it all wrong. I just had to find a man who loved garlic, onions and French fries.

…And find him I did. Well, actually, he found me, but that’s a story for another day. My beloved Evil Genius doesn’t just love garlic, onions and fries, he loves almost all stinky food. In fact, more often than not, the stinkier the better. The day my husband discovered kimchi was one of the happiest days of his life.

Our well-loved and now defunct (sob) favourite restaurant was the scene of that happy day. We sat at our usual table and the owner approached us with a small bowl of some vibrant red salady looking stuff. Since we trusted Mr. Wong, we dug in before asking what it was while he told us, “This is my homemade kimchi!” We were both instantly hooked, but my husband’s love of kimchi was stratospheric.

He started buying kimchi at the local Asian market to keep in our refrigerator for occasional snacks, but soon that wasn’t enough. He would walk across the street from his office to the market to buy containers of their funkiest, bubbliest kimchi to have for lunch in his cubicle.

…Do you see where this is going?…

He ate kimchi in a cube farm. Now, I know they’ve improved cubicles and made them look almost like little pods in very chi-chi offices, but whatever they’ve done, they still don’t have technology to contain smells within the airy vertical confines of a cubicle.

He cracked open the jar of kimchi and almost instantly heard people saying, “Oh my gosh. Do you smell that?” “I think there’s something dead in here. Call maintenance!” He stood up, mouth ringed with red hot pepper sauce, and said, “I don’t smell anything!” and sat back down. This carried on for a few days before his colleagues realized the source of the smell and he was asked, in very specific language, to keep his kimchi in the break room.

The next day he retreated to the lunch room to eat his kimchi. Within minutes, a posse of his co-workers showed up to beg him not to eat it in the office ever again. He offered to share to defuse the situation. They didn’t take him up on it. He was forced to take his kimchi love back underground. He brought his chopsticks and kimchi home and stashed the jar in the fridge mumbling something along the lines of, “This wouldn’t be a problem if we were in Korea. Dangit.”

The man is my soul mate.

I’ll be the first to admit that kimchi is rather odiferous. But people, if you put that aside and taste it your rewards will be many and glorious. It is crispy, spicy, juicy, garlicky and a power-packed-punch of umami. It is, for lack of a better description, spicy Korean sauerkraut. Yes. It is fermented. Sometimes (if you’re really lucky) it’s bubbly and wild. There is nothing better than a jug of kimchi that needs to be stored over a rimmed container to catch bubbling juices.

Now just imagine if you will a bunch of this fabulous stuff chopped up, mixed into a batter and pan fried to form a crispy, savoury snack cake. Hello, gorgeous! That wicked smell that accompanies kimchi transforms into a magical, alluring, irresistible smell when it is cooked. I whipped up a batch of kimchi pancakes at a local church during a children’s cooking class. When I tell you this church is big, that doesn’t begin to tell you the size of the building. People were coming from all over saying, “What smells so good?”, “It smells like the best Chinese restaurant ever in here!”, “Whatever you’re making, can I try it?” There were people who don’t venture past meat and potatoes asking for a taste. It’s like a siren song. It’s like alchemy. It’s like Rumpelstiltskin spinning kimchi into gold. In short, it’s what you want to eat. In abundance. And no one will ask you to leave the building, but they might ask you to share.

 

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Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

Kimchi undergoes a magical transformation in this crispy, savoury snack cake from something for die-hard lovers only to something that even unadventurous eaters want to try. Beware, though, this is so good it's habit forming!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped kimchi
  • 3 tablespoons of kimchi juice (the liquid in which kimchi is packed)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Neutral oil for frying (canola, peanut, grapeseed, vegetable, etc…)
    • Optional:
  • ½ cup cooked peeled shrimp, chopped
  • ½ cup cooked, shredded pork
  • Chopped green onions for garnish

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, stir together all of the ingredients (except for the frying oil) until the mixture is evenly coloured and there are no dry flour spots.

Add about an 1/8-inch coating of neutral oil to a heavy-bottomed 10 to 12-inch skillet (cast-iron or nonstick) over medium high heat. Spread the kimchi pancake batter thinly in the pan and fry until the bottom is crisp and the top is cooked most of the way through (some wet patches of batter, but mostly cooked batter on top.) Carefully flip the pancake using two spatulas for control, then continue cooking the pancake until the underside is crisp and has some charred bits. Flip the pancake over again and cook the first side for 1 minute more.

Serve garnished with chopped green onions whole in a platter for people to pull apart with fingers or chopsticks, or cut into bite sized pieces.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/04/kimchi-pancake-kimchijeon/

 

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Korean Food, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

May 3, 2012 by 28 Comments

I have something special for you today.

Yesterday, I gave you my husband’s all-time favourite entrée. Today, I’m giving you his all-time favourite salad. Tomorrow, I’ll give you his all-time favourite appetizer. If I believed in keeping secret recipes*, these three would be at the top of the list because they make you look so talented when you serve them.

*But I don’t believe in secret recipes or lessipe (leaving out an ingredient or process when sharing a recipe). In fact, you might have to pay me NOT to share a recipe with you. The true joy in food -at least for me- comes from sharing it. Refusing to share a recipe or a crucial step in one is tantamount to blowing a big, fat, wet raspberry at someone when they ask you for help. In other words, it ain’t right.

Here’s the thing; the food looks stunning and tastes amazing but takes so little effort you’ll be left feeling a little funny accepting all the inevitable praise that comes from serving it. For instance, we have the salad pictured above.

This is the recipe equivalent of the town where I spent all of my elementary and middle school and some of my high school years; if you blink you’ll miss it. You slice cucumbers and onions, you pour a couple things on top and toss then refrigerate. Then you eat it. And again, like my small town, if you blink it will be gone. For a salad that is so easy and has so few ingredients, the taste will blow you away. It is clean, fresh, bright and accompanies Japanese Salmon over Linguine beautifully, yes, but it is also good with all sorts of seafood, chicken and pork,  or even stashed on sandwiches in place of pickles.

…Or eaten furtively with a fork straight from the refrigerator while holding the door open with your pajama clad knee. Not that I’ve done that. Today.

Here comes the recipe, don’t you blink!

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Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

This delicate, fresh, vibrant, crisp, marinated cucumber salad is the perfect accompaniment to seafood, chicken and pork dishes.

Ingredients

  • 1 large English (seedless) cucumber, very thinly sliced
  • ¼ of a sweet onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Gently toss together all of the ingredients until everything is evenly coated. Put in a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving. This keeps well, refrigerated for up to 5 days. Gently toss again before serving.

Cooking Notes:

I use a mandoline to slice my cucumber and onion paper thin. If this is not available to you, use the sharpest knife you can and slice as thinly as is possible. It will still be great if you can't get paper thin slices, it just won't be quite as delicate.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/03/asian-marinated-cucumber-salad/

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Japanese Salmon over Linguine

May 2, 2012 by 17 Comments

There are some dishes that come to define special occasions. We have a few of them…

The boys’ birthdays almost inevitably have Sticky Chicky Bones and Pig Tails. Thanksgiving means Cranberry Upside Down Cake and Baked Chocolate Custards. Christmas Eve is our potsticker extravaganza. Easter always brings Bunny Bread. Just as much as we can count on these dishes making an appearance to help mark the passage of the year, I can count on my husband’s response to me asking him what he’d like for his birthday dinner.

“I’d love Japanese Salmon over Linguine, please!”

His answer comes as surely as rain in the spring. Since seeing this dish made on an episode of “Calling All Cooks” over ten years ago, it has become a staple festive dish for us. Almost always served on my husband’s birthday and every so often on Father’s Day, it is also a dish we trot out when we want to serve the best we have to dinner guests.

To be sure, the appearance isn’t as refined as some party foods, but it is lovely in its simple, unfussy appearance. The ease of preparation is a bonus. There isn’t a lick of engineering that goes into the dish, it is as simple to prepare as anything can be. As with many Asian foods, the bulk of the work comes before you turn on the heat under a pan.

When my two eldest boys did the 30 Hour Famine last week, they deliberately ate lightly at the breaking-of-the-fast-feast because they knew that dinner that evening was going to be Japanese Salmon over Linguine. The announcement of it for dinner always elicits happy moans. Even the anti-green-stuff contingent bends their rules and happily shovels green onion flecked salmon to their lips.

That salmon. Boy. It is exceptionally exquisite. Moist, gingery, and garlicky, it cooks gently in a sauce made of its own juices, sake, soy sauce and green onions. The salmon is flaked over cooked linguine piled in a deep bowl and then the glorious pan juices are poured over the whole thing. Then there is silence because silence is the only option available to worshipfully eat a plate full of Japanese Salmon over Linguine.

And if, per chance, you have managed somehow to make enough of the dish to have leftovers, be aware that you will have to fight for them. The chilled, non-reheated leftovers of this dish command bidding wars of the ultimate urgency. People offer to do chores for each other, hand over the remote control for a week, and/or go to bed early on purpose so Mommy can have free time just for the chance to have the last serving. It is really that good.

Cooking Notes:

You want the ginger ground or grated to a paste for the best results in this dish. I find it is easiest to accomplish this by wrapping a piece of fresh ginger root in plastic wrap and freezing overnight before approaching the grater with it. As long as it is reasonably young ginger (one which you could scrape clean of its peel by using the side of a spoon) you don’t even have to bother peeling it before grating it.When it is frozen solid, grate it on the finest section of a box grater or a microplane grater.

The garlic -much like the ginger- should be mashed, grated on a microplane or the finest setting of a box grater, or obliterated in a garlic press. The goal is to have a paste made of the ginger and garlic that you can smear over the fish.

 

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Japanese Salmon over Linguine

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Japanese Salmon over Linguine

This moist, gingery, and garlicky salmon cooks gently in a sauce made of its own juices, sake, soy sauce and green onions. The salmon is flaked over cooked linguine piled in a deep bowl and then the glorious pan juices are poured over the whole thing. This is a true family favourite.

Adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup olive oil (preferably plain olive oil, not extra virgin)
  • 4 skin-on salmon fillets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, grated, mashed to a paste or pushed through a press
  • 2-inch piece of ginger, frozen and then grated
  • 1 bunch green onions (scallions)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sake
  • 1 pound linguine, cooked according to package instructions and drained

Instructions

In a 2 or 4-cup measuring cup, combine the soy sauce and sake. Set aside. Trim the hairy ends from the green onions and slice the green onions quite thinly on an angle. Add the green onions to the soy sauce and sake and use a spoon to toss them, making sure all of the onions are evenly wet.

Pour the olive oil into a 12-inch high-sided skillet with a tight fitting lid. Blot the salmon fillets with a paper towel and then lay the fillets skin side up in the olive oil. Flip the fillets skin side down divide the garlic and ginger evenly among the fillets and rub them gently. Spoon about half of the soy sauce/sake/onion mixture over the fillets, place the lid on the pan and turn the heat on to medium under the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the fillets are cooked most of the way up the sides. Gently flip them, add the remaining soy sauce/sake/onion mixture, replace the lid and continue to cook for another couple of minutes: just until the salmon is opaque all the way through.

Remove the pan from the heat and pull the skin off of the fillets. It should come away quite easily. Discard the skin. Break the salmon up into large pieces and arrange them over the cooked linguine in a serving bowl. Pour the pan juices over the top of the salmon. Serve hot, warm, room temperature or cold.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/02/japanese-salmon-over-linguine/

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Fish, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Main Dish, Party Food, Pasta, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , ,

Whole Wheat Popovers with Greek Yogurt Creme and Strawberries

April 27, 2012 by 9 Comments

Two days ago, I walked into a doctor’s office and paid them to shoot lasers into my eyes. I felt very Jetsons… very Star Trek… very Galaxy Quest. I half expected Dr. Crusher to walk into the room to scan me. My sole disappointment was the utter lack of sound effects accompanying the laser eye procedure. I would’ve paid another few bucks for a good solid “PEWPEWPEW”. One hour later, I walked out of the office in a very chic (ahem) pair of goggles and 20/20 vision for the first time in my entire life.

Woah.

Let me just say that again.

Woah.

Science is cool. Unlike me in my Weird Al t-shirt and goggles. I did my very best Bono impersonation. I think that judging by the sniggers-not-swoons reception that my attempts received, I should leave the rock-starring to Paul David Hewson and Weird Al (who DOES rock, thankyouverymuch) and confine my rocking to the kitchen. And I do rock the kitchen, goggles or no goggles.

Let me tell you, this recipe doesn’t just rock, it rocks. the. Casbah. Popovers are simplicity itself: a simple batter thrown together in the blender, poured into a greased pan, then baked at a high temperature until puffy. You already win when you make popovers, but these are special. These are (wait for it…) HEALTHY! Holy moly. It’s true. These are whole wheat popovers. True, they puff ever so slightly less than their all-purpose counterparts, but the difference is negligible really and what you lose in loft (I promise, it’s not much!) you more than make up for in flavour and health. What in the world does a popover have to do with dessert you ask? Oh boy. You are in for a treat. Whisk together some velvety thick Greek yogurt with a little mild honey, then some lemon zest and lemon juice. That’s easy, right? Pop *open* the pop *overs* and dollop the slightly sweet Greek yogurt creme. Then you gild the lily by spooning some sweet, fragrant strawberries folded into just a little strawberry jam.

I need a moment just luxuriate in that thought. (And to grab a spoon.)

Oh forget the spoon. They’re so last century, and I am clearly space age now. Just take a bite off of one of these…

…And pile in the goodies.

I’m all for progress, even if it means strawberry juice running down my arm. Maybe even especially if it means that. Pardon me, I’m off to go look at things…

 

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Whole Wheat Popovers with Greek Yogurt Creme and Strawberries

Whole Wheat Popovers with Greek Yogurt Creme and Strawberries

Perfect whole-wheat popovers are not a myth! The finished simple, textbook pouffy popovers are honest-to-goodness whole wheat and are filled with a slightly sweet Greek yogurt creme made with honey and lemon. To gild the lily, we spoon sweet strawberries folded into a little strawberry jam over the whole thing. This beautiful and delicious dessert has the added bonus of being healthy! (Pssst. There's no reason to confine this gorgeous dish to desserts. Serve these as an eye and stomach pleasing brunch offering!)

Ingredients

    For the Popovers:
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk (preferably whole)
  • 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces, by weight) white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup (2 1/8 ounces, by weight) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • solid vegetable shortening or non-stick cooking spray for the muffin pan
    • For the Greek Yogurt Creme:
  • 2 cups Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 tablespoons mild honey (clover, orange blossom, etc...)
  • the zest of one lemon (just the yellow part, not the white pith)
  • the juice of half of one lemon
    • For the Berries:
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled (or frozen whole strawberries, thawed)
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam ( preferably this Strawberry Freezer Jam)

Instructions

To Make the Popovers:

Add all of the popover ingredients to the work carafe of a blender in the order listed. Blitz on high for 15 seconds. Stop the blender, remove the lid to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula or scraper, replace the lid, then blitz on high for another 15 seconds, or until perfectly smooth. Put the blender carafe in the refrigerator to rest while preheating the oven to 450°F. It should take at least 15 minutes to preheat your oven, but if it doesn't, let the popover batter continue resting for a minimum of 15 minutes.

While the batter is resting and the oven is preheating, turn your attention to a 12-cup muffin pan. Use a paper towel to generously grease the wells and the top of the muffin pan. Be sure to grease the entire upper surface of the pan. Popovers have a tendency to spread while they puff upward and it's a sad, sad thing to lose a popover because you can't get it out of the pan.

When the oven has reached 450°F, divide the popover batter between the muffin cups evenly. This should fill them approximately 2/3 full. Carefully slide the pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat of the oven to 350°F and continue baking for 10 minutes more. Do not open that oven door at any point before the full baking time is complete. You will cry a thousand salty tears of regret.

After the full baking time is done, remove the pan from the oven, let the popovers rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn them out onto a cooling rack. These taste best when served still warm, but are still delicious at room temperature.

To Prepare the Greek Yogurt Creme:

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the creme until smooth. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

To Prepare the Berry Topping:

Gently break up the strawberry jam with a fork in a medium sized mixing bowl. Fold in the strawberries.

To Assemble the Dessert:

Slice or gently pull a popover in half. Dollop a generous amount of the Greek Yogurt Creme on the bottom half, position the top half over it and spoon the strawberry topping over the whole thing. Serve immediately!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/27/whole-wheat-popovers-with-greek-yogurt-creme-and-strawberries/

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Comfort Food, Desserts, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Holiday Food, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches | Make Ahead Mondays

April 23, 2012 by 17 Comments

I’ve been very listy lately. By that, I don’t mean I’m leaning markedly to one side but rather that I’ve been the Queen of List Making. This is how I keep track of what I’ve done and what I have to do. I’ve tried journal or diary keeping several times over the years and ended up destroying them within weeks of having written them because honestly?  I don’t want to read what I was thinking three weeks ago let alone three years or three decades ago. Egads. That’s why time moves on. Onward and upward.  But I was talking about lists…

Lists are the non-journaler’s way to keep track of what is/was/and will be.  They’re impersonal. They’re mysterious. You can enter things on a list like “Go you-know-where with you-know-who and buy you-know-what.” And there’s rarely a concern if someone else stumbles upon your lists. The chances of embarrassing secrets being discovered (like that time you sneezed and blew a giant booger onto the back of that old man’s head in church, hypothetically speaking) are low-to-nil. Ah lists.

I’ve heard it said that control freaks are list makers. I take issue with that. In fact, I have a joke to illustrate my point. Ready?

Me:  Knock Knock

You: (Who’s there?)

Me: Control Freak. NOW YOU SAY CONTROL FREAK WHO.

See? I don’t have any control issues at all. (As long as people do what I say.) Sigh. Lists are practical tools. I keep track of my grocery needs, appointments, assignments for the kids, things that need to be done, books I want to read, books I have read, and more.

But lists don’t have to be practical. That’s right. Sometimes lists are fun. Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. Take this list, for example.

Things that always go together:

  • Raspberries + Chocolate
  • Peanut Butter + Chocolate
  • Peanut Butter + Jelly
  • Pickles + Ice Cream (Before you ask, let me assure you I’m not pregnant. But they DO go together. Try ‘em.)
  • Potato Chips + Tuna Fish Sandwiches
  • Pizza + Wings
  • Eggs + Spinach
  • Eggs + Hot Sauce
  • Eggs + Toast
  • Eggs + Cheese

It’s true. Those are matches made in heaven. Here on Earth, you don’t always get the best results when you combine these über-couples. I mean you wouldn’t really want Raspberries + Chocolate + Pickles + Ice Cream.  (Think Jennifer Aniston + Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie. That didn’t go well, did it?) But there are those occasions when the sum of combined heavenly matches is greater than all its parts. I refer, of course, to the supreme combination of Eggs + Spinach + Hot Sauce + Toast + Cheese.

*Insert choir of heavenly angels here. Alison Krauss is an acceptable substitute.*

What you get when you put all those dreamy-on-their-own combos together is the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwich. This sandwich is not served with a side of hyperbole. It really is superior not only in flavour, but also in convenience and thrift. Let me list the ways:

  1. The most prep you have to do is grate a little cheese and mince a little onion.
  2. What we have here is a wicked cheap recipe that makes a large amount and stores well.
  3. Hey! It’s good for you! Start breakfast out with vegetables, eggs, cheese and whole grain toast. Win/Win/Win/Win!
  4. It takes about ten minutes of hands on time to prepare ten to twelve breakfasts worth of the egg filling for the sandwich.
  5. Those portions, when frozen, keep for up to six months.
  6. …And furthermore, they take one and a half minutes to heat in the microwave while you’re making toast. (Alternatively, heat in the oven on toast for thirty minutes. Your choice!)
  7. I mentioned they were wicked cheap, but I’d like to re-emphasize that. We’re talking about in the neighborhood of ten dollars worth of materials to make ten to twelve very generous servings. So let’s call that one dollar (or less) per serving, shall we? That’s fabulous.
  8. My kids are each capable of grabbing an egg portion from the freezer and heating it in the microwave while making their own toast and rousting out the bottle of hot sauce. In other words, I get longer with my cup of tea because they can do it themselves!
  9. With a stack of these egg portions in the freezer, I don’t have to think in the morning. Believe me when I tell you that is a very good thing. At least until I have the third cup of tea on board.
  10. Finally -and most importantly- they’re just plain delicious and satisfying. They keep you full and happy for hours compared to a bowl of cold cereal or a breakfast bar.

By the way, lists are an extremely helpful way to keep track of your Make Ahead Mondays projects. Did you whip up Soup Dumplings, Pulled Pork, Meatballs, Mini Fruit Pies and Sloppy Joes? Make a list and post it to the front (or top, as the case may be) of your freezer. Cross off each item as you use it or make a note that you’re getting low. Control freak who?

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Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches | Make Ahead Mondays

Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches | Make Ahead Mondays

Hearty, healthy, frugal and filling, these simple egg and spinach breakfast sandwiches are the happy combination of a spinach, egg and cheese bake that is made ahead of time and frozen in individual portions. When it's time to eat, just reheat as many portions as you need. What a great way to start the day!

Ingredients

    To Make the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:
  • 2 dozen eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 cups fresh baby or tender spinach leaves, pre-washed or washed and dried
  • 3 cups grated Cheddar, Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack Cheese (or a blend)
  • 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup finely minced onion
  • freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
  • nonstick cooking spray or softened butter for the pan
    • To Make Each Breakfast Sandwich:
  • 1 piece of the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake
  • 2 pieces of bread, toasted ( English Muffin Bread is an obvious choice! )
  • hot sauce to taste

Instructions

To Make the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Generously butter a 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch baking pan or spray well with non-stick cooking spray. Be sure to get the corners and sides well, too.

Evenly distribute the spinach leaves over the bottom of the prepared pan. Scatter the onions over the spinach, then about half of the grated cheese and set aside.

Crack all of the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of milk and use a whisk to beat together until the mixture is an even colour. Pour gently and evenly over the spinach, onions and cheese. You can gently shake the pan a little from side to side to get the egg to fill in spaces around the spinach leaves if necessary. Scatter the remaining grated cheese over the top and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center (no longer liquidy, but they can still have just a little shimmy to them.) and golden brown around the edges and in places on top.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before using a knife or thin spatula to run around the edges and loosen the cooked egg. Lay a cutting board on top and invert the pan and board carefully together. The egg should come out (mostly) in one piece. Allow it to cool for 10 more minutes before slicing into 10 to 12 pieces. I like bigger sandwiches, so I tend to cut it into 10 pieces. For a more delicate sandwich, cut into 12 pieces.

To Eat a Sandwich Right Away:

Place one piece of the egg bake on one piece of toast, drizzle with hot sauce to taste, top with the remaining piece of toast and eat! These are nice and moist, so you may wish to wrap one end of the sandwich with a towel or paper towel.

To Freeze the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:

Place a single layer of plastic wrap down on a tray or pan. Use a spatula to arrange the pieces of egg bake on the plastic wrap with a little space between them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in the freezer until solid. When they are firmly frozen, wrap each piece of egg bake with plastic wrap.

Transfer the wrapped pieces to a resealable freezer bag. Mark the date and contents and freeze for up to 6 months.

To Reheat the Frozen Egg Bake and Make a Sandwich:

Unwrap one piece of egg bake, place on a plate and cover loosely with the plastic wrap that contained it in the freezer. Heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on HIGH in the microwave. Remove plastic wrap, carefully move the egg bake to a piece of toast (because it will be hot!), drizzle with hot sauce, and top with the remaining piece of toast. Happy Breakfast!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/23/supreme-spinach-and-egg-breakfast-sandwiches-make-ahead-mondays/

 

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Eggs, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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