Category: Cold Day Food

Don't Waste the Taste!

As part of our “use it up” series, today’s lunch is the remainder of last night’s fish pie.   
It started with leftover celeriac gratin, to which we added some steamed carrots and sliced mushrooms. Any leftover veg would do, though. We also had part of a container of whipping cream, and of course, the last of our amazing roast haddock from Hooked. Again, if you have other leftover fish, or even a tin of wild-caught salmon, this will work nicely. No whipping cream? Try regular milk with a tablespoon of cornstarch stirred in. 

Heat all of this to bubbling over gentle heat in an ovenproof dish, while you heat your oven to 400F

Meanwhile, make the biscuit topping like so:

In a medium bowl, combine 1 c each white flour and whole wheat flour. This makes a thick topping for four, otherwise feel free to halve it! Stir in 1/2 T brown sugar, 2 t baking powder and 1/2 t baking soda. Give a grind of salt and pepper. Quickly stir in 1 c fat free yogurt, just until blended. You may need to knead a couple of times by hand. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat to the size of your casserole. Place on top of the fish filling.

After 15 minutes drop the heat to 350 and bake another 15 minutes. At this point you can turn the heat off and it will stay warm in the oven for another 15-20 if someone is running late. 

Leftovers? Reheat from refrigerator cold by placing in a cold oven. Turn heat to 350. When your oven comes up to 350, time for 15 minutes and you’re set.

Also, the same topping can be rolled into biscuits – skip the pepper and follow the method as given. Roll 1″ thick and cut into circles. Bake on a cookie sheet w parchment at 400 for 20 minutes.)

Saturday, and the Living is Easy

Weekends are a great time for a relaxing breakfast – but this easy oatmeal recipe takes so little effort, we often have it on weekdays, too.

  
For two:

Put in a microwaveable glass  or ceramic casserole:

1 diced Apple

3/4 c large flake or steel cut oats 

A sprinkle of cinnamon 

1/2 c chopped nuts or seeds (we used hazelnuts and black sesame seeds for this version)

1-1/2 c water

No need to stir!

Microwave uncovered on high for 3 minutes, and on 50% power for 5 more minutes.

Stir and serve with maple syrup and some milk or nut milk.

Delicious!

Using it Up, with Flavour!

  
We had some roasted tofu in the fridge (for you vega phobics it almost tastes like chicken). The roasted root vegetable and red lentil soup was in the freezer from last week. (Abridged version: cook red lentils, add leftover cooked veg and a little water or broth, purée with a hand blender and a tablespoon of curry powder).

I diced the roasted tofu leftovers, in my fridge for a couple of days, and stirred into the soup. Excellent for a partner or roomie with a cold!

BONUS: 

Here’s how to roast the tofu: Press unwrapped firm tofu on a plate by weighting another plate on top with a can for 20 minutes, drain and cut into 1″/2.5cm cubes. Drizzle w soy sauce, sesame oil and grate over some fresh ginger. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown.

  

Like this, but with a local twist…

One of the most important ways to contain your food costs is to never waste. This week, we bought local produce. Yes, the cheese is imported, but we could just have easily used a local variety, if we hadn’t had to use this kind up.

Here’s a link to the original recipe – although practically every ingredient is changed. For the turnip, we used its larger purple and yellow cousin, the rutabaga. We also swapped out the beans for kidney beans we had on hand – in our case cooked without salt and a little chili powder. Red cabbage was swapped for green, and pecorino for Manchego. Even the vinegar was subbed with our homemade wine vinegar.

The result? Every bit as delicious. Vegans can easily use soy cheese,  and although the recipe suggested this as a side, it’s so good, full of fibre and colour that the two of us split it as a main.

  
Stay tuned as we find more ways to make our limited supply of local produce look fresh and exciting!

If she's lucky, the girl will have one of these with her soup…

  Our daughter is coming tomorrow for a visit, in advance of her anniversary party. She tells me she’s sick, so soup will be in order. If we aren’t too greedy, she might get one of these as well.

These sun dried tomato olive herb buns are adapted from an old favourite, the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. I love that there is no added sugar or and very little oil. We switched up the flour to 100% whole wheat and added olives when I ran out of tomato pieces.  I also shaped them like burger buns so they would be great for sandwiches of all kinds. All the fresh herbs are from our garden, and we skipped the salt. For a vegan version, simply omit the egg white glaze. Makes 12.

2c/500 ml boiling water

6 sun dried tomato halves, not oil packed, cut in slivers

6 stuffed olives, chopped

1T/15ml yeast

875ml/3.5c whole wheat flour

1/4 c chopped herbs (I used rosemary, oregano and thyme)

1 beaten egg white

In a 2 c glass measure, pour boiling water over tomatoes and let stand about 5 minutes. Then scoop them out with a slotted spoon into another dish and set aside for later. Pour off enough liquid from the measuring cup so you have 310ml/1-1/4c and let it cool to lukewarm.

Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm tomato water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Measure flour into a large bowl. Stir yeast mixture with a fork, then with a wooden or silicone spoon, mix it all at once into the flour, stirring until it mostly cleans away from the sides of the bowl. 

Scrape onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 30 times until smooth. Shape into a ball.

Spray your mostly-clean bowl with cooking spray or coat with a very light coating of olive oil. Put your ball of dough in it and cover with a clean tea towel. Let rise in a warm place about an hour, until doubled. (Honestly it was quite chilly in the kitchen today but it worked fine).

Punch down the dough then knead in the herbs, tomatoes, and olives until well distributed. 

Divide into 12 pieces and on a lightly floured surface, pat each into a circle about the size of a burger bun. Place on cookie sheets on parchment or Silpats, about 3 fingers apart, and cover again. Let rise for another hour. Notice how if you are working on something at your desk in the home office, the buns summon you to take a regular break to move around.

Preheat the oven to 400F /200C/ Gas mark 6. Brush tops with egg white if you are using it, and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. 

Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Hashtag #leftovercornedbeef



The second best thing about St. Patrick’s Day is the day after. Assuming you paced yourself with the boiled dinner, there’s enough left for hash the next day. Cook it all up in a nonstick pan and top with an egg. If you’re worried about the calories, don’t forget: move more. Fortunately with yet another blizzard assaulting the city, we know exactly how we will be doing that.

There's No Excuse for Bad Food

Around the world, and even around your town, there are people struggling to simply get enough to eat. Their food security is precarious at the best of times. But for most of us, the choice is between good-for-us food, and not-so-much. With all the shovelling and digging out we’ve had this winter, it would be easy to say we could “afford” the calories in some bad, unhealthy food. However we prefer to think of it this way: harsh conditions require the best food possible. This morning, multigrain toast (homemade) and a veggie scramble with local eggs and a judicious grating of PEI’s COWS aged cheddar.

Nutritious food seems expensive if you keep buying junk food. But if you replace the junk and plan wisely, you can eat well and have food left over to help your local food bank. So instead of overdoing, eat healthy, and think of how you can nourish someone else today.



Fuel Me Once…

Yesterday’s meetings finished late enough that we didn’t get home until the slush in the driveway had frozen into a rutted, slippery mess. So on today’s agenda, scraping and hacking. Lots of it. Clearly, fuel is needed, so this paradise rye French toast fit the bill. Paired up with a Full Steam coffee and some Acadian Maple syrup, and we’re ready to face what nature has doled out.

Thanks also to Krista Oland at Morning Sun Pottery for making these beautiful mugs!



What's a "Goatmeal"?

Glorious oatmeal! Somehow this delicious breakfast treat gained the nickname “Goatmeal” in our house…but whatever you call it, it is a warm, wonderful way to start the day. We’ve been to the gym and are safe inside observing the trees dance to another “weather event”. Hopefully Kid Two and his gal are safely ensconced in their home after a trip to Brazil.

Here’s how you make it:

In a micro-safe casserole (for two): 3/4c large flake rolled oats, 1T each raisins and walnuts, a good sprinkling of cinnamon, and a large Apple, diced. (Wash well and leave the skin on; we all need the fibre!). Microwave on your machine’s oatmeal cycle or 3 mins on high, 5 on medium. Stir and serve with milk and a little brown sugar (you won’t need much, and if you don’t want any, it is still delicious). Have a great day!

2015/01/img_2160.jpg

It isn't easy eating green (in winter)

…I was going to end that title with “in the frozen northland”, but in fact, relatively speaking, we are in the south of our country. However it is most decidedly winter, and that can make local a challenge. Fortunately there is nearly always a hydroponic/greenhouse grower of greens – or a friendly windowsill.

Top a big batch of greens with a simple vinaigrette of mustard, olive oil, maple syrup and cider vinegar. Sprinkle with sliced apples, walnuts, raisins, feta, and…eat up!

2015/01/img_2155.jpg