I wasn't a huge fan of this salad. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great for me. That said, TF actually really liked it. She said it was nice and light and refreshing. Not necessarily a food she wants to have all the time, but possibly a favourite when she's in that salad-y sort of mood.

I didn't have the recommended flank steak for this recipe, so I cooked up a T-bone and cut that up instead. Not quite the same vibe, I know, but it worked well enough. And used up a steak that had been going begging for a while. So, all-in-all, a good result.

I also adjusted the proportions of vegetables slightly. Mostly because I didn't want to have fractional peppers left over in the fridge. Everything else was left as specified.

Thai Beef Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1-2 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 450g flank steak
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp. peanut or coconut oil
• 1 large head butter or leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 c. thinly sliced cucumber
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh Thai basil
• 1-2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chilies in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
2. Season the steak to taste with salt and pepper and brush with oil.
3. Cook the steak to your desired doneness by your preferred method: grill, broiler, or frying pan.
4. Let steak rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice and add to the bowl with the dressing.
5. Add the remaining ingredients: lettuce, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, mint, cilantro, and basil.
6. Garnish with green onions (if using) and serve.

I picked up some strawberries on sale the other day. I was originally thinking of doing a sort of ice cream parfait with them... but then we ate all the vanilla ice cream, so I perused the cookbook for other strawberry recipes.

I appreciate how quick-cooking this cake is, but I do feel like the size is a little off. The recipe instructs baking in a 9" raound pan. And doing this certainly does make it quick to bake and cool. However, I feel like the high surface area also makes the assembly more difficult and the proportions feel off. Because the cake is so thin, it's a bit tricky to split into layers. And the high surface area makes it difficult to get good coverage with the toppings/filling. Next time I think I'd try baking it in a 20cm (8") round pan and just bake it and cool it for slightly longer. Other than that, this was great though! (The Kidlet was especially enthusiastic.)

Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 125g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract, divided
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 450g fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp. Cointreau
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line the bottom of a 20cm (8") round pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the pan!
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. Whisk in 1/4 c. of the sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks into the canola oil.
5. Mix in 1 tsp. of the vanilla and the water.
6. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until foamy.
7. Increase speed to high and add 1/4 c. of sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
8. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
9. Add ~1/3 of the meringue and stir to combine.
10. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold it into the batter.
11. Pour the prepared batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
12. Bake at 180°C (350°) until done¹.
13. Transfer to wire rack to cool in pan for ~20 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, combine the strawberries, remaining 1/4 c. of sugar, Cointreau, and lemon zest and set aside.
15. Combine the cream, icing sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract and beat until cream stiffens.
16. Run a thin spatula around the edge of the pan and then turn the cake out onto the wire rack, remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and allow to cool for another 10-20 minutes.
17. Carefully split the cake into two separate layers.
18. Place the bottom layer, cut-side-up, on a large plate.
19. Spoon about half of the strawberries (with any accompanying juices) onto the bottom half of the cake.
20. Spread ~1/2 of the whipped cream over the strawberries.
21. Top with the other cake layer (cut-side-down).
22. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and top with remaining strawberries.

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¹ My cake took 17 minutes, but I was baking it in a 23cm (9") round pan. I would expect it to take a bit longer in a 20cm (8") pan, maybe 25 minutes, but I would recommend checking at 20. ^Back

I've been meaning to make these breakfast toasts for a couple weeks now, but my breakfast plans keep getting off track. I finally managed to get all the bits organized though and was up early enough to put this together this morning.

I do feel like the proportions could use a little adjusting. The recipe is meant to be for four slices of toast, but we had a lot of cheese left over, even though I felt like I was pretty generous with it. I think we probably could have gotten away with about half as much cheese. Everything else seemed about right though. That said, I certainly wouldn't've said no to a bit more salmon...

To make life easier, I've adjusted the recipe to use one whole brick of cream cheese (250g).

Smoked Salmon Toasts with Capers and Red Onion

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill or 1 1/2 Tbsp. dried dill
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 slices of bread, toasted
• 300g thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. capers
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Mix the dill and lemon juice into the cream cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Spreak the cream cheese on the toast and top with salmon, onion, capers, and chives.

This was alright. It wasn't amazing, but it made a decent vegetable side. And it was pretty easy to put together. I'm glad I tried it, but I probably won't be making it again. There are tastier things that can be done with a head of cauliflower.

Broccoli and Cauliflower with Pickled Onions and Bacon

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 8 black peppercorns
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 5-6 slices bacon
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, and salt and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add onion, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp, drain, and coarsely chop. Set aside.
5. Prepare a steamer and an ice bath. Stir a bit of salt (~1 Tbsp.) into the ice water.
6. Steam the cauliflower until tender-crisp (~8 minutes), then transfer to the ice bath.
7. Steam the broccoli until tender-crisp (~4 minutes), then transfer to the ice bath.
8. Drain the broccoli and cauliflower and transfer to a large bowl.
9. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Toss to combine and top with chopped bacon and pickled onion.

I didn't make it out to the grocery store yesterday, so the breakfast burritos that I had planned on making for breakfast this morning were a no-go. I ended up frantically flipping through cookbooks at 6:30 this morning trying to figure out what I could make instead. We didn't have any flour tortillas (and I didn't have time to make any at this point). No bananas. No apples. No bread... I briefly contemplated oatmeal, but I knew the Kidlet probably wouldn't be super keen on that. We had almost everything needed for breakfast tacos, but I thought they might be a little lacklustre if they were missing both the sour cream and the avocado. Something to keep in mind for later in the week though...

We did, however, have a bunch of mushrooms that needed to be used up. And eggs. No fontina, but I figured that I could probably get away with substituting some mild cheddar this time 'round.

The Kidlet ended up not being keen on the omelette either. Luckily she was happy enough with some baked beans and a piece of waffle for her breakfast this morning. Which meant that TF and I could have extra mushrooms in our omelettes!

Mushroom Omelette with Fontina and Thyme

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter or bacon grease
• 225g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 large eggs, divided
• 2 Tbsp. milk or cream, divided
• 1/2 c. grated fontina cheese, divided

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook until they release their juices.
3. Uncover, add thyme, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until liquid has evaporated, then transfer to plate and set aside.
4. Beat 2 of the eggs with 1 Tbsp. of the milk/cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the now-empty pan, cover, and cook until eggs are almost set on top.
6. Uncover, sprinkle with 1/4 c. of the cheese and half the mushroom mixture, fold in half, and cook for another minute or two until eggs are fully set and cheese has melted.
7. Remove from pan and repeat cooking process with remaining eggs and filling.
8. Serve with buttered toast and/or hashbrowns, if desired.

So, as I've probably stated before, I'm not generally a huge fan of fennel. But every once in a while I'll give it a go, just to see if this recipe pulls it off in a way that I actually enjoy. Usually I find that I still don't care for it. But every once in a while I'll fin a recipe that really nails it! I feel like this recipe falls into that latter camp. I don't think I'd call it a "favourite", but it was pretty good. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I wouldn't hesitate to make it again, especially if I needed a way to use up some fennel.

Fennel-Crusted Chicken with Fennel Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 fennel bulb, shaved/thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fennel fronds
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. dry rosé wine¹
• 1/4 c. chicken stock
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Directions

1. Combine the fennel, pepper, salt, and chile flakes and coarsely grind.
2. Either pound the chicken breasts flat to form two wide flat pieces or bisect them horizontally to form four smaller thin pieces.
3. Warm 2 tsp. of the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with the ground fennel mixture.
5. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through (~4 minutes per side).
6. Combine the shaved fennel, chives, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 1 tsp. of oil in a large bowl and toss to combine.
7. Season the fennel mixture to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
8. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
9. Meanwhile, combine the wine, chicken stock, and cornstarch and pour into the pan.
10. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until reduced by half and slightly thickened (1-2 minutes).
11. Pour the pan juices over the chicken and top with the fennel salad and serve.

---

¹ I didn't have any rosé, so I just used a dry white here. ^Back

I wanted a side dish to go with some chicken and fennel that I was making and this simple potato dish looked appealing.

I couldn't actually find any chorizo at my regular grocery store and I didn't have time to check any of the others before making dinner, so I ended up using some "chorizo-style" salami instead. And I actually quite like how it turned out. The thin slices crisped up nicely and gave and tasted delicious with the potatoes.

Sautéed Potatoes with Chorizo and Parsley

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 680g waxy potatoes, quartered
• 60-80g dry-cured chorizo, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until tender (~20 minutes). Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat, add the chorizo, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two.
4. Add the potatoes and wine and cook until the liquid is gone (1-2 minutes).
5. Remove from heat, toss with parsley, and serve.

These are a fun twist on breakfast waffles with bacon folded right into the batter. Bacon grease also replaces some of the butter to really double down on the bacon flavour.

The batter is lightly sweetened, but also has a small amount of salt and pepper mixed in. So these waffles are poised to go either sweet or savoury depending on what you top them with. TF and I opted to take the savoury route and topped our waffles with some egg, cheese, and a little bit of leftover tomato sauce from the huevos rancheros. This made for an excellent breakfast!

At least, we thought so. The Kidlet was not so much a fan. She elected to have her waffle plain. And while she at the whole thing and said it was "okay", she opined that the bacon didn't really "work" here and felt that it detracted from the overall waffle experience. Shocking!

Kidlet's wrong opinions aside though, I think these are very nice waffles. The egg and cheese route worked quite well and I think that chutney and sour cream would also be a good combo. Meanwhile, the recipe author suggests pairing them with chili or chowder as a cornbread alternative for the savoury option and, of course, good ol' maple syrup if you fancy the sweet route. Basically, they're a very flexible waffle with lots of great serving options. I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of them.

Cornmeal-Bacon Buttermilk Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 140g all-purpose flour
• 150g cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. bacon grease, melted
• 225g (streaky/side) bacon¹, cooked and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and pepper.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. In a separate bowl (or large measuring cup), beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
5. Whisk in the melted butter and bacon grease.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until almost combined.
7. Add the cooked bacon pieces and finish mixing.
8. Give a final stir with a spatula to ensure batter is fully mixed (a few small lumps are okay).
9. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve with sweet or savoury toppings of your choice: ketchup, eggs, cheese, salsa... chili... chowder... chutney, sour cream... maple syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream... or whatever else you think sounds good!

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¹ I picked up some chicken bacon on sale the other day and actually used that for this recipe. It doesn't really release fat as it cooks like streaky bacon does, so if you elect to use a lean bacon (like back bacon or chicken or turkey bacon), then you'll need to get the bacon grease for this recipe from elsewhere. I save the rendered fat/grease whenever I cook up a batch of streaky bacon, so I usually have a jar in the fridge that comes in handy for occasions like this. If you don't have a convenient supply of bacon grease that you can dip into then you can just replace it with lard, tallow, or more butter depending on your preference. It won't have the same bacon-y flavour, but it should still cook up nicely and make tasty waffles. ^Back

We had a bunch of chocolate fudge sauce left over from our banana splits the other day. Of course, we could have just made more banana splits, but I'd seen this recipe in the cookbook when I was flipping through it earlier, so I figured we might as well give it a try too!

In theory you're meant to top your ice cream with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, and marshmallow fluff. But we already had a bunch of mini marshmallows on hand, so we just used those rather than go out and get a jar of marshmallow fluff just for this recipe. I also busted out the sprinkles and maraschino cherries. They might not be a traditional s'mores component, but they're a fun sundae topping, so why not?

The recipe recommends "dark chocolate ice cream" as the base for this sundae. And I was planning on looking for something chocolate-y. If I'd gone to the grocery store, I probably would have gotten a small tub of some generic chocolate ice cream. But I ended up going to the convenience store down the street. And their small tubs were all fancy Ben & Jerry's flavours. They did have some sort of death-by-chocolate-style one that was chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge and chocolate cookie pieces or something along those lines. But they also had "peanut butter half baked" which purported to be chocolate and peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter cookie dough and brownie pieces. And that sounded like a winner to me and the Kidlet, so we decided to make that the foundation for our sundaes! Really though, use whatever ice cream you like. I figure, as long as you get the chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker in there, you can still call it a s'mores sundae.~

S'Mores Sundaes

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

For each sundae use:

• 3 Tbsp. hot fudge sauce
• 2 (smallish) scoops ice cream
• 2 Tbsp. whipped cream
• 1 graham cracker, broken into pieces
• 1-2 Tbsp. marshmallow fluff or mini marshmallows
• 1 Tbsp. roasted peanuts or slivered almonds
• sprinkles, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, etc. (optional)
• 1 maraschino cherry (optional)

Directions

1. Make (or reheat) your hot fudge sauce and keep it warm while you assemble the sundae.
2. Place the ice cream in a bowl.
3. Top with the hot fudge sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.
4. Garnish wiht graham cracker pieces, marshmallow fluff (or marshmallows), nuts, and whatever other toppings you like (sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.) and place the cerry on top (if using).

This is a fantastic mac & cheese recipe. I mean, it pretty much follows the standard formula of: make roux, add milk, add cheese, add pasta, bake. So there's not really anything revoluationary going on here, but the formula is a classic for a reason!

This makes a lovely cheese sauce. And, of course, the toasted breadcrumb topping makes it even better. And, just in case that wasn't enough, there's also a bit of bacon stirred into the mix. Perfection!

The only issue I had was that the proportions seemed way off. The recipe only calls for 225g of pasta and that didn't seem like nearly enough for the amount of sauce the instructions produced. So we ended up cooking a bunch more pasta and stirring it in 'til it looked about right. But then, of course, it seemed a bit under-bacon'd, so we ended up mixing in a little more bacon as well. Still... having dealt with that quibble, the results were excellent!

Bacon Mac & Cheese

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, divided
• 4 slices baguette (or similar) torn into crumbs
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 3 c. milk, warmed
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 375g Cheddar cheese, grated, divided
• 375g macaroni (or similar short pasta)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Directions

1. Grease a 1.5L baking dish.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
3. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring often, until browned (4-5 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
4. Melt the remaining 3 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
5. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is cooked (~2 minutes).
6. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and Worcestershire sauce (if using) and keep stirring until lumps dissolve.
7. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens (10-15 minutes).
8. Add 250g of the cheese and stir until melted and fully combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
9. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
10. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
11. Drain the pasta, return to pot, and pour the sauce over.
12. Add the bacon pieces and stir to combine.
13. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.
14. Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs on top and bake at 190°C (375°F) until bubbling and heated through (~30 minutes).

We had one of the Kidlet's friends over for dinner the other day. I made mac & cheese because I figured that tends to be a crowd-pleaser with this age group. But I wanted to make sure we had some actual food groups too. Which is where this indredible salad comes in. It is delicious! And pretty easy to make as well. And between the lentils, kale, and carrots, you feel like you're getting some actual nutrition as well.

This is definitely a new favourite for me and I will have to make sure to keep it in mind the next time I need a vegetable side for a meal. TF and TM both really liked it as well. The Kidlet was less enthusiastic, but she ate hers. And really, it's hard to get much traction with anything else with her when there's also mac & cheese on the table. So, under the circumstances, I'd rate this as a success all 'round!

Warm Lentil & Kale Salad with Bacon

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 large red onion, halved and sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 c. brown lentils
• 3 c. chicken stock¹
• 1 large bunch black kale, ribs removed and thinly sliced
• 6 slices bacon², cooked and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar³

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Toss the carrots with 1 Tbsp. of the oil and the salt and pepper and spread into an even layer on a baking sheet.
3. Roast for 15-20 minutes, turning/stirring twice. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and cook until softened and beginning to caramelize (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Combine the garlic, thyme, lentils, and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Add kale and continue cooking until lentils are tender (~5 minutes longer). Drain and set aside.
9. Combine carrots, onions, lentil-kale mixture, and bacon in a large bowl.
10. Add vinegar, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
11. Serve warm.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 large red onion, halved and sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 c. brown lentils
• 3 c. vegetable stock
• 1 large bunch black kale, ribs removed and thinly sliced
• 6 smokey tempeh, cooked and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

¹ The original recipe called for 4 c. of chicken stock and that's what I used, but there was quite a bit of excess liquid at the end of cooking. I think next time I'd try it with only 3 c. of stock and see how that worked. ^Back
2 I ended up using chicken bacon when I made this and I really like how it came out. Feel free to use regular streaky/pork bacon if you like, but I can vouch for the results with chicken bacon and it's probably a bit healthier that way too. I also think tempeh could work well here and, if you swapped out the chicken stock for vegetable stock, would be a nice way to convert this into a vegetarian dish. ^Back
3 The original recipe only called for 1 tsp. of sherry vinegar, but I only had red wine vinegar and then got mixed up and put 1 Tbsp. instead of 1 tsp. Upon tasting it though, I actually quite like it that way! The extra acidity from the vinegar is quite nice and really makes the other flavours pop, so I think I'll be making it this way from now on. ^Back

Haleem (Minty Beef with Cracked Wheat and Lentils)

This was a while ago. Do I remember any details of the meal? I do not, except that it was tasty.

The recipe as written calls for cracked wheat and a lengthy pre-soak period. We made it with extra coarse bulgur and skipped the pre-soak, with good results. Note that even if you're making it with bulgur, there's still a long marination phase for the meat -- start early!

Haleem

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p. 175)

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef
• 30mL ginger paste
• 1mL garlic paste
• 120mL moong dal (skinned split green lentils)
• 120mL masoor dal (skinned split brown lentils)
• 120mL extra coarse bulgur
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 60mL canola oil
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 8-10 fresh green Thai chilis, stems removed, bisected lengthwise
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri garam masala
• 120mL finely chopped fresh mint
• 120mL finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine beef, ginger paste, and garlic paste in a bowl. Toss until coated, then refrigerate, covered, for 6-8 hours.
2. Rinse the lentils, if needed.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the lentils (drained), bulgur, and 1L water.
4. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Skim off foam.
5. Stir in turmeric, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and bulgur are tender, 20-25 minutes. Set aside.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamom pods. Cook until they crackle and the cinnamon swells, ~30 seconds.
8. Add chilis and onion. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until the onion has released its liquid and begins to brown, 15-20 minutes.
9. Uncover and stir-fry until the onion is reddish-brown with purple highlights, 5-10 minutes.
10. Add the beef cubes and marinade. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the meat browns, 12-15 minutes.
11. Add 240mL water and the garam masala and bring to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender, 15-20 minutes.
13. Add the lentil-bulgur mix and their liquid. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the flavours mingle, 10-15 minutes.
14. Remove from heat, stir in the mint and cilantro, and serve.

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I've almost finished working my way through all the smoothie bowl recipes in the Breakfast Bible. I made this mixed berry one yesterday and tried a variation on the tropical fruit smoothie bowl this morning.

I liked this one, but the smoothie came out very soupy. The Kidlet actually prefers that, but, if I'm going to be trying to decant it into a bowl and top it with things, I prefer a slightly thicker base. If nothing else, it allows the toppings to actually sit on top rather than immediately sinking below the surface.

To be fair, the recipe does call for freezing the banana before blending, which I forgot to do. But I still think it would have been too thin. Maybe feezing both the banana and the coconut milk would do the trick?

I also didn't have any almond milk and didn't want to go out and get a carton just for this recipe.¹ Instead of almond milk, I opted for oat milk with a bit of almond butter stirred in.² And since the Kidlet doesn't like pomegranate anymore, I swapped out the pomegranate arils for some fresh blueberries.

Mixed Fruit Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. lite coconut milk, frozen in cubes
• 1 c. frozen mixed berries
• 1 banana, frozen
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter (optional)
• 1/2 c. fresh raspberries
• 1/4 c. pomegranate arils (or 1/2 c. fresh blueberries)
• 2 Tbsp. shredded coconut⁴
• 2 Tbsp. wheat germ, toasted

Directions

1. Combine the oat milk, yogurt, frozen coconut milk, frozen berries, frozen banana, honey, and almond butter in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie between 4 bowls.
3. Top each with ~2 Tbsp. of raspberries, 1 Tbsp. of pomegranate arils (or 2 Tbsp. of blueberries), 1/2 Tbsp. of coconut, and 1/2 Tbsp. of toasted wheat germ.

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¹ Especially since I find myself feeling increasingly concerned about the environmental aspects of growing almonds. I still eat them in moderation, but almond milk seems particularly water-intensive and wasteful. ^Back
2 Which I know is probably not much better than just using almond milk, but... what can I say? I already had a jar of almond butter in the fridge. I haven't had a chance to look into it, but hopefully almond butter is at least slightly less bad water and waste-wise than almond milk. That said, you still have all the ecological impact from the actual almond farming, so... it's probably not great either way.^{3 Back
3} Thinking about this stuff makes me sad and frustrated. I wish everything wasn't so complicated and I wish that it was easier to figure out the consequences of my choices. ^Back
4 I picked up some toasted coconut slices on sale a few days ago, so I just used that here. Either one will work just fine. ^Back

I wanted a sweet treat for my birthday, but I didn't get a chance to do any baking earlier in the day and we had riding in the evening, so anything that required baking or chilling was out. (We didn't get home until nearly seven and it was close to eight by the time we finished dinner, so I wasn't about to start baking a cake or waiting for mousse or somethign to chill at that point!)

After a bit of staring at recipes and trying to figure out what I could make relatively quickly with ingredients I already had on hand, I settled on banana splits. We still had a little ice cream in the freezer that we'd gotten to go with the apple crisp a little while back. We had bananas. We had almonds in the freezer. We had cream. We even had a jar of maraschino cherries! (The recipe I was using didn't actually call for cherries, but that's madness! If you're gonna have a banana split, you gotta put a cherry on top.) I also had an assortment of other toppings that I was able to get out to make an impromptu sundae bar: mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc. The Kidlet was delighted!

And, the nice thing about banana splits, is they don't require much in the way of prep. Assuming you already have some ice cream handy, the only thing you have to do is toast some almonds and make up the fudge sauce. Oh, and whip the cream I guess. Still... easy-peasy!

Banana Splits

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

For each split use:

• 3-4 Tbsp. hot fudge sauce
• 1 banana, halved lengthwise
• 3 scoops of ice cream¹
• 1 Tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 Tbsp. whipped cream
• 1 maraschino cherry
• other sundae toppings² (optional)

Directions

1. Make your fudge sauce and keep it warm while you get everything else assembled.
2. Place a banana in a bowl with the two halves spread apart.
3. Line the three scoops of ice cream up down the middle of the banana.
4. Spoon some fudge sauce over the ice cream and sprinkle with toasted almonds.
5. Add a dollop of whipped cream and place a cerry on top.
6. Add other toppings and garnish as desired.

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¹ The recipe calls for 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream per banana. We opted for 1 scoop of falooda kulfi and 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream, but then ended up going back and adding more ice cream after we'd started eating it. So, I think three (smallish) scoops is definitely the right amount for one banana. Just plan on splitting your split with a friend! ^Back
2 eg. chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles, mini marshmallows, fresh (or thawed frozen) pitted cherries, strawberries, caramel sauce, stroopwafel, graham crackers, etc. ^Back

I ended up making some banana splits as my birthday dessert since I didn't have time to bake a cake. I'm posting the fudge sauce as a separate recipe because it's useful as a topping for other desserts as well and this will make it easier for me to refer back to it later.

Hot Fudge Sauce

From Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. boiling water
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small pot, slowly drizzle the boiling water into the cocoa powder, whisking constantly to form a smooth paste.
2. Place over low heat and add the butter.
3. Once the butter has melted, whisk it into the cocoa paste.
4. Add the sugar and corn syrup and stir to combine.
5. Increase heat to medium-low and bring to a very low simmer. You want it gently bubbling, but not boiling.
6. Simmer, uncovered and without stirring, for 8 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
8. Cover and keep warm until ready to use.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. boiling water
• 3 Tbsp. (~40g) cocoa butter
• 1 c. raw cane sugar
• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

I had to pull together and emergency back-up dinner in a hurry the other day and ended up landing on this potato salad recipe (after going through about four other foiled dinner plans). It's not the most exciting dinner, but it at least has a bit of protein and some vegetables -- and we actually had all the ingredients on hand! -- so I just rolled with it.

Only after I'd put the potatoes on to boil did I remember that I'd used up all the frozen green beans a couple weeks ago and hadn't restocked yet. I wasn't about to try to pivot to a different dinner plan yet again, so instead I did a quick switcheroo and swapped in some frozen peas for the green beans. Not quite the same, I know, but it still worked very well. Potatoes and peas make a great combo!

Two-Bean Potato Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 125g fresh or frozen green beans, trimmed
• 570g potatoes, quartered
• 1 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 4-6 green olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. capers, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Roman mustard
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions

1. If using fresh green beans: bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch them for 2-3 minutes. Then shock in cold water. Save the bean cooking water and use to boil the potatoes.
   If using frozen beans: thaw and set aside.
2. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook until tender (~10 minutes).
3. Drain the beans (from their ice bath) and the potatoes (from the pot of boiling water) and place them in a large bowl.
4. Add the chickpeas, onion, parsley, mint, olives, and capers.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the mustard with the vinegar salt and pepper.
6. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously.
7. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine.
8. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.

I'd seen this recipe for salmon cakes as I was flipping through my cookbooks before. So when I saw a package of discount salmon off-cuts at the grocery store, I figured they'd be perfect for this. You can, of course, use a salmon fillet or something (as the recipe indicates). But, since you're going to be grinding it up anyway, I don't see any compelling reason not to use scraps and smaller pieces if that's what you have available.

These patties worked out quite well and were nice served over rice with a little soy sauce. Not a favourite for me, I think, but good nonetheless. I think they'd go particularly well with some braised bok choy, but stir-fried mixed veggies, steamed broccoli, or just about any other vegetable side will also work.

Salmon Cakes

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
• 450g salmon fillet (or salmon scraps), chopped
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
• soy sauce, to serve
• sriracha or sambal olek, to serve
• lime wedges, to serve

Directions

1. Combine the ginger, green onions, and garlic in a food processor (or blender with "chop" setting). Process until finely chopped.
2. Sprinkle the salmon with the cornstarch and add it to the food processor along with the egg white, fish sauce, and salt. Process until coarsely ground. Do not over-process!
3. Divide the mixture into 4-8 equal portions (depending on how large you want your patties/cakes) and shape each into a disc.
4. If desired, cover and chill for 10-15 minutes to firm the patties up slightly.
5. Heat the oil over medium heat.
6. Add the patties and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through (~3 minutes per side).
7. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Serve over rice and top with soy sauce and hot sauce, passing lime wedges at the table.

I needed a vegetable side to go with dinner and we had a lot of cilantro and some leftover goat cheese, so this simple salad fit the bill pretty much perfectly!

I appreciate how quick and easy this is to put together. (Especially if you skip peeling and seeding the cucumber as I did.) And it's quite tasty as well!

Photo goes here.

Cucumber, Cilantro, and Goat Cheese Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber (or 2 field cucumbers)
• 1 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 1-2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 120-170g soft goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Peel and seed the cucumbers if desired, then cut into 4-6cm slices.
2. Combine the cucumber with the cilantro and jalapeño.
3. Sprinkle with sea salt, lime juice, and canola oil and stir to combine.
4. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
5. Add the goat cheese and serve.

Corn and Pea Empanadas

These were a huge hit! TF and the Kidlet both loved them. (And I quite liked them too!)

They're a little lacking in protein, so you'll probably want some sort of meat or beans to go with it. They still make a great start to a meal though, even if they're not a complete package on their own.

The dough required a lot more water than specified to come together, but that wasn't a huge problem. Just something to be aware of. I've updated the recipe to reflect this.

Corn and Pean Empanadas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 315g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~3/4 c. water

Filling

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (or a few slices of minced pickled jalapeño)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Sift the baking soda into the flour and mix in the salt and pepper.
2. Slowly mix in water, a bit at a time, until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. (You might need slightly more than 3/4 c., but be careful not to make the dough too wet!)
3. Shape the dough into a ball or log, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the jalapeño and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
7. Add corn and peas and cook for ~5 minutes.
8. Add the tomato sauce and cook until mixture thickens slightly (~5 more minutes).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
10. Divide the dough into 16 roughly equal portions and shape each into a ball.
11. Working with one ball at a time, roll out into a circle on a lightly floured surface.
12. Mound 2-3 Tbsp. of filling onto the centre of the circle.
13. Fold the circle over and crimp the edges together. Wet the edges a little if necessary to get it to seal.
14. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
15. Heat some oil in a wok or deep fryer. (Aim for a temperature of ~180°C/350°F.)
16. Fry the empanadas 2-4 at a time (depending on the size of your fryer/wok) until golden-brown on both side, flipping once.
17. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
18. Serve as is or with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, and/or guacamole.

The Kidlet came home from her cooking class with half of a fairly hefty head of cabbage a couple weeks ago. I wasn't really feeling the cabbage roll casserole or coleslaw, so I've been casting about for another recipe that would use it up. I liked the look of this boiled dinner as a simple, one-pot meal, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Sadly we didn't have any brisket left in the freezer, so I didn't end up making my own corned beef for this. (Maybe next time.)

I actually couldn't find any corned beef (that wasn't out of a can), so I ended up getting a piece of "pastrami-style" brisket instead. They're similar. The pastrami is just more highly seasoned and made from a fattier piece of brisket (and is normally smoked and steamed rather than boiled).

It would have been nice to have had the leaner corned beef for this dinner, but the pastrami still worked very nicely. And TF definitely appreciated how tender it was!

This is a great, simple dinner. Just be aware that you will need a fairly large pot to accommodate all the ingredients. I only had half as much meat and ~75% as many potatoes as I was supposed to and my Dutch oven was still on the verge of overflowing! So, if you don't have a very large pot available, you may want to halve the recipe and make a smaller batch.

Boiled Dinner

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (1.5-1.8kg/3.5-4 lb.) corned beef brisket¹
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 5-6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 large or 12 small carrots, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic (optional)
• 3-4 onions, cut into wedges
• 900g (2 lbs.) new potatoes
• 1 small green cabbage, cut into wedges
• 1/2 c. sour cream²
• 1-2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

1. Place the corned beef in a large pot and add enough water to cover it by 2-3cm.
2. Bring to a boil and skim any foam off the surface.
3. Reduce heat; add bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns; cover; and simmer until meat is somewhat tender and has reached an internal temperature of at least 70°C/160°F (2-3 hours³).
4. If your carrots are large, cut them into smaller chunks. (If they're small, they can just be peeled and left whole.)
5. Add the carrots, garlic (if using), onions, potatoes, and cabbage to the pot.
6. Increase heat to quickly bring the mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender (~30 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, stir the horseradish into the sour cream and season to taste with pepper.
8. Stir in the chives (if using).
9. Once the vegetables are done, remove them with a slotted spoon.
10. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice.
11. Serve the meat and veggies together, passing the horseradish sour cream at the table.

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¹ If you'd like to make your own corned beef, here are the instructions:

Combine 8 cups water, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt, 1/2 c. sugar, 3 Tbsp pickling spices, and 3 cloves garlic, crushed.
Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Submerge the brisket in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 5-8 days.
Remove the brisket, rinse, and proceed with recipe.

I didn't end up trying this approach this time (hence why it's down here in a footnote). If I ever do, I'll give it its own write-up in a separate post. I just wanted to have it recorded somewhere in the meantime. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 1 c. of heavy cream here. You were meant to whip the cream and then fold in 3 Tbsp. of horseradish. TF didn't like the sound of that, so I swapped in some sour cream instead. It was delicious on the beef and went great with the potatoes too! ^Back
3 I was working with a much smaller piece of meat, so mine had already cooked through before it'd even reached the 1-hour mark. Adjust your cooking time as needed based on the size and shape of your brisket. ^Back

This is an interesting cake: no leavener (beyon whipped egg whites), not too sweet, and with lots of pistachios in! It actually contains twice as much pistachio by volume as flour. The use of whipped egg whites/French meringue in the batter along with fat (in the form of melted butter) puts me in mind of a chiffon cake. But I feel like this has more flour than I'd normally expect in a chiffon. That said, I don't have enough experience with chiffon cakes to know for sure. Anyway, as noted, it's a nice, nutty cake that doesn't come out overly sweet.

Along with the pistachios, the batter incorporates a bit of vanilla and some orange zest for flavour. These were both very nice with it (although I didn't feel that the orange came through particularly strongly), but I think it would be interesting to try swapping out the vanilla for some rosewater next time. Not that I wasn't excellent the way it was, but pistachio and rose are such a classic combo that I'd really like to give it a try here. I actually ended up sprinkling a few rose petals on top before serving. Not enough to noticeably affect the flavour though; I just thought it needed a bit of decoration.

Pistachio-Orange Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 2 c. (~250g) pistachios
• 1 1/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. orange zest
• 6 large egg whites (~3/4 c.)
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (or rosewater)
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar and/or dried rose petals

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and spread the pistachios out on a baking sheet.
2. Bake at 160°C (325°F) until toasted and fragrant (6-8 minutes), shaking the pan every 2 minutes. Transfer to plate to cool.
3. Increase oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23cm (9") springform pan.
4. Coarsely chop half of the pistachios. (A few quick pulses in a food processor works well for this.)
5. Transfer the chopped nuts to a bowl and set aside.
6. Add the remaining nuts to a food processor or blender along with 1/2 c. of the sugar and pulse until finely ground.
7. Add the flour and orange zest and pulse until mixed.
8. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy.
9. Add the vanilla and the remaining 3/4 c. of sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time while continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.
10. Quickly but gently fold the flour mixture into the meringue.
11. Add the butter and chopped pistachios and quickly fold those in as well.
12. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes.
14. Transfer to wire rack to cool for ~10 minutes.
15. Remove sides from springform pan and allow to cool for another few minutes.
16. Carefully remove cake from pan bottom and place on wire rack to finish cooling.
17. Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with rose petals before serving.

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Variations

No Refined Sugar Pistachio-Rose Cake

I haven't had a chance to test this yet, but I think it would be interesting to try making this cake with powdered dates in place of granulated sugar. I'm not sure how well it would work for making the meringue, but I think it would be worth a try. I'd also be tempted to replace 1-2 Tbsp. of the butter with orange juice, just to amp up the orange flavour a bit (while also slightly reducing the fat). I know this wouldn't exactly turn this cake into health food, but it would hopefully make it a bit healier and maybe a little more diabetic-friendly. So, here we go!

Ingredients

• 2 c. (~250g) pistachios
• 1 1/4 c. powdered dates, divided
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. orange zest
• 6 large egg whites (~3/4 c.)
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (or rosewater)
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
• icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar and/or dried rose petals

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and spread the pistachios out on a baking sheet.
2. Bake at 160°C (325°F) until toasted and fragrant (6-8 minutes), shaking the pan every 2 minutes. Transfer to plate to cool.
3. Increase oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23cm (9") springform pan.
4. Coarsely chop half of the pistachios. (A few quick pulses in a food processor works well for this.)
5. Transfer the chopped nuts to a bowl and set aside.
6. Add the remaining nuts to a food processor or blender along with 1/2 c. of the date powder and pulse until finely ground.
7. Add the flour and orange zest and pulse until mixed.
8. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt and 1 tsp. of the orange juice until foamy.
9. Add the vanilla and the remaining 3/4 c. of date powder 1 Tbsp. at a time while continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.
10. Quickly but gently fold the flour mixture into the meringue.
11. Add the butter, remaining orange 5 tsp. of juice, and chopped pistachios and quickly fold those in as well.
12. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes.
14. Transfer to wire rack to cool for ~10 minutes.
15. Remove sides from springform pan and allow to cool for another few minutes.
16. Carefully remove cake from pan bottom and place on wire rack to finish cooling.
17. Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with rose petals before serving.

Huevos Rancheros (The Breakfast Bible version)

I know I've made a few different versions of huevos rancheros ("farmer's eggs") before and there's at least one recipe for them already posted on this blog. But, as noted, I can be a bit of a completionist sometimes and there was a different recipe for them in one of my breakfast cookbooks, so of course I had to give that a try as well.

This is actually quite different from what I think of as typical huevos rancheros. Rather than making a saucy bean-and-tomato stew (possibly with peppers and other veggies mixed in) and poaching the eggs in the stew, these eggs are fried and then topped with a puréed tomato sauce and beans. (Ideally black beans, but I already had a tin of chickpeas opened, so I just used a few of them for this rendition.) You still get a lot of the same elements, they're just combined in a different way.

Huevos Rancheros

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. canola oil (or bacon grease), divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 chipotle in adobo + 1/2 tsp. adobo sauce
• 8 corn tortillas
• 8 large eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. cooked black beans, warmed
• 1/2 c. crumbled queso fresco or feta¹
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook for ~2 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Remove from heat and transfer to blender.
5. Add the tomatoes, chili powder, chipotle, and adobo sauce and purée until smooth.
6. Pour the sauce back into the pot and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened slightly (~30 minutes).
8. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. of the remaining oil over medium heat.
9. Add a tortilla and cook until warmed through and slightly crisped on the outside, flipping once. Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding more oil as necessary. Transfer the tortillas to a plate as they come of the the pan and keep warm.
10. Once the tortillas have all been warmed, begin cooking the eggs. Fry sunny side up, over easy, or however you'd prefer using any remaining oil (if any) to cook them and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
11. Place an egg on each tortilla, top with a generous portion of sauce and a few of the warmed beans.
12. Top each egg with ~1 Tbsp. each of cheese and cilantro.
13. Serve as is or add a bit of avocado, sour cream, and/or thinly sliced radish if desired.

---

¹ I didn't have any feta (or queso fresco), so I just used a bit of grated mild cheddar for this version. Feta would have been great, but the cheddar still worked well. ^Back

I still have a tonne of other recipes in the queue that I need to do write-ups for, but I tried out yet another new waffle recipe this morning, so I figured I'd post that first. (Hopefully I can get some of the other write-ups done soon!)

These waffles are an interesting mix: they combine yeast with a cornmeal batter. And then you add in brown sugar, molasses, and currants which all add their own distinctive flavours.

I quite liked these waffles. Especially with a little bit of mango yogurt and maple syrup! But they weren't a favourite for either TF or the Kidlet. Still enjoyed, just not devoured with the same enthusiasm that some of the others were.

And while the yeast-leavened nature of these waffles does mean that you have to be organized enough to mix up the batter the day before, that also means that it's all ready to go the next morning! It was very convenient being able to sleep in a bit and then just roll out of bed, flip the switch on the waffle iron, and be churning out fresh waffles just a few minutes later. Definitely a nice feature of this recipe.

I had slightly more than 1/2 a cup of currants left in the bag and, in retorspect, I wish I'd just mixed them all in. I liked the currants in these waffles, but it would've been nice with even more. Next time I think I'd aim for ~3/4 c.

Anadama Waffles with Currants

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 175g all-purpose flour
• 150g (~1 c.) cornmeal
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant (rapid-rise) yeast
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. dried currants

Directions

1. Combine the flour, cornmeal, yeast, and salt and mix well.
2. Beat the eggs with the milk.
3. Whisk in the melted butter, molasses, and brown sugar.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine.
5. Stir with a spatula to make sure there are no dry spots. (A few lumps are okay.)
6. Cover and allow to ferment in fridge for 12-24 hours.
7. Once the batter has risen, preheat your waffle iron.
8. Add the currants to the batter and stir to combine.
9. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve with maple syrup, molasses, yogurt, and/or fruit of your choice.

One-Pot Miso Ramen

We got these "revo bento" boxes recently and have been getting a lot of use out of them. Not as bento boxes, but they're great for storing stuff in the fridge, and a good intermediate size between the small containers in the 100-500mL range we already had lots of and the larger 1.5-2L containers that are often overkill. And unlike the glass or plastic containers¹, they're stove- and flame-safe, so I suspect they'll see a lot of use in the camping season as combined cookware, servingware, and storage containers.

In the meantime, they came with a little recipe booklet filled with dishes meant to be prepared mostly or entirely in the bento boxes themselves, so you can just cook them, eat out of the box, and put a lid over any leftovers. In this case I didn't actually do that; the bentos don't work with induction, so I just cooked it in a separate pot and served in the bento rather than heating up the tawa. Symbol and I shared it, and while it's considerably less soupy than I'm used to miso ramen being, neither of us had any complaints about the taste.

The recipe calls for a head of bok choi; we didn't have any on hand, so I instead used about a cup and a half of (already cooked) broccoli and cauliflower leftovers from a previous meal. I think it would be really tasty with bok choi, though, and I've written it up as such.

One-Pot Miso Ramn

Swanz/Morph Recipe Book for Revo Bento (p. 9)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 ~200g packet of smoked firm tofu, diced (or other protein of your choice)
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili oil
• 150mL stock or broth
• 150mL vegetable milk (I used oat milk)
• 1 packet instant ramen noodles (discard the seasoning packet, or save it for a different recipe)
• 1-2 heads bok choi, coarsely chopped
• 2 eggs, soft-boiled or fried

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, ~1 minute.
3. Add protein and stir-fry until browned and cooked through.
4. Add miso paste, soy sauce, and chili oil and stir until paste is melted and protein is evenly coated.
5. Pour in the stock and vegetable milk and let simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add the ramen noodles and cook, stirring into the broth as they soften, for ~2 minutes.
7. Stir in the bok choi or other veggies.
8. Remove from heat, top with eggs, and serve.

This is a tasty stew, but I feel like it needed a bit more... something to perk it up a bit. You would think that with half a kilo of chorizo in the pot, it would have plenty of savoury umami and fat and spice and all that good stuff and it certainly smelled incredible, but -- for me at least -- the flavour didn't quite live up to what the aroma promised. Still... it was decent and very easy to throw together. Although it wasn't remotely ready in the time indicated in the recipe. I don't know if the InstantPot's low is just dramatically lower than whatever slow cooker they were using or what, but even after eight hours the beans were still fairly firm. And I even bumped the temperature up to "medium" for the last four hours of that cook time!

In the end it took a full 12 hours to cook! Four each on low, medium, and high. And it then got left on the highest "keep warm" temperature overnight as well. Next time I think I'd just start it on "slow cook - high" and aim for maybe a six-hour cook time. I'd probably also add a jalapeño or two as well. And maybe a bit of creole seasoning. Hopefully that would help round out the flavours a bit.

Red Bean and Chorizo Stew

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g dried red kidney beans
• 2 Tbsp. bacon fat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 jalape&ntile;os, minced (optional)
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 c. beef or chicken stock, divided
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. red chile flakes
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. creole seasoning (optional)
• 3 bay leaves
• 500g cured Spanish-style chorizo, sliced

Directions

1. Place the beans in a bowl and add enough water to cover by at least 3-4cm. Cover and let soak overnight.
2. The next day, melt the bacon fat over medium heat ("sauté - medium" in the InstantPot).
3. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper cook until softened and beginning to brown (5-7 minutes).
4. Add the garlic and jalapeños (if using) and cook for another minute or two.
5. Pour in 1 c. of the stock and scrape the bottom to deglaze the pot.
6. Drain the beans and add them to the pot.
7. Add the remaining stock, vinegar, chile flakes, pepper, creole seasoning (if using), bay leaves, and chorizo.
8. Stir to combine, cover, and slow cook on high for 6-8 hours.
9. Serve with rice and/or crusty bread and season with Tabasco or similar hot sauce(s).

Tropical Smoothie Bowls

I gave the Kidlet the choice of waffles or smoothie bowls for breakfast this morning and she chose smoothie bowls.

The suggested base for these tropical smoothie bowls is either strawberry-banana or banana-mango. The blended mixture then gets topped with a combination of banana, mango, pineapple, strawberries, and toasted coconut. (Personally, I don't really think the strawberries fit the "tropical" vibe, but they're tasty and the Kidlet loves them, so I actually doubled down on the strawberries and used them in both the base and the toppings for this one.)

As with the other smoothie bowl recipes in this book, the recipe claims to make two servings. I contend that one of these bowls is way too large for any reasonable person to eat in a single sitting. (The Kidlet usually manages it, but, then again, she's not a reasonable person.~) This actually works out well for us since I can just give the Kidlet one bowl and TF and I can share the other one. But for folks who don't have ravenous, smoothie-devouring spawn, it may make more sense to actually divide this into four bowls to make more reasonable portions.

Strawberry-Banana Tropical Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, divided
• 1 c. frozen chopped strawberries
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 mango, sliced
• 8 strawberries, sliced
• 4 Tbsp. toasted sliced or flaked coconut

Directions

1. Place 2 of the bananas, the frozen fruit, and the yogurt in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie among bowls: two bowls for large servings, four bowls for smaller portions.
3. Slice the remaining banana.
4. For small bowls, top each one with 1/4 of the banana, 1/4 of the pineapple pieces (ie. ~1/16 of the whole pineapple), 1/4 of the mango slices (~1/8 of the whole mango), 2 strawberries, and 1 Tbsp. of the coconut. For large bowls, double all the quantities.

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Variations

Banana-Mango Tropical Smoothie bowls

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, divided
• 1 c. frozen chopped mango
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces¹
• 1/2 mango, sliced
• 8 strawberries, sliced
• 4 Tbsp. toasted sliced or flaked coconut

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¹ I was all out of pineapple, so I swapped in som fresh blueberries for this rendition. Not as tropical, but much more visually striking. ^Back

I had an excess egg yolk that needed to be used up and that seemed like as good an excuse as any to make this rich, chocolate-y pudding. It involves milk, egg yolks, and three different forms of chocolate: cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate. By the time I'd finished stirring all the chocolate in it looked more like a ganache than a typical pudding! Very nice, but definitely something to enjoy in small quantities.

Dark Chocolate Pudding

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 6 large egg yolks
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
• 185g dark chocolate
• 55g unsweetened chocolate (or cocoa paste)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Scald the milk over medium-low heat. It should steam and begin to form small bubbles, but stop short of a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar.
3. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix well.
4. Very gradually mix in the hot milk, whisking constantly.
5. Return the mixture to the pot and cook over medium heat until thickened (4-5 minutes).
6. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
7. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Keep whisking until chocolate is completely melted and fully incorporated.
8. Mix in vanilla.
9. Pour into bowls, cover, and chill until ready to serve.
10. Top with whipped cream and/or fresh strawberries if desired.

I had intended to make a red bean stew for dinner last night, but I forgot to get it started in the morning and, since it takes a minimum of six hours in the slow cooker, not getting it started before noon made it a write-off for yesterday. Instead I had to scramble to come up with an alternative dinner option. There were a few possibilities, but I ultimately went with these chickpea burgers paired with a cucumber salad because I felt our meals had been a bit lacking in vegetables lately. These two recipes also had the benefit of using up a lot of leftover bits of ingredients that were hanging out in the fridge and pantry and needed to be used sooner rather than later. Perfect!

These burgers are nice, with some flavourful seasonings mixed in, but the toppings are really what make them in my opinion. The recipe calls for making a simple paprika mayonnaise and suggests topping them with thinly sliced red onion and lettuce. I had a small jar of quick-pickled red onions in the fridge, so I used those for my burgers and also added some thinly sliced tomatoes along with the lettuce, mayo, and onions. I think dill pickles would have been a great addition, but we'd just used up the last of my mom's homemade pickles and I haven't had a chance to restock yet.

Chickpea and Roasted Red Pepper Burgers

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Paprika Mayonnaise

• 5 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. hot Spanish paprika
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 drops liquid smoke

Burgers

• 1 small potato
• 1 can (~2 c.) chickpeas
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. minced pickled jalapeño
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 5 Tbsp. panko
• 2 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Assembly

• 6 burger buns
• lettuce
• 1-2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced or pickled
• dill pickles, sliced (optional)
• 6 slices Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the mayo, paprika, lemon juice, and liquid smoke. Mix well and set aside.
2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, cut the potato in quarters, add to the pot, and boil until fork tender (~10 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, finely chop the chickpeas in a food processor¹. Do not purée!
4. Drain the potato and either cut it into small dice and mix it into the chickpeas or mash it in with a potato masher.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
6. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
8. Stir the garlic mixture into the chickpea mixture.
9. Add the roasted red pepper, eggs, panko, and parsley and stir to combine.
10. Form the chickpea mixture into 6 patties.
11. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the remaining oil over medium-low heat.
12. Add three of the patties to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, carefully flipping once (~5 minutes per side).
13. Split the burger buns and spread some mayo inside.
14. Add some lettuce and top with a cooked patty and whatever other toppings you want (tomatoes, pickles, etc.).

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¹ I used the "food chop" setting on my blender. That usually does a pretty well at standing in for a food processor. In this case, it got me most of the way there and I just finished the job off with a potato masher. Possibly I could've just gotten out the masher from the get-go and skipped the blender altogether. Might be something to try next time... ^Back

I decided to try another smoothie bowl recipe this morning. This one wasn't as big a success as the previous one, but I still quite liked it. Although, considering that neither the Kidlet nor TF liked it as much and that finding the açaí for it is a bit of a pain, I probably won't bother revisiting this one. Still... it was nice to try it out.

The original recipe calls for "4 packets of aça&iactue; purée". I've never seen anything like that sold in stores. But I did remember Zehr's carrying these "asana" smoothie cubes that are a mix of blueberry, açaí, and cherry. So I grabbed a package of those and figured I'd just roll with it.

I was also all out of goji berries. I keep meaning to get more, but never quite making it to the Asian supermarket to pick them up. Zehr's did have some, but they were pretty expensive. So I picked up a package of the currently on sale health food trail mix instead. It had a mix of Brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, white mulberries, rasins, ground cherries, and goji berries. Not quite the same as straight-up goji berries, I know, but I figured it was probably close enough.

Blueberries were on sale this week, so I opted to swap out the fresh strawberries (which didn't look very nice) for a couple handfulls of fresh blueberries instead. I feel like this worked quite well! (Although I forgot to add them until after TF had snapped the photo for this post.) Use either strawberries or blueberries depending on what's available.

Oh, and I guess the other change I made was to add a little bit of yogurt. I was having trouble getting the smoothie to blend and eventually added a little plain yogurt just to see if that would help... smooth things out a bit. Which did seem to work well. You may or may not need the yogurt depending on what you're using for the main, açaí, part of the smoothie.

Açaí Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 405g Evive "asana" (or other açaí-containing frozen fruit mixture)
• 1/4 c. frozen raspberries
• 1/2 c. coconut water
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt (optional)
• 1-2 bananas, sliced
• 8 fresh strawberries, sliced or 1/4 c. fresh blueberries
• 1/2 c. granola
• 2 Tbsp. goji berries (or goji berry-containing trail mix)
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened dried coconut
• 4 tsp. honey (optional)¹

Directions

1. Purée the smoothie cubes with the raspberries, coconut water, and yogurt (if using).
2. Pour the smoothie into bowls.²
3. If the smoothie seems too soupy, place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes to firm up.
4. Top each bowl with 1/2 a banana.
5. For small bowls, top each one with 2 strawberries or 1 Tbsp. blueberries, 2 Tbsp. granola, 1/2 Tbsp. goji berries (or trail mix), 1/2 Tbsp. coconut, and 1 tsp. honey (if using). For large bowls, double all these quantities.

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¹ I added the honey this time, but I think I'd skip it next time. Both the smoothie and the toppings were sweet enough on their own and I didn't feel like they needed the extra sweetness from the honey. ^Back
2 The recipe says that this makes two portions, but TF and I each had ~1/4 of the smoothie this produced and I think I would struggle to each much more than that amount in a single sitting. Even the Kidlet didn't quite finish hers this time. So, I'd be inclined to consider this a four-serving recipe, not two. But follow your heart (and your appetite). ^Back