Make Ahead Mondays

Green Olive Tapenade | Make Ahead Mondays {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

January 14, 2013 by Rebecca 102 Comments

I love rich and indulgent food. I love butter, heavy cream, all manner of bread, bacon and the like. I also love healthy food. It all depends on what is going on, what’s freshest and what’s available to me. After the holiday food madness, my food pendulum tends to swing a little further toward the healthier food cravings. I’m more likely to have a desperate desire for broiled fish than a buttery chocolate custard. It has nothing to do with resolutions, because I’ve never been a New Year’s resolution girl; that’s just how I am this time of year.

Don’t misunderstand me; my taste buds have not taken a leave of absence. I still want delicious food. This is where I rely on bold flavours that deliver big like this Green Olive Tapenade. Indulge me for a moment if you’re a tapenade-aholic while I dig into what it is for the benefit of those who haven’t yet tried this ambrosia.

Tapenade -in it’s most traditional form- is a spread or dip made of black olives with capers and anchovies. It is served with bread or crackers or added as a fast-and-easy WHIZZBANG flavour component to sandwiches, flat-breads and many other dishes. For instance, I love a light layer of tapenade atop the aforementioned broiled fish. It’s the difference between plain old broiled fish and “Oooooh! Broiled Fish!”

While I am an Equal Opportunity Tapenade Lover, there is a special place in my heart and in my stomach for Green Olive Tapenade. I chalk this up to the fact that I didn’t discover a love of green olives until I was pregnant with my first child. It’s a matter of mathematics. I must make up for time lost NOT eating things with green olives by eating many things with green olives. I believe my physicist baby sister would agree with this theory. Let’s ask her. Airlia? Are you reading this?

My Green Olive Tapenade is extra fabulous for more than one reason, though. While the traditional tapenade is almost entirely made of salty preserved things (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Believe me, I’ve consumed and will continue to consume more than my share of the stuff…) I like to make mine more exciting with the addition of fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and flavourful sun-dried tomatoes. It practically sings from the bowl, “I waaaaaaant you to want me. I neeeeeeeeeeed you to need me!”

Please tell me food sings songs from the 80′s to you, too.

In addition to all it’s deliciousness, tapenade has some health benefits. It’s true! Olives are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. These are the good fats that help control cholesterol and blood sugar. Don’t you love it when great food is great for you?

Now, before I give you this ultimate Make Ahead Monday fabulousness (because once made, the Green Olive Tapenade is good for up to a month when tightly covered in the refrigerator. Tapenade things with wild abandon!) I will put on a dazzling display of mind reading. I sense it deep in my core that the second I said ‘anchovies’ some folks started pulling faces. No nose twitching allowed unless you’re certifiably allergic to fish. Anchovies add that certain je ne sais quois to dishes. Since all the ingredients are chopped or ground together, I defy you to find the presence of anchovy in tapenade. While you won’t be able to say, “A-HA! I taste ANCHOVY!” if you include the wee little fishies, you will most certainly know you’re missing a certain depth of flavour if you omit them. Take the plunge, or your tapenade attempt will sleep with Luca Brasi AND the fishes.

Please make yourself a batch of Green Olive Tapenade. You’re going to want to have it on hand for an impossibly easy and delicious Super Bowl treat I’ll be sharing with you in the next couple of weeks. You really won’t want to miss it!

Green Olive Tapenade | Make Ahead Mondays {GIVEAWAY}

Rating: 51

Green Olive Tapenade | Make Ahead Mondays {GIVEAWAY}

Your taste buds will sing for joy when you eat this fast, delicious Green Olive Tapenade full of briny olives and capers, fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and flavourful sun-dried tomatoes.

Serve as an accompaniment to bread, crackers, crisps, vegetables or use as a topping for fish, chicken, pork. A spoonful or two tossed with hot pasta is one of the world's fastest comfort food dishes!

Ingredients

2 cups drained Manzanilla olives with pimientos
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons brined capers + a little of their brine
7 anchovy fillets (from a can of packed-in-olive-oil anchovies)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped, oil-packed sun dried tomatoes
the juice and zest of one whole lemon
3 fresh basil leaves
1/2 to 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced or pressed

Instructions

Add all ingredients to the workbowl of a food processor* (See Note) fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until everything is evenly chopped. You can leave it more coarse for spooning on top of things or grind it up a little more to use as a dip or sauce. It is a matter of personal preference.

Notes

If you do not have a food processor, don't fret! Finely chop your herbs and sun-dried tomatoes then add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and use a sturdy spoon to smash them together. It will be a more rustic but no less delicious tapenade!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/14/green-olive-tapenade-make-ahead-mondays-giveaway/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Update:The giveaway is now closed. Pick a Giveaway Winner chose Katee L as our random winner. Check your email and congratulations, Katee!

More giveaway fun! Wasa Crispbreads (pictured above with the Green Olive Tapenade) have offered to help kickstart one Foodie with Family reader’s holiday foods reset. The crispbread’s pure, natural grain flavours shine through ready to be topped with anything you wish, whether salty or sweet. Because the crispbreads themselves are not salted, they are a superior choice for serving with salty Green Olive Tapenade and other savoury spreads. My kids also love them topped with cream cheese and candied jalapeños or blueberry jam.

Wasa is giving away the following prize package to one Foodie with Family reader in the United States.

1 $25 gift card (That would buy enough ingredients for a VAT of Green Olive Tapenade!)
2 packages of Wasa Crispbreads so you can discover your own favourite way to eat them.

How do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment on this post telling me what you do to reset after the holidays. Do you do resolutions? Do you crave healthy foods? Are you still doing holiday activities?

Optional Entries: (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each optional entry method used so we can be sure to count it!)

Like Foodie with Family on Facebook.
Follow Foodie with Family on Twitter.
Follow Foodie with Family’s boards on Pinterest.
Like Wasa on Facebook.
Follow Wasa on Twitter.

The winner will be chosen at random and announced here on this post on Wednesday, January 16, 2013. Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: Wasa provided crispbreads for me to review and compensation for my additional ingredients, but all opinions are -as always- my own.

Filed Under: Condiments, Happy Healthy and Wise, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Instant Vanilla Chai Mix | Make Ahead Mondays

December 10, 2012 by Rebecca 21 Comments

Tea has a way -unlike coffee- of making time slow down just a bit. This time of year and this season of life, I feel like time needs all the slowing down I can possibly get.

I’m trying, with varying degrees of success, to accomplish parenting and homeschooling five boys (two of whom are teenagers), being a good wife, running a home based business, maintaining a free-lance writing career including a newspaper column, participating in my community and its activities, and keeping in touch with family and friends.

God bless my friends. They are a patient lot. For some reason or another, my time management skills lately have been more strained than usual. In fact, I committed the unpardonable friendship sin.

I forgot a commitment and it’s even worse than it sounds.

My whole family -all SEVEN of us- were invited to dine with our friends Tim and Shannon and their four kids up the road. I asked Shannon what I could bring, and she sweetly informed me that she was making the whole thing. DINNER FOR THIRTEEN PEOPLE. I balked. I insisted she let me bring a pot of beans and some homemade salsa to go with the pulled pork she would be slow cooking. The plans were set. Later that week we would show up, beans and salsa in hand, and enjoy a friendly dinner all together.

Two days before our dinner date, I spoke with Shannon on the phone and she told me how another friend had forgotten to come to dinner one night and her kids were so disappointed. I talked about times it had happened to us and we commiserated. Are you feeling some foreshadowing here? Ugh.

The day of our dinner arrived and I completely forgot what I was supposed to be doing that evening. I was running late on a couple of writing deadlines, so after finishing school with the kids, I sat down -nose to the grindstone- and finished what was due. I submitted them, tidied the kitchen and started working on two other recipes I was developing that would be due in the next week or so. My husband called and uncharacteristically offered to bring home something for dinner. I jumped on it, ran some errands I had promised other folks I would run, then came back to finish the work I’d started. The Evil Genius arrived home -late!- with dinner in hand. We all descended on it like locusts. I settled in to go through our new healthcare plan papers that were due the next day and the kids hollered, “Someone’s in the driveway… It’s Mr. Tim!”

… You know those scenes in movies where one thing suddenly comes into sharp focus and the rest of the background drops away in a blur? Yeah. That’s how I looked at my friend.

Tim had come down the road because to top everything else off, our phone had been busy for two days because of a problem with the line.

In that moment, all my friend cred washed down the driveway with the light rain that was falling. I felt like a giant jerk. I gathered the kids, pulled a brush through my hair and said we were coming up anyway. Half an hour late and fed. In their kitchen, our troops rallied at the sight of the beautiful meal Shannon had prepared for us. Our kids played together beautifully, and I apologized profusely.

What I wouldn’t have given at that moment for a time machine. Something that would’ve granted me extra time during the day so that I could actually consult my calendar (where the date was written in Sharpie marker) and think about what I was supposed to get done that day. Isn’t that the kicker? It was written down!

I took that as a sign that I needed to find a way to make more time in my holiday season. I’m partnering with Frigidaire who has invented -wait for it- a TIME MACHINE. Not an H.G. Wells type of time machine, granted, but it’s a time machine nonetheless. Frigidaire is giving the gift of time, both in the form of gifts to enjoy time and actual Frigidaire appliances! There are daily, weekly and grand prizes. The daily prizes are indulgences like spa gift cards, the weekly prizes are honest-to-goodness Frigidaire Double-Oven Ranges (Oh, how I’d love one of these!), and the grand prize? Sit down, please. Someone is going to win an ENTIRE SUITE OF FRIGIDAIRE APPLIANCES. Seriously, that would be a gift to remember, wouldn’t it? Click on over to the Frigidaire app on Facebook and play to win! They have some hilarious free cheer cards you can post on Facebook, Twitter or email to friends and family, too.

That is so true I almost shudder a bit…

I have a little gift of time for you, too! Foodie with Family is powered by tea, glorious tea: morning, noon and night, loose leaf, bagged and instant. I just plain can’t get enough tea. I have a tea for every occasion and whim and I love it that way. Most days, I start the morning off with a stiff black tea- something of which the purists would approve. As the day goes on, I sip on black tea blends, mixes and then move into herbal teas like lemongrass and my perennial favourite, Sleepytime Tea.

When time is short, and I have a hankering for something sweet and warming, I reach for my homemade Instant Vanilla Chai mix. It’s satisfyingly homey. It reminds me of the store-bought instant chai mixes, takes mere minutes to put together and yields enough for a generous jar for yourself and gifts for your favourite tea lovers without breaking the bank. How can you beat that? With the time you save making this for gifts, you can scoot over to the Frigidaire Time Machine and be entered to win that sweet suite of Frigidaire appliances.

As for me? I’m probably going to take a couple jars of this up the road to my friend along with a big hug.

Instant Vanilla Chai Mix | Make Ahead Mondays

Creamy, spiced, sweet instant vanilla chai mix hits the spot when you want something warming and satisfying in a hurry! As usual, homemade beats store bought hands-down!

Portioned into small jars with gift cards or instructions on the label, this chai mix makes a unique and affordable holiday or hostess gift for the chai and tea lovers in your life!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups instant unsweetened tea powder (I use Nestea.)
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup non-fat instant dry milk powder
1 cup plain non-dairy creamer powder
1 cup French vanilla or vanilla non-dairy creamer powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (This is optional, but makes the chai spicier.)
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Process 1 cup at a time in pulses in a blender or food processor until it is a fine powdery consistency much like powdered sugar. Wait until the dust in the blender or processor dies down before removing the lid, then spoon into airtight containers for storage. Repeat until all of the mixture has been finely powdered.

Tightly covered, this mix is good for 6 months to a year, stirring every so often to prevent clumping.

For Gift Giving:

Divide the powdered mix between small 4 or 8 ounce jars. Label jars with instructions on how to prepare the chai.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/12/10/instant-vanilla-chai-mix-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

This post is sponsored by Frigidaire. I received monetary compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Beverages, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, Christmas, family-friendly, frugal gifts, kid friendly, quick and easy, seasonal, Vegetarian

Salted Caramel Corn | Make Ahead Mondays {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

December 3, 2012 by Rebecca 280 Comments

Update: The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose Christi P. as the winner of the Whirly Pop and Coconut Oil. Look for the email I’ve sent you, Christi! I can’t even wait for you to get to try these things. Congratulations!

My Grandma is one of my biggest cooking heroes. She has spent the majority of her life feeding people. My Grandpa, her husband, was a pastor who couldn’t walk away from someone who looked hungry, and everyone looked hungry to Grandpa. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that one of my most treasured possessions is my collection of recipe cards handwritten for me by Grandma in my first years of marriage. There is just nothing to compare to road-tested recipes written by the hand of someone you love bigger than the bay. The only drawback? Well, maybe I get just a touch weepy whenever I make her recipes. In other words? I weep a lot.

The recipe I’m sharing today is a holiday staple. I only allow myself to make it from December first through January thirty first because otherwise I’d be the size of a house. We give bags of this to friends, Romans and countrymen. In other other words? We give it to EVERYONE. If you walk near my house in Advent, you’re getting a bag full of Salted Caramel Corn shoved in your hands. It’s just the way we do things, because it’s how Grandma does it.

And since we’re talking about Grandma, let me tell you, she was ahead of her time. Grandma was doing Salted Caramel WAY before anyone else. As in decades. When salted caramel hit the food scene I was all, “What? You mean other people DIDN’T salt their caramel?” Honestly. I was agog. Aghast. Alarmed. Arsey-versey. Shall I stop now? Please say yes. I’m all out of words that mean agape that begin with ‘A’. Oh, no I didn’t. Oh yes, I did… Astounded, awestruck, astonished, amazed…

We were, however, talking SALTED Caramel Corn. On the back of the recipe card, Grandma wrote about the final step of the process, “This is what makes it crisp and it does not stick to your teeth-” I’m neither an orthodontist nor have I played one on t.v., but many of my kids’ braces wearing friends are able to eat this with no issues! If you’re looking for a caramel corn that fits the bill for your favourite dental appliance sporting pals, this is the one!

Think of this as the ultimate in caramel corn. It’s perfectly caramelled (new word. I made it up), just a touch salty, crispy and not at all sticky and is totally simple to make. I promise you many accolades and much affection (more ‘A’ words!) if you make a batch of two of these to give away. Here’s where ‘Make Ahead Mondays’ comes into play. This caramel corn is good for about ten days after it’s made. One batch makes roughly eight quarts. Make a batch, bag it up and give it away for the next few days. If it starts softening a bit, crisp it up in a 250°F oven for a few minutes. This is a room-temperature storage item. You want to spread some joy? ” The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear” AND give them a bag of this stuff. I’m pretty sure Buddy would approve. (My final ‘A’ word.)

If you want to try a sample of this good stuff, I’ll be selling it as a fundraiser for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer at the 26th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair at Houghton College in Houghton, New York tomorrow (Tuesday, December 4th) and Wednesday the 5th. Come on down and see me!

Salted Caramel Corn | Make Ahead Mondays

There is nothing that can compare to Grandma's Salted Caramel Corn with its brown sugar, nutty browned butter and touch of salt. Grandma is a genius.

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 quarts plain (unseasoned, unsalted) popcorn in a very large mixing bowl

Instructions

Line 2 half-sheet pans with silpats, parchment paper or non-stick foil. Preheat oven to 250°F.

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. It will foam up big time! Don't worry, it's to be expected.

Pour the molten caramel over the popped corn in the bowl and stir gently but thoroughly to evenly coat the popcorn. Split the popcorn between the two prepared pans and spread it out evenly. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, stirring well every 15 minutes. Grandma says "Watch it closely during baking to ensure it doesn't stick and burn. If it tends to do this, lower the temp a tad. This step is what makes it crisp and it does not stick to your teeth!"

Let the caramel corn cool on the pan (if it is sufficiently done, you'll hear it crackling as it cools!), then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/12/03/salted-caramel-corn-giveaway-and-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Now the GIVEAWAY! This one is sponsored by ME! Just me! No one else! Several years ago, my Aunt Molly sent my family a Whirly Pop. Have you ever heard of one of these? I hadn’t until she sent me one. It is, in short, the ULTIMATE popcorn popper. It’s a funky pan with built in stirring mechanism that makes up to SIX QUARTS of theatre style popcorn in under THREE MINUTES. I’m telling you, this is on the short list of things I would replace the same day if it broke, not that I see it breaking any time soon. Honestly, folks… it has a 25 year warranty on all moving parts. Can you beat that? We’ve put this thing through its paces for almost seven years and it’s still going strong! We seriously use this every. single. day. Sometimes we eat three batches a day! Oh! And you can make the best kettle corn of all time in these bad boys, too!

It is so much more inexpensive and incredibly healthier to pop your popcorn this way. Plain bagged popcorn is FAR less costly than and contains none of the weird, nasty preservatives found in the microwave stuff. You can get away with using much less oil when using the Whirly Pop than you would using a big pot on the stove. It’s pretty much the best way ever to make popcorn.

So here’s what I’m giving away. ONE WHIRLY POP…

and ONE JAR OF EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL.

Believe me, you haven’t had popcorn until you’ve had it popped with coconut oil in a Whirly Pop.

Here’s how to enter! (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry method you use so each one is counted!)

Mandatory Entry:

What’s your favourite popcorn topping? Hot sauce? Plain old salt? Sardines? (What? Could happen!) Nutritional yeast? Talk to me!

Optional Entries:

Like Foodie with Family on facebook.

Follow Foodie with Family on Instagram.

Follow Foodie with Family on Pinterest.

Follow Foodie with Family on Twitter.

Tweet the following, “I want to win a Whirly Pop and coconut oil for the perfect popcorn from @foodiewithfam ”

Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by me and paid for by me. Sadly, I can’t ship this package outside of the continental US, so this giveaway is only open to residents of the aforementioned!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Desserts, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, Christmas, Christmas cookies, dessert, family-friendly, Food gifts, frugal gifts, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Slow-Cooker Asian Beef | Make Ahead Mondays

November 19, 2012 by Rebecca 15 Comments

Let me tell you about my friend, Robyn. She’s gorgeous, brilliant, talented, kind, warm-hearted, and has a seriously adorable family. Robyn is good people, people. All that’s impressive enough, right? Well, the woman can cook, too. She posted the most incredible looking Balsamic Roast Beef recipe a few of weeks ago and I about fell out of my chair it sounded so good.

In fact, her recipe is on that short list of ones that have sounded so darned good that I had to make it the minute I read it. Literally. As in, I stood up, unplugged my laptop and moved to the kitchen to begin making it AS I was reading it. I made that roast twice in one week.

…Then the third time I started making it (Yes, three time in two weeks. What?!? Me? Obsess much?) I realized I was out of a couple of ingredients. I preserved Robyn‘s method and played around with the stuff I always have handy. In this house, that usually means going Asian directions with recipes. The result was fah-hah-haaabulous.

It was so delicious I stood there pulling piece after piece off of the fall-apart tender beef dunking it into the pan juices and slurping it up. I dare not admit how much of it I consumed. I’ll just say that my husband came in the room to find out from whence the delectable aroma was coming and said, “Oh, I guess it was a small-ish roast?”

It was four pounds.

Ahem.

Yeah, so. The point is that it’s not just good, it’s great. If you have more willpower than I do, or start with a larger roast than I did, leftovers store and freeze, and reheat beautifully.

Slow-Cooker Asian Beef | Make Ahead Mondays

This succulent, spicy and just-a-little-sweet Asian beef is almost sinfully easy to prepare in the slow-cooker -no pre-browning, extensive preparation or complicated sauces- yet somehow yields incredibly deep flavours. It's good enough to serve to company.

Adapted gently from and with many thanks to the lovely Robyn Stone of Addapinch.com

Ingredients

1 3-4 pound boneless top round or bottom round beef roast
1 cup beef or chicken broth
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey plus 2 tablespoons, divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce, depending on heat preference.
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed with the side of a knife, depending on how garlicky you like things.
1 (2-inch) piece of ginger, lightly smashed with the side of a knife or a mallet

Instructions

Place the beef roast in the crock of a slow-cooker. Scatter the ginger and garlic cloves over and around the beef. Stir together the broth, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of the honey, the soy and fish sauces, and the chili garlic sauce and pour over the beef roast. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or LOW for 6-8 hours or until the beef is fork tender.

Carefully transfer the beef to a casserole dish or a large bowl. Pour the juices from the slow cooker into a small saucepan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey and bring to a boil over high heat. You can reduce by as much as 3/4, just keep in mind the flavours will intensify the more you reduce it. While that is boiling, use two forks to shred the beef as finely as you wish.

You may pour the reduced pan juices directly over the beef or serve as a sauce to be used at the table. We like to pour it directly over the beef, toss it, and serve over Spicy Asian Broccoli and hot rice.

To Freeze and Reheat Leftovers:

Put leftover meat and pan juices in a freezer-safe bag. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can before sealing and freeze flat. To reheat, empty the contents of a bag into a microwave or oven safe dish. Heat covered (by plastic in the microwave or foil in the oven) at a moderate temperature (75% in the microwave or 350°F in the oven) just until heated through.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/19/slow-cooker-asian-beef-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy

Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

October 29, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

I mentioned in my Cuban Sandwiches post that my mom, Free Range Nana, and my sister, Jessamine, and I went to Cornell University to visit my baby sister, Airlia.

What I failed to mention in that post is that Airlia is not just my sister, she is a braniac. Want proof? Here she is outside of the building where she has most of her classes and spends most of her free time.

That’s right folks. Nanoscale science. My sister is a PHYSICS major at Cornell University. She is currently building a machine to reduce light to its smallest state. As in visible only as a mere particle. Need another example? This is the stuff she does for fun:

I took this picture understanding NOTHING of what was on there except the word torque. For some reason, the word torque has always cracked me up. Anyone else have words that crack them up? No? I’ll be quiet now.

The point is this. She spends her FREE TIME in the LAB. Do we even need to discuss what I did with my free time in college? It’s probably best if we don’t.

Airlia took us all over campus…

And I DO mean all over campus. Up the slope, down the slope, up the slope again, up the one hundred and sixty one steps into the clock tower to watch a chimes concert, into libraries…

The stacks made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. At least until Free Range Nana and Airlia almost got us kicked out of the library for giggling and I almost got us kicked out for sloshing a cup full of ice water as I tried to walk ever so silently after reading the big old SHHHHHHHHHH sign. I failed.

Don’t blink. The angels have the library… Heh. Oh come on. I have to have at least ONE reader that loves Doctor Who.

Uncharacteristically, Jessamine didn’t do ANYTHING to get us kicked out of the library. She behaved like a saint, but only in the library. She looks downright beatified right here.

Then all bets were off… I can’t even tell you what she’s saying here. It is so not ‘G’ rated. She took her naughty vitamins before leaving home that day.

Gosh, I do love my sisters.

We got to see Airlia’s favourite study spots and her dorm from last year. As we stood in a study hall in the old dorm, she pointed down through the trees and said casually, “That’s where I get Julio fries.”

“Julio-whats?” I asked.

“Julio fries. They’re fries tossed with Red Hot and oregano.”

Go on. Seriously? Are you all aware of my Frank’s Red Hot fixation? If not, let me just say this… by this point in life, I should own stock in the company. It’s not the hottest or fanciest hot sauce, by far, but it is like your best friend for life… you always know it’s there and you can trust it to do what it’s supposed to do.

You know I beat a hot path down to Louie’s lunch truck, trying to act all casual so I wouldn’t embarrass the Rocket Scientist who is my little sister. I didn’t want her to be forever associated with that crazy woman who sprinted down the hill in not-sensible high boots and stood panting at the window of Louie’s Lunch. I was chill. I did a run-walk instead of a sprint.

These Julio Fries are the brainchild of Louie’s Lunch truck on Cornell’s main campus. Louie, whoever he was, was a genius. Red Hot is a vinegar based hot sauce and vinegar is a natch with fries, right? So hot vinegar? Hubba hubba. And I don’t know WHY he put oregano in there, but I’m AWFULLY glad he did, because holy moly. I thought Red Hot was great the way it was, but I don’t know if I’ll ever eat it sans oregano again. It’s the flavour component that I didn’t even know was missing.

Airlia showed us the proper Julio fries eating technique. Yes. She was down by the school yard. Help me out here people. Tell me someone is a Paul Simon fan…

At least Airlia thinks I’m funny. And while I’m no nanoparticle scientist, my little sis thinks I’m pretty smart, too. Especially after I told her as soon as I got home I set to work and figured out the perfect ratio for making our own Julio sauce and then doused a big old batch of crispy tater tots with it. In fact, she called me brilliant.

I’m just going to revel in that for a moment or two. Okay, I’m going to revel in that with the aid of some Julio tots…

In the spirit of scientific inquiry -because I felt so inspired by the trip to Cornell- I did a little experiment with the Julio Sauce and the tots. One bowl had the pre-doused tots. The other had nekkid tots next to a big bowl of Julio Sauce for dipping purposes.

We put on very serious faces and sampled the pre-doused ones then dipped nekkid ones.

The consensus was that we preferred dipping the tots vs. pre-soaking them. They stayed crispier thatta way. Hey Louie! Sauce on the side- is it an option?

God love Louie and his sauce.

Go make yourself some Julio Sauce. It’s what smart people eat.

Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

Julio Sauce is my take on the classic Cornell University dish and sauce served by Louie's Lunch- Julio Fries. The vinegar based hot sauce mixed with oregano adds a burst of flavour to fries -to be sure- but it's also fantastic on all potato dishes. We loved them on tots, home fries and baked potatoes. What will you douse with Julio Sauce?

Ingredients

For Julio Sauce:

3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 heaping tablespoon dry oregano leaves

For Julio Tots:

1 bag frozen tater tots

Instructions

To Make the Julio Sauce:

Add the Red Hot and oregano to a container with a tight fitting lid. Fix the lid firmly in place and shake. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months.

To Make Julio Tots:

Prepare frozen tater tots according to package instructions but cook them long enough to be terminally crispy. Super crunchy. Make 'em make noise when you bite 'em is what I'm saying.

Transfer hot, crunchy tots to a bowl and either serve with a side of Julio Sauce for dipping or pour over the tots for a softer dish.

Don't you feel smarter already?

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/29/julio-sauce-and-julio-tots-make-ahead-mondays-cornell-university-food-truck-style/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, food gift, party food, quick and easy, seasonal, Snacks, Vegetarian

Big Batch Crisp Topping and Any Fruit Crisps | Make Ahead Mondays

October 8, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Desserts are the big to-do. The thing over which you slave for hours or -in some cases- even days and present with a flourish to ooooohs and aaaahs. I’m as guilty of that as the next food-obsessed gal, from time to time.

But really? Desserts are supposed to be a relaxing thing. Grab a spoon or a fork, a plate or a bowl of the good stuff, plop down somewhere comfortable and give a good ahhhhhhhh. They’re supposed to feed your soul without taxing it first. In fact, ‘DESSERTS’ are ‘STRESSED’ spelled backwards. Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

I’m going through my day getting done what needs to be done. I make dinner and think to myself, “Oh, we don’t need dessert tonight. We have a big dinner and that’ll do the job.” Then after dinner, when it’s just me and my honey sitting on the couch, I think, “I wish I’d made dessert. I could go for something a little sweet right now.”

Is anyone with me? I know it can’t be just us with should’ve-made-dessert regrets. ‘No desserts’ backwards is ‘stressed on’. See?

I have a solution.

Make a big batch of crisp topping -essentially, this is sugar, oats, flour, a little spice and a lot of butter- drop it into canning jars or other airtight containers and pop it in the freezer.

When you hit the dessert-regret stage of the evening, fill a little ramekin or two or a big pan with fresh fruit or even canned pie filling. In a pinch, you could put jam in the ramekins.

Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice (How to Freeze Rice) | Make Ahead Mondays

October 1, 2012 by Rebecca 4 Comments

My husband doesn’t like curry. …Or at least he SAYS he doesn’t like curry. He claims it makes him belchy. (Since when did that deter him, I ask…) This is one of my eternal frustrations because I do like it. A lot. It goes both ways. My husband adores angel hair pasta cooked past al dente served with piles and piles of meat sauce. I say this is sloppy joes on pretend pasta. Ah, love; it’s not all wine and roses. Sometimes it’s burps and mushy noodles. The important thing is that we both recognize that we don’t have to have the last word.

I question how much my husband actually dislikes curry, though, because over the years I have featured at least four recipes in our regular rotation that lean heavily on curry whether in powder or paste form. One of them is one of the most popular posts ever here on Foodie With Family. Another is one of our family favourites and a prize winner. I think it’s more accurate to say that he’s picky about curry. I don’t blame him. In my opinion, the balance of curry is easy to mess up. It can go from complex and tantalizing to muddy and overwhelming if too heavy a hand is used.

I have realized after years of experimentation, that the one kind of curry my husband will invariably love is a Thai curry, specifically a red curry. Red curry is a blend of lemongrass, garlic, Thai ginger and red chiles (among other things). How could you possibly go wrong with that? When RiceSelect sent me a jar of their Texmati light brown rice*, I knew right away what I was going to do with it. It was getting a red curry topping.

*What I love about this rice is that it cooks quickly like white rice and tastes a great deal like it, but gives you much of the nutritional content of brown rice. As a mom of many, I call that a win.

Because the curry we were making was a Thai curry, we decided to turn our dinner into a party to explore Thai culture along with our meal. In Thailand it’s considered unlucky to eat alone*, so we loaded our table up with friends and family. This is an easy task given that our family makes seven per meal all by itself. Since our dinner party was on Sunday, we all wore red; the traditional colour assigned to Sunday in Thai culture.

*Well, gee. I must be the luckiest woman alive, then. I almost never eat alone. (Unless you count me hiding in the bathroom to inhale a chocolate bar.)

In keeping with the Thai theme, we used bamboo mats on red place mats to decorate the table. My son Ty declared it to be his day. Thai. Ty. Oh my. This same child also selected a knots and rope-work class based on the fact that he should be great at it since his name is Ty. Ty. Tie. Help.

Back to the good stuff…

The curry we had was a Thai Red Curry Shrimp: a dish that appears far too simple to have the complex and comforting flavour that it delivers. Coconut milk and red curry paste simmer with onions, peas and shrimp and are ladled over fragrant coconut rice. A simple scattering of chopped fresh cilantro and basil over the top of the dish seems insignificant until you taste it. The fresh herbs, sweet shrimp, and umami laden curry coconut sauce with vegetables all come together in a symphony of flavour, including all four of the main seasonings of Thai cuisine: salty, sour, bitter, and sweet.

Because the curry itself comes together in very little time, the recipe I’m including here calls for making a larger amount of rice than you’ll need for the meal. Coconut rice freezes and reheats beautifully, so the recipe includes instructions for freezing the extra rice for last minute cravings and nights when you’re on the run. Do take advantage of this!

Coconut rice is a beautiful base for stir-fries, sweet and sour meatballs, hamballs. Coconut rice also adds a little unexpected flair to fried rice; simply use your hands to break up the frozen rice directly into the hot pan.

Give this super-fast, exotic, satisfying meal a whirl some evening. You’ll be so glad you did. It’s way better than mushy angel hair with sloppy joe topping.

Oh shoot. Did I just get the last word?

Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice (How to Freeze Rice) | Make Ahead Mondays

Thai Red Curry Shrimp: a dish that appears far too simple to have the complex and comforting flavour that it delivers. Coconut milk and red curry paste simmer with onions, peas and shrimp and are ladled over fragrant coconut rice. A simple scattering of chopped fresh cilantro and basil over the top of the dish seems insignificant until you taste it. The fresh herbs, sweet shrimp, and umami laden curry coconut sauce with vegetables all come together in a symphony of flavour. Instructions on how to freeze extra rice for future meals are included in the recipe.

Ingredients

For the Coconut Rice:

5 cups Texmati Light Brown Rice
3 cans full-fat Coconut Milk
additional water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

1 teaspoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 medium cooking onion
1 can full-fat coconut milk (13-14 ounces)
1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon raw sugar or light brown sugar
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup water
1 pound raw, shelled, cleaned shrimp
Chopped fresh basil and cilantro for garnish
Optional: 1 teaspoon lemongrass paste (available in the produce section at grocery stores.)

Instructions

To Make Coconut Rice:

Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a rice cooker, select regular rice cycle (no need to cook on the brown rice cycle) and begin the cycle. When finished, fluff with a fork and serve.

(If you do not have a rice cooker, combine all ingredients in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring once, then cover with a tight fitting lid or foil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, undisturbed, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

To Freeze Extra Coconut Rice:

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or rinse the pan with water and shake off excess. This will keep the rice from sticking. Spread the rice out on the pan and let stand until it is no longer steaming hot. Rinse a measuring cup with water and shake out the excess. Measure meal-sized portions into re-sealable zipper top bags. Use your hands to gently flatten the rice and distribute it evenly in the bag. Seal the bags, label and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

To Reheat Rice:

Transfer the frozen rice to a microwave safe container and microwave on high in 1 minute bursts, until the rice is hot all the way through. Fluff with a fork before serving.

To Make the Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

Heat the coconut oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions to the pan and saute, stirring or tossing occasionally, until the onions have a touch of brown to them.

Add the coconut milk and red curry paste to the pan and bring to a boil, whisking to combine the red curry paste into the coconut milk. Lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Add the fish sauce, sugar and water and return it to a boil. Again, lower the heat and let it simmer for 8 minutes. Add the optional lemongrass paste (if using) and whisk it in carefully.

Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are hot all the way through, about 2 minutes. Bring the liquid back to a gentle simmer and add the cleaned, shelled shrimp. Cook just until the shrimp are curled and pink. This should take between 3 to 5 minutes.

To Serve the Coconut Rice and Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

Scoop a serving of coconut rice into each bowl and spoon the shrimp with the sauce and vegetables over the rice. Scatter some chopped cilantro and basil over the top and serve immediately.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/01/thai-red-curry-shrimp-with-coconut-rice-how-to-freeze-rice-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

This post is brought to you by Rice Select. All opinions are, as always, mine alone.

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Freezer Pleaser, Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, traditional food

Three In One Pears: Canning Ginger Pears, Dark Ginger Pear Syrup, and Pear Juice | Make Ahead Mondays

September 24, 2012 by Rebecca 5 Comments

It is officially harvest time and officially fall and I am officially so excited about it that I’m about to explode. This is high gear food preservation season for me. I have an ant-and-grasshopper parable complex and I start flying around stuffing things maniacally into jars. My benchmark -and you may have heard me mention it before- is “Would I love to eat this in the middle of winter?” If the answer is yes, I figure out a way to preserve it. Since freezer space is at a premium (I’m saving room for the venison that I’m hoping will fill it), I rely on canning to hang onto that harvest freshness year ’round.

I’ve had to scale back my canning efforts this year due to a busy summer schedule, but this has been a good thing. I’ve had to focus on what we really want to eat, what we want to give as gifts, and what makes me weepy-happy to have on the shelves. Among those are home canned pears. Not just any pears, mind you, but my favourite ginger pears in dark syrup.

Home canned pears are -on their own- some of the best things on earth: tender, sweet, and full of pear-y goodness. When you add just a smidge of the warming power of ginger to those pears, they absolutely sing. Hang on. I need to channel my best internal infomercial hawker.

But wait… There’s MORE. Not only is this one of my favourite things to eat, it’s one of my favourite kinds of recipes; it’s a three-fer! Three recipes for the price of one!

How is this even possible? Oh gosh. It’s so easy, it’s almost criminal. You know how light fleshed fruits brown when cut unless they’re treated with lemon juice, fruit fresh, citric acid solution or somesuch? That little lemony bath that prevents your pears from becoming ugly and brown does double duty. After all the pears soak in it, you leave just a couple in the drink and boil it, then strain. Ta da! A delicate, mild pear juice with a bit of body. And the pears you soaked? You warm them and then pack them in a dark ginger syrup (courtesy of raw or brown sugar) that has been steeping some finely sliced ginger. You pack the extra syrup -because there WILL be some- into other jars and Vi-Oh-Lee! You have pear juice, ginger pears in dark syrup, and ginger pear syrup.

Let’s examine the possibilities, because they’re numerous! Aside from eating the pears straight from the jar, you can bake them in a crisp, eat them on vanilla or pumpkin ice cream, serve with roasted pork, toss into smoothies or winter fruit salad. Yes, you can drink the pear juice as is, but it’s wonderful in party punch or hot toddies, and since it is sweet enough without added sugar, it’s wonderful for the kiddies. “Dark ginger pear syrup?” you say. “What do I do with THAT?” Oh people. Oh my. You drizzle that on ice cream, over apple pie, add a tablespoon or two in apple or pear crisp, use it in mixed drinks, or pour a little over ice then top off with seltzer for -wait for it- GINGER PEAR SODA. Holy moly.

Is there work involved? Yes, but it is worth every second of effort. I even have a tip to share with you on how to get through the pears more easily (although it’s playing it a little Thomas Keller)… After hours upon hours of pear processing over the years, I’m happy to say that I have the method. Here’s how it’s done:

Cut the pear in half. Seriously. Start here before you peel it.
Use a vegetable peeler -not a paring knife- to peel the pear. That way you only pull away the skin and don’t lose any precious pear flesh.
Use the small end of a melon baller to remove the tough core at the base of the pear.
Use the larger end of the melon baller to remove the seed area from the pear.
Repeat.

I can’t wait to hear how you use your Three-In-One Pears. I’ll just wait here slurping them right out of a jar.

Three In One Pears: Canning Ginger Pears, Dark Ginger Pear Syrup and Pear Juice | Make Ahead Monday

This recipe requires a little time commitment, but you get three different products for your efforts. You'll find it was more than worth it when you crack open a jar of delicately ginger flavoured tender pears in a dark, caramel-scented ginger syrup, or drizzle some of the extra syrup over a bowl of vanilla ice cream or into a pear crisp, or sip on a glass of chilled pear juice.

Ingredients

For the Dark Ginger Syrup:

4 1/2 cups raw sugar (Can substitute light brown sugar if raw is unavailable.)
6 cups water
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into very thin matchstick like pieces

For the Ginger Pears:

8 to 12 pounds fresh pears, ripe but firm, plus 6 extra pears (for the juice)

For the Pear Juice:

12 cups fresh, cool water
3/4 cup lemon juice

Instructions

To Make the Dark Ginger Syrup and Ginger Pears:

Prepare canner, jars and lids. Follow this link for more detailed instructions on how to do this. You will want 6-8 quart jars and 2-4 pint jars or 4-8 half pint jars and the lids/rings for them.

Combine the raw sugar, sliced ginger and water in a large stainless steel saucepan. Stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Add a lid to the pot, turn off the heat and leave on the burner to keep warm and infuse with the ginger flavour. This is the dark ginger syrup.

Combine the juice ingredients in a stainless steel, plastic or glass bowl. Set this near a cutting board on the counter top. It is going to do double duty by preventing discoloration of the pears and then becoming juice.

Working with one pear at a time to prevent browning, cut the pear in half, peel with a vegetable peeler and use a melon baller to remove the tough core and seeds from the pear. Ease it into the lemon water. Repeat until all of your pears are peeled and cored and in the water (including the 6 extra pears.)

Remove the lid from the syrup and place it over medium low heat until steam is coming from it. Gently warm all but 12 of the pear halves in a single layer until heated all the way through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears, cored side down in overlapped layers, leaving between 1/2-inch and 3/4-inch of head space (err on the side of more rather than less head space if necessary.) Be sure you've left 12 pear halves in the lemon water.

Use a ladle to pour the hot syrup over the pears (allowing the ginger shreds to pour into the jars, too.) Remove air bubbles from the jars (using a thin, flexible knife or a chopstick and adjust syrup levels if necessary. Wipe rims, center lids on jars, and screw rings into place until fingertip tight.

Pour additional syrup into pint or half pint jars leaving 1/4-inch of head space, wipe the rims, center the lids on the jars, and screw the rings in place until fingertip tight.

Place those jars in the canner, cover with water, bring to a boil and process the jars for 25 minutes. When the time is up, turn the heat off, remove the lid from the canner and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes. Transfer the jars to a cooling rack and let them cool undisturbed overnight, then remove the rings, wipe down, label and store.

To Make the Pear Juice:

Transfer the liquid and 12 remaining pear halves to a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let simmer uncovered until the pears are falling apart.

Line a colander that is positioned over a large stockpot with at least two layers of cheese cloth and and use a large measuring cup or ladle to scoop the pear/water mixture into the colander. Let it slowly filter -without pressing it down- until it stops dripping through the cheese cloth. This may take up to two hours.

Place the stockpot over medium high heat and bring it up just to the point where steam is rising from the top- 190°F. Ladle the hot juice into prepared jars, leaving 1/4-inch of head space in the jar.

Wipe the rims, center the lids, and screw the rings in place until fingertip tight.

Place the jars in the canner, cover with water, add the lid to the canner and bring to a boil. Process for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the canner and let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes. Transfer the jars to a cooling rack and let cool undisturbed overnight. Remove the rings, wipe down and label and store.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/09/24/two-in-one-pears-canning-ginger-pears-dark-ginger-pear-syrup-and-ginger-pear-juice-make-ahead-monday/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com