A Taste Asia

For the next week - 7 days, my kitchen is going Asian (well for one meal a day anyways, but I am sure there will be left overs).

I got myself a Martin Yan cookbook from the library this week and I have been quite taken by some of his ideas/recipes. Tonight I am going to make a Satay Chicken with a garlicky peanut noodle - in my mind, its kind of a take on Pad Thai - but we shall see.

Sorry no pic - I would have had to work on my plating!

Satay Chicken Marinade:

2 T Soy Sauce
2 T Lemon Juice
2 T Curry Powder
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Veg Oil
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice

1 pound chicken (Breasts, thighs or tenders)
Let sit for 10 minutes and cook - I BBQ'd them - but do what you must.

Garlicky Peanut Noodles:

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
2 T Lemon Juice
2 T Soy Sauce
1/3 c. Peanut butter
1 T Chili Garlic Sauce
2 T Brown Sugar
2 Minced Garlic Cloves

16 oz Chinese Egg Noodles - I used thick rice noodles.

Top with the chicken and some green onions, Cilantro and chopped peanuts.

It was most splendid - though it would have been better if I had enough peanut butter - I was a little shy and subbed in a wee bit of Tahini.

2 Months (I think)

Red Light

Yellow Light

Green Light

Figs

As a child (and as far as I know an adult) I have never been to fond of the flavour of fig. So when I was given a cupcake last summer that was fig flavoured with a goats cheese frosting I was sceptical but open minded. I was shocked at how good it was (fig included). I thought perhaps my pallet had changed but after I bought a wheel of dried figs I was aware that, that was not the case. I soon discovered it was the flavour of fresh figs that I was missing and wanting.

So the other day when I came across a tray of fresh figs, I snapped them up. Now I have the task of using them before they go bad. Here are a few of my ideas.


Fig tart, fig crumble, and my personal favourite fig pizza with goats cheese and a base of reduced balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. I know what I want it to taste like, but it may be a different story trying to produce it.

Granola

Granola:

Mix
4c. Oats
1/2c. Wheat Germ
1/2c. Ground Flax Seed
1/2c. Wheat Bran
1/2c. Sunflower Seeds
1/2c. Almond Slivers
1/2c. Chopped Walnuts
1c. Dried fruit (I used a combo of apricot and cranberries)
1 tsp salt

Simmer over Medium high heat until smooth
1/2c. veg/canola oil
1/2c. Honey
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Mix dry and wet together then bake on a baking sheet for 30 - 40 minutes - mixing it up every 10 minutes or so.

This is the first recipe I've tried from my new "chef at home" cookbook - hopefully it's a winner - I will know tomorrow after breakfast. Next time I am thinking of Ginger and Cardamom.

You can do it TOO!

My Birthday Present from my wife!

I've been wanting to buy this cookbook for a while - and today was the day (Costco).

Even though you can find most of the recipes in this book on his website (see my sidebar), I thought I owed it to him and myself to own this book - seeing as I have adopted a lot of his style/philosophy's on cooking (not to mention his spice storage methods - I love mason jars!).

Thanks Wife!

Reawakening

back from the dead

Jerk!

Jerk Chicken Rub

2 T ground coriander
2 T ground ginger
2 T brown Sugar
1 T onion Powder
1 T garlic Powder
1 T Kosher Salt
1 T Cayenne Pepper
2 ts pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground clove

Approx - One Tablespoon of rub per chicken breast (I used 4 T for the whole chicken) - mixed itwith a little bit of oil and let it sit for at least a few hours!

Just Ate

So I just ate, and I feel inclined to blog about my experience.

I like to cook and I believe I am a good cook and put out good quality meals - but there have only been a handful of times in my cooking life, where I have been shocked at how amazing a meal I made was. Tonight's supper (which my wife missed because she is at a birth) was one of those few meals.

My makeshift Chicken Souvilaki on a homemade Tortilla with Garlic mayo

Chicken:
I marinaded (for an hour or so) my chicken thighs (about 6 of them) in;
Lemon juice (1 1/2 lemons) add some of the zest too
5 Garlic cloves
Lots of pepper
a small bunch of fresh thyme

BBQ!

Tortillas:
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tb oil

Knead till smooth (5 minutes or less) then let rest for 20 minutes or so. Split into 6 and roll out (about 8 or so inches round - I do this 1 at a time and usually as the 1 before it is cooking). Get a non stick pan hot with no oil (about 7 or 8 on your dial) - and heat the tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side. You will know it's hot enough when you see some specks of brown and it puffs up a bit.

I am not a fan of Yogurt therefore I am kind of scared of Tzatziki - though I was tempted to make it today. Instead I used a garlic mayo and If I may add - I have started playing with mayo and so far I am quite pleased with the things you can do with it (my creole mayo and now garlic - whats next orange citrus mayo!)

Garlic Mayo:
A cup or so of mayo
a few cloves of garlic - minced
and lots of pepper

So I basically smeared the garlic on - added the chicken - added some cubed cucumber and a little bit of arugula. To finish I squeezed a bit of lemon juice and olive oil!

Simple but Awesome!

How about them Apples

Last week, I bought a 10 Kg bag of apples from Costco. That's a lot of apples for 2 people. That being said they must be used. I thought perhaps an apple loaf (to boring), or an apple pie (to much work), ah Apple Crisp.

I find most Apple Crisp recipes out there are quite similar. So for the last year or so I have been experimenting with putting different flavours in the fruit - for example; vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, citrus and nuts of course. So this morning when I came across the idea of putting some of the topping on the bottom as kind of a crust, I went for it

I should also say that 1 crisp turned into 3. I guess I got bored with the apples.


Topping:
1 c. flour
1 c. spelt flour
1 c. brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1 c. or so of butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder

Apple Cranberry (8x8 pan):
4 c. Apples
1/2 c. cranberries (dried, but I gave them a shot of hot water before hand).
a wee bit of sugar, just to coat the apples
and a pinch of lemon zest

Blueberry (loaf pan):
2 c. Blueberries
a pinch of lemon zest
and the same amount of grated ginger (I keep this frozen, cause it grates great)
a wee bit of sugar

Strawberry (loaf pan):
2 c. Strawberries
a wee bit of sugar

week 7 (good and bad news)

Good News:
My Sweet Million tomato's are turning red.

My Pepper are getting huge.

My thyme (not pictured) is doing fantastic.

Bad News:
My Mint is dead - the stems developed the rust and contaminated the whole plant. I did manage to get use out of the plant - but not nearly enough.
All the buds/flowers on my pepper plants have died (well 75%), My theory - The big peppers over the course of last weeks heat wave stole all the water.
Much the same thing is happening to my tomato plants, though the buds aren't dying and falling off. Perhaps they are just waiting to grow after the big ones have been picked - which I do think will be sooner then later.

Chai

Chai Tea:

4 c. Water
a thumb of ginger sliced
1/2 tsp peppercorn
6 cloves
10 cardamom pods (crushed)
3 'inch piece of cinnamon

Bring all of this to a boil - then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain and add 3 to 4 bags of orange pekoe tea and steep for 5 minutes or so.

Add some milk and sugar/honey to your desired taste. About 1 1/2 c. of milk and 3 Tb. Cane or Palm sugar per 4 c. of chai.

Serve hot - or cool, over ice!

Curry Burgers and an Avocado Seed

If you have been wondering what ever happened to my avocado seed - the answer is nothing. I kept it in the water for over a month and half and the seed basically split in half and produced no root or sprout. So today I have started my 3rd attempt - and hopefully it will work - though this time I am going to keep it inside on the window ledge that only gets indirect sun light.


A while back I came across an idea for Curry Meatloaf - and since then I have played with this idea and have made it my own. It started with meatloaf, moved to burgers and has even found its way into a smoked deer sausage (which if I do say so myself was exceptional). Here's the recipe try it - I also have a hunch it would work with any ground meat (turkey, lamb, etc.)

a pound of ground beef (or whatever)
3/4 c. oats
1 egg
1/2 c. Salsa
1/3 c. dried cranberries
2 Tb. Curry Powder
1 tsp Cin
1/2 tsp Salt

and just a new idea - perhaps a few pine nuts!

Enjoy

Week 6 (highlights)

This is my biggest pepper. It's doing so well - though I do have a hunch that it's stealing all the water therefore allowing none of the other peppers to grow. Good thing I have 3 more plants which seem to be producing at the same rate.

I haven't been noticing to much going on with my sweet million tomato's. I believe that most have reached there max size and are just waiting to turn red.

I have to correct myself, these tomato's aren't Golden boy's they are actually called Lemon Boy's. I don't know where I came up with "Golden", seeing as the tag doesn't even say that. These 2 tomatoes are probably 3 to 4 inches round, the little one being the size of a golf ball.


My mint has contracted a condition called Mint rust. Basically the leaves have rust colored spots on them, which can spread and kill a plant. So I have done my best to rid the plant of all the discolored leaves, and it looks pretty sad. I guess I will have to wait and see if it pulls through.

With temperatures soaring once again in Southern Ontario, I have placed some tea to soak in the sun in hopes of a ice cold tasty drink later this afternoon. This time instead of an orange I squeezed in a lemon - to make an iced tea lemon-aide.

Coconut Tapioca with a Mango blackberry salad

Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay

I am happy to say that a few days ago I found my tapioca in a local Asian market (the same market I found my kaffir lime leaves - but that's another story). So now after a week or so of hovering over this recipe, it was time to get out the sauce pan.

Tapioca soaking in a water bath.

1/2 c. dried tapioca (soak for 1 hour in 2 c. water)
2 cans coconut milk (Unsweetened)
2 cinnamon sticks (I used a tsp of ground)
1 1-inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped (I grated them in)
1/2 a whole nutmeg crushed (I would recommend 1/4 whole nutmeg grated)
1/4 c. Sugar

1/3 c. Simple Syrup
1/3 c. creme fresh

1 Ripe Mango
1 c. Blackberries
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 a vanilla bean scraped (i used regular old vanilla - though it did make it runny)

Combine the first group of ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until it has reduced to about 3 cups (strain if not using ground spices). Once this is acheived cool a bit (I popped it into the freezer for a while) then return to the sauce pan with the strained tapioca and cook until the tapioca is clear and looks like little fish eyes (2 to 5 minutes). Then Take off heat and and once again allow to cool. Once cooled to your desired temperature (I like mine a little warm) add the simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar heated together until sugar is dissolved) and creme fresh.

Serve this with the Mango and Blackberry salad.

I am happy to say, that this was in fact as good as I thought it would be, and will be made again.