Category: vegetables

Start off on the Right…Food!

I’m off to a business breakfast this morning – a good one, where there are usually great people to network with, and much to learn. But these things can also wreak havoc on healthy habits of both the dietary and professional variety. While buffets are improving in their number of healthy choices, they still tend to feature heavily (no pun intended) in carbs and fat. Besides, with so many bright people to meet, why spend time chewing a chocolate chip muffin?

So here’s how we are fueling up for a more productive day: veggie and goat cheese omelette, with a slice of whole wheat toast. On the toast: apple butter from our daughter’s kitchen. What better start could we have?

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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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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!)

We Grew Our Lunch…and Have All These Veggies Left Over!

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Spoiler alert! We grew neither the tuna nor the ingredients for the dressing ourselves. But we did grow everything else (All seeds from Vesey’s or Halifax Seed) – a satisfying lunch after a morning of post-vacation weeding and laundry! Any combination of veggies would do, but we used:

Simpson lettuce
Vulcan lettuce
Green and yellow beans, blanched
Black Chinese radish, blanched
Golden beets, cooked and chilled
Thinly-sliced red onion

For two, top each plate of veggies with 1/2 can solid tuna in water

Drizzle w lime maple dressing (recipe for 2 – mix all together)

10ml/2 t mayo
5ml/1 t Dijon
Zest and juice of one lime
5ml/1 t maple syrup (we get ours from our neighbours at Acadian Maple)

Now to check the larder and get a few staples before settling in to enjoy what’s left of our long weekend. Happy Natal Day, Simcoe Day, or anything else you’re celebrating!

Making a Hash of Breakfast

20130505-082849.jpgThis time of year, it gets easier and easier to eat local food, even on the chilly windswept coast. Greens and hardy veg are growing in the garden in our cold frames, and hothouse peppers are making an appearance. With all the beauty and deliciousness of the garden, it is work (and lots of it), especially a first year garden like ours. So we feel fully justified in eating a breakfast that has too many calories for a regular workday.

For two:

Half a small orange pepper
1 stalk celery
1 small diced onion
2 diced potatoes
4 Cremini mushrooms
2 Cavicchi’s sausage patties, made into tiny meatballs
2 large eggs

Cook the vegetables in a nonstick or cast iron skillet with about 5ml/1 tsp olive oil. Lidding the pan will help the potatoes soften. Stir once or twice. When the potatoes are nearly tender, sprinkle the sausage balls on top and cover, allow them to sit on low heat until the sausage are cooked (2-3 minutes). Stir. Crack the eggs on top, cover, and cook until the eggs are done as you like.enjoy. We did!

Eating the Dragon

20130303-121926.jpg. Last night was The Man’s birthday and we celebrated with a prime rib roast. Today, the leftovers are in a redux of last week’s grilled salad:

Per plate:

Two good handfuls of baby greens
60-120g of sliced roast beef
Drizzling of sun-dried tomato dressing
15-30 ml of Dragon’s Breath Blue, crumbled over top

Nothing left to do but to enjoy!

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.

Veggie Delight!

20121002-225343.jpg. Meal planning has begun in earnest and life is beginning to normalize. Last night we tucked in to this delicious feast of quinoa, chickpeas, wilted greens, garlic and vinegar. We added a little avocado on the side for its creamy texture. Tasty!