Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
…tastes like, “deliciousness”.
On the menu for today’s breakfast:
Whole wheat toast, homemade, with 5ml butter
1/2 sliced tomato
125ml or 1/2 cup each sliced mushrooms and diced bell pepper,
Cooked in a nonstick pan with
2ml or 1/2 t butter
Scramble a medium egg, add to the veg, and cook over low heat until almost firm.
Enjoy your day.
Slice 1 strip loin steak into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried mustard. Dredge in flour. In a heavy pan that is large enough to make the whole pie filling, brown it in olive oil. Remove to a plate and begin cooking the veg (you will be developing a brown crusty layer on the pan; don’t worry!) Use veg as you like, for us an onion, diced, a couple of stalks of celery, sliced, two minced cloves of garlic, and 3 or 4 c of sliced mushrooms were just right. We chopped in some garden herbs – sage, rosemary and thyme. When the veggies start to get a bit tender, deglaze the pan with some beer. We used Boxing Rock’s Crafty Jack. Add any remaining beer – about a cup was used in total.
Cover and simmer on low heat until it is thick and has a nice gravy. Remove from heat and make the crust…
For the crust,
Cut 3/4 c butter or shortening into 2c whole wheat flour. Sprinkle in enough water so it begins to cling together as you stir (4-6 T). Shape into two balls, one slightly smaller.
Roll out the larger ball for the bottom crust. Fill the pie, and top with the smaller crust, piercing the top to let out steam. Bake at 400 for about half an hour, until golden.
Yesterday was a hectic day – lots of meetings, running around, and a restaurant lunch. So by the time we returned home we were crangry (hungry and cranky)! We needed food that was healthy, easy, and quick. In less than the time to call for delivery, we made this delicious pizza from scratch. We used our usual crust recipe, but with 100% whole wheat flour, instead of half and half.
The added bonus? It makes enough for dinner for two, and leftovers for today’s lunch. On top, we used homemade zucchini relish, some feta, cheddar, red peppers, mushrooms, olives, and a little prosciutto. Tasty!
Always looking for ways to use what’s on hand…this soup was waiting to be made from ingredients in our fridge. For two:
Bring 750ml/3c homemade stock to boil, and add:
125ml/1/2c sliced red onion
1/3 yellow pepper, diced
1 large cremini mushroom, sliced
2 grilled chicken thighs, diced
100g/3oz cooked chickpeas
5ml/1t curry paste
Simmer until veg are tender. With a glass of 1% milk each, under 500 calories.
Although our garden is just beginning to spring to life, hothouse tomatoes are appearing from local farms, giving way to this delicious breakfast.
For two, we split two whole-wheat English muffins, and placed them on a parchment-lined, broiler pan for easy cleanup. Under the broiler they went, just until the cheese was crispy. We weren’t too tidy with the cheese, just so we would have leftover crispings to sprinkle on top.
Meanwhile we diced a large tomato and some parsley into a nonstick pan and heated until bubbly. We cracked in four medium eggs and lidded the lot, poaching til done.
After spooning the eggs on top of the muffins, we sprinkled with some dry mustard and the cheese crispings.
Eat up!
The calendar SAYS it’s spring, but the wild weather we’ve been having here on the east coast sure doesn’t seem like it. Somewhere between “the best defense is a good offense” and “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”, we came up with last night’s dinner idea.
On the table in a couple of hours, while we watched the freezing rain coating the trees outside: Apple braised veal shank with roasted winter vegetables. We started with some delicious veal shank from Halifax’s Seaport Market. Four servings meant we would have leftovers for today’s lunch.
After browning the shanks in olive oil, we put them aside on a plate and added a sliced onion, a sliced clove of garlic, and a stalk of celery to the pan, stirring until translucent. At the same time, we reconstituted a package of wild dried mushrooms in 1-3/4c boiling water and 1/4c or 60ml apple brandy in a heatproof measuring cup. 2c/500ml of apple slices went in next, along with 1c/250ml of sliced fresh mushrooms, and the reconstituted fungi and their broth. A sprinkle of tarragon and nutmeg rounded out the flavour.
We nestled the shanks in the vegetable mix, and covered it in preparation for the next step.
Meanwhile, in a separate casserole dish, we put a carrot, a small turnip, and some sweet potato, roughly chunked. This was tossed with dried rosemary, and 2T/30ml each of olive oil and maple syrup.
Everything went into a 350F oven for the remainder of the 2 hours. The meat was strictly “do not disturb”, but we stirred the veg about 3 times.
Our conclusion? Winter WILL go away eventually, but until then, we will stave off the chill with one last go at some of our favourite winter recipes.
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Apparently we are in for a wet weekend. So we wanted a quick breakfast that would let us get out on the trail before the rain arrives. Eggs Benedict may not seem like the obvious choice, but this quick Prosciutto Benny with Blender Hollandaise is just the ticket!
For two:
3 large eggs
2 slices prosciutto
1 multigrain English muffin, split
1/4c / 60ml butter
1t /5ml lemon juice
1/2t / 2ml dry mustard
Dash Tabasco
White vinegar
Lemon pepper
1 large tomato, sliced
Split the muffin and toast or warm for a few seconds in the microwave.
Bring a medium pot of water to boil.
Meanwhile separate one egg and put the yolk in the blender with the Tabasco, lemon juice, and dry mustard.
Put the prosciutto in a nonstick pan on low, just to warm it a little.
Heat the butter in the microwave just until boiling. Turn blender on and pour the butter in slowly – it will cook the egg yolk.
To assemble, stack muffin, prosciutto, poached egg. Drizzle with hollandaise and sprinkle with lemon pepper.
Serve with tomato, and go!
This stew originated as a recipe from www.cookinglight.com, but has been adapted over time and made our own. Although we frequently can get great chorizo from our friends at Ratinaud, we love the taste that Chris Brothers’ pepperoni adds to the soup. Naturally-smoked, it actually makes us feel like our stew has been cooked over a real wood fire.
For the original, search Chickpea-Kale Stew with Chorizo at www.cookinglight.com
For our version, here’s how we changed it:
15ml/1 T olive oil
3 large onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2oz/60g Chris Brothers pepperoni, diced
Stems of one large bunch of kale, reserve and chop the leaves
Cook these ingredients til soft.
Then add
3c/750 ml cooked chickpeas with liquid (we precook without salt and freeze in tubs)
3c/750ml unsalted turkey broth (again, we make homemade and freeze whenever we roast…anything)
Kale leaves
1t/10ml oregano
Bring to simmer, cover, and stir occasionally for 30 minutes.
Delicious!
January is a time of renewal in our family – and frugality of a multitude of sorts. Most of us who aren’t already abstainers (shout out to the in-laws) give up “the drink”. We also usually get back on the horse (or treadmill, bike, road, pool, or trail) if we have been lax of late. In our house we’ve decided to take a tip from our old East Lynn Danforth friends and try not to spend money on non-essentials as well. We were inspired when the Daughter and Son and their loves showed up with a plethora of handmade and homemade things at Christmas.
It calls to mind an old poem, really words to live by in this consumerist age:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without
On that note, our lunch quest was, “what have we got in the house to eat that doesn’t require going out for supplies?”
We made this awesomely delicious pasta:
For two:
Cook 1c/250ml multicolour veg pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, dice 2 very ripe tomatoes (ok, ours were VERY ripe) and 1/2 head of broccoli, stems and florets (or either)
Drain a can of salmon.
Chop up a hot pickled pepper languishing alone in its jar (clean and save jar for next year’s canning).
Dig out that 30g/1oz end of herbed goat cheese from the fridge.
Chop a couple of anchovies.
When the pasta is done, strain it. Put the pot back on the stove and dump in the other ingredients except salmon. Stir until the cheese melts in, then add the pasta and the salmon, quickly mixing to coat.
Give thanks for leftovers and good things hiding in the fridge!
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.