Month: August 2011

We Really Missed the Pizza!

When we were travelling around France, needless to say, the food was fantastic. Not just in restaurants, but all over. And oh, the variety! But when you’re staying in a rented apartment a few things are certain: your appliances will be unfamiliar. The variety of available seasonings will be limited (unless you plan to cart them all home at the end of the holiday, or be extra-benevolent to the next tenant). You will find new and creative ways to use the few pots and pans you have, but you’ll always be missing something. That something will start a craving.

Our apartment in Besançon had no pizza pan, nor anything similar. So we went out for pizza, and it was yummy: hand-thrown, nice sauce, cooked in a wood-fired oven. But what it wasn’t, was home-made. So when we got back it wasn’t very long before our thoughts turned to pizza. This one has a spelt crust (use the same recipe as our artichoke pizza for the crust, substituting spelt flour from Monckton Organics). We topped it with a little chili sauce, and some yellow pepper. We threw on some black olives for good measure, and some artichokes. Then for cheese: creamy, delectable Oka, brought by the W Parents on a recent visit. So good!

It's Not Just Leftover Chicken!

We had the carcass of the chicken, a leg, and a cob of corn left in the fridge from the other night’s dinner. What to do? Make soup!

While we watched t.v., we put the carcass in a large Dutch oven with a sliced onion and set it to boil. We turned it down and let it simmer for a couple of hours, then cooled it down until we could handle it.

After that, we removed the meat from the bones. We set the strained broth to boiling again. We added some sliced radish, green and yellow beans, and yellow bell pepper. We also put in a few sliced garlic cloves and a diced onion. For herbs, whatever we had (in this case, summer savory, and a grind of salt).

When the onion seemed to be soft, we threw in about half a cup (125ml) each of red rice and Puy lentils. After about half an hour, we removed the corn from the cob, and diced the remaining chicken. This, plus the original chicken, were added back in. What a great meal, all from leftovers. Add some bread and wine, and it’s even good enough for guests.

Poached Perch Dinner

Dinner in a hurry! We had a long day yesterday, and needed dinner, fast. In the freezer were a package of perch fillets we had picked up earlier this summer.

There were a couple of potatoes in the bin, and some yellow and green beans we found at the farmer’s market. Here’s what we did:

We peeled the potatoes and put them to boil in the bottom of a steamer pot. Then we put the zest and juice of a lemon, with half a cup (125ml) of water in another pot, and set it to boil. We snipped the beans and added them to the top of the steamer. Finally, we put the frozen fillets in the pot with the lemon, and turned it down to a point where just the occasioal bubble arose from the pot. Within 10 minutes, it was all done. Deliciously!

Strawberry Shortcake, Maritime Style

We East Coasters like our shortcake a certain way. First, it doesn’t really involve cake. It takes biscuits. We make fresh, hot tea biscuits. We top them with sliced strawberries that have been sprinkled with a spoonful or two of sugar (no more!) and allowed to make some juice.

Then we give each shortcake a dollop of delicious, cool whipped cream with vanilla and just a hint of sugar. Summer on a plate!

A Heartwarming Breakfast

Berry season!

There’s no better breakfast than some fresh-made jam from your own kitchen (we made twoberry, our combination of raspberry and blueberry). Serve it on top of flaky tea biscuits and a hot cup of joe – and you’re golden!

 

Delicious Berry Goodness!

Sweet Berry GoodnessWhen we were kids, all the women would gather in the kitchen to put up jams and preserves during harvest season. These days, we go walkabout, and make some delicious berry jam. It probably doesn’t cost less than store-made jam, but it has amazing flavour and there’s nothing like saying, “I made it myself”.

Best ways to use it: for breakfast in the middle of winter, on toast, or next day, on homemade biscuits.

Corniest Meal of the Week

It’s corn season! There’s corn at all the small veg shops in the walkable neighbourhood, and at farmstands around the outskirts of the city. We boiled up a few delicious cobs (a little butter, and you’re good to go!)

Dinner last night also featured a great green salad, and some Chili Lemon Chicken.

Ultimate Summer Coleslaw

No time for food styling, it’s coleslaw time! This is an ultimate summer dish because it’s cool, crunchy, and fast to make on a hot day. Given that we’ve been having record high temperatures for weeks on end, that’s vital!

Moreover, the great thing about coleslaw is that it only takes a few ingredients, usually easily available. In our case we went to Kelly’s Fruit Market and Plank Road Market for a cabbage and some carrots. We could have hand-grated, but in this case we used a food processor to shred them together. Then we mixed in a generous dollop of mayonnaise. (Disclaimer alert: the mayo wasn’t walkable, exactly. We walked to a store in France and we walked it home in our suitcase. It’s from Maille, the famous mustard people. And it’s full of egg-y goodness, just like mayonnaise you’d make yourself, if you had time. We also gave a good splash of white wine vinegar, and a liberal shake (probably a teaspoon, for a bowl this size) of celery seed. That’s it. Stir it all together, let it stand for a few minutes in the fridge (or longer if you’d like) for the flavours to develop. We served it with the amazing halibut in yesterday’s blog, and it was a big hit.

We Had a Halibut Good Time…

No, no, we didn’t disappear. We went to England. Then France. (Okay, we did sort of disappear, but on purpose). It’s a long way for walkable feasters to go…but go we did, and what great food we ate!

Then, when we returned a week or so ago, it was time for a late celebration of The Daughter’s birthday. We were joined by a convivial crowd of loved ones. We wanted to serve something really special…so of course we rushed right to @Hookedinc, where we were sure to find something delicious. This is it. Two giant halibut fillets. We dressed them with a little olive oil, sliced lemon, capers, and salt-cured olives. Then we roasted them in a hot oven in a parchment packet for awhile, opening them up near the end to let some of the juices thicken up in the heat.

After that, another brief hiatus – this time to help Mom recuperate after receiving a new knee. But now we’re back, and harvest season is in full swing. We’ll be bringing you all sorts of treats, we’re quite sure.

Formidable!