Category: Cooking

Hole-y Toast!

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This is one of our favourite breakfasts, especially if there are kids around. For some reason we have always called it toad in the hole, even though that moniker seems to apply to a host of other dishes. No matter what you call it, the appeal of having an egg cooked right into the toast, and a tiny toast circle to mop up the egg yolk, never gets old.

Butter a piece of bread for each person. Melt a little more butter in your frying pan or on a griddle. Cut a circle out of each bread using a cookie cutter, or a drinking glass. Put all of the pieces in the frying pan, butter side up. Crack in an egg. When you can start to see that the bottom is cooked (check the circles!), flip the pieces. Cook until they are as done as you like, and enjoy with some fresh tomato – or even a spoonful of guacamole and salsa.

Today is Remembrance Day. Please take time at 11am to remember those who have fought to gain the freedom and democracy you enjoy.

Shank You for a Delicious Meal!

We made a lovely road trip with the parents on Saturday, including a visit to Grammy, now aged 100. Side stopovers included Oulton’s meats, where we watched the talented team of butchers make short work of preparing a variety of delicious meats. In our case, we bought half a lamb, which included these two tasty shanks. We expect to be featuring all sorts of fall lamb recipes over the next weeks.

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We wanted to take advantage of local produce as well, including the delicious apples we picked up on our last trip to the Valley, and some potatoes we grew in our own plot. Here’s how we did it, for 2:

2 (12-ounce) lamb shanks, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/8 cup alcoholic sparkling cider
2 large diced apples
A good handful of fresh basil, thyme and oregano, minced
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley for topping

1. Heat oven to 300F. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle lamb with freshly ground black pepper. Add lamb to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan. Add garlic to pan; sauté 15 seconds. Add cider; cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in apples and herbs; cook 2 minutes. Return lamb to pan. Cover with apples, cover pan and bake 1 hour. Turn lamb over; cook 1 hour more or until meat is done and very tender. Remove lid and cook until thickened if necessary. Serve sprinkled w parsley, and mashed potatoes on the side.

Get your Fill(ing)!

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Hand-rolled pasta may sound like a Herculean task for a weeknight, but last Thursday we made these ravioli to take advantage of some leftover spicy roast squash. (Other leftover mashed vegetables will work equally well). Check the recipe pages for the hand-rolled pasta. We rolled it out and used a small biscuit cutter to cut rounds – as many as we could get from the batch of dough. On each round, we placed about 10ml/2tsp of filling, then wet the circle, topped with another round of dough, and crimped the edges carefully (so as not to pierce) with a fork.

We cooked the pasta for about 10 minutes, and in the meantime made sauce:

Heat 30ml/2T butter w 15ml/1T flour. Stir in 125ml/1/2 c 1% milk and continue stirring until thick. Grate in 30-60ml 1-2 oz smoked Gouda and add a dash of nutmeg. Serve over ravioli and enjoy!

Start to finish, including making the pasta from scratch, about 45 minutes.

So…much…produce!

Wow! We are surrounded by a bountiful harvest.

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The consequence, of course, is that we have to find ways to use it all…and preserve what’s left for future use. So tonight’s adventure included a zucchini-orzo-pepper-goat cheese dish…after we finished putting two batches of roasted beets (golden and red), two batches of beet greens, and a couple of jars of pesto away for chillier days. Fortunately the orzo was quite a reward – reminding us why all our hard work has been worth it!

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Pancakes Gone Wild

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We have almost completed our first year in our home near the ocean, and we continue to have new food discoveries every day. Our woods are full of blueberries – can you imagine picking fresh berries for breakfast, just outside your door? We can’t help but feel grateful.

The recipe for these under the recipe tab – Tuesday (or any day) Pancakes. Just add some fresh berries to the batter after mixing! We served ours with wild blueberry syrup.

What Goes with Veggies

We’re back from vacation with a distinct longing for vegetables – which seem to be in short supply when eating in many restaurants. Too much fat, salt and meat has left us hungry for fresh food. As luck would have it, our veggie garden has run rampant, so we have a surfeit of choice.

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Our choice? A combo plate of golden beets roasted in balsamic and garlic, green and yellow beans, peas, and beet greens, all steamed. On the side, fish poached in white wine, lemon pepper and tarragon. Feeling full (and full of gratitude that the deer left us something to eat!)

Wholesome Whole Wheat Crepes

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125ml (1/2 c) whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
125ml (1/2 c) 1% milk
65ml (1/4 c) water
10ml (2T) butter, melted
1 large egg
Cooking spray

Gently mix all but cooking spray together with a whisk. Refrigerate 1/2 an hour. This will give a thinner crepe.

Meanwhile prepare toppings – we whisked some cream and prepped fresh berries, but a creamy seafood or chicken filling works well also.

To cook, heat a medium sized nonstick pan on medium heat. Spray w cooking spray or wipe w a paper towel dipped in canola oil.

Pour in about 1/4 c batter and swirl to a thin layer. When surface is dry, flip gently and cook a few seconds more. Place in warmed oven that has been turned off, on a tea towel.

Repeat. Makes 6 crepes, 2 servings.

Out to Pasture

It’s coming! Spring has nearly sprung. Today we were at the Halifax Seaport Market and picked up a delicious steak from Pasture Hill Farm. That, with a few blue fingerlings and a salad seemed like it would be a heavenly choice. We were just tallying up our purchases and we spotted them: local grape tomatoes from Den Haan’s. I wish there was a recipe here, but this is it: grill steak, boil potato, make salad, dream of sprong

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On the straight and narrow

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As we rang in 2013, we gathered in Toronto for Dad W’s 80th birthday. What a celebration! However the celebratory photographs revealed that the “middle generation” all had some work to do in the healthy eating department. Since returning to Nova Scotia we are making sure to also return to a proper diet and exercise regime. That includes careful meal planning and at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

The great part of this is rediscovering favourite recipes we’ve been ignoring, like this one from Cooking Light.

Real food is important!

20121130-060036.jpg Silly season has begun…when our workdays are busy but we also have social events every night. The food choices tend to be highly caloric and low on nutrition. This week our solution has been to keep snacking to a minimum, then make something satisfying when we get home, like this delicious salmon risotto. Sorry for the low light, but candles make every day better!