Today is Remembrance Day. We’ll re-read in Flanders‘ fields, then at 11am, we’ll be pausing for a moment of silence to remember all of the men and women who have given their lives in the service of our country. Come to think of it, perhaps we should honour them every day. Won’t you join us?
Fabulous Tummy-Warming Oatmeal
. Oatmeal used to be a real challenge to make; hence the instant kind. But in just 10 minutes, you can make this amazing breakfast using real, large-flake rolled oats. No additives or preservatives. This serves two people a good-sized bowl.
Dice an apple into a microwave-safe casserole. Add 3/4 cup (180 ml) rolled oats, 2 T (30 ml) chopped walnuts and a good sprinkling of cinnamon. Then the water – about 1-1/4 c (300 ml). No need to stir yet. Our microwave has an oatmeal setting, but otherwise, about 5 minutes on high, followed by 3 minutes on medium power should do it. when it’s thick and bubbly, give it a stir. Serve with a little brown sugar and some milk. It’ll get your day of to a good, warm start.
Salmon Basil Pasta
An easy weeknight supper, when you don’t feel much like cooking: pasta. But spaghetti with meat sauce can get old, really fast. So can red sauce from a jar.
So instead, put some whole-grain vegetable pasta on to cook. Meanwhile, quickly stir-cook some fresh veggies in a large skillet with a lid (we had peppers, broccoli, celery, onions, and mushrooms). Stir in a chopped tomato and turn the heat to low, and cover it.
When the pasta’s cooked, toss it all together (use a little pasta water if it needs moisure; ours didn’t). Then stir in some herbs (we had a little basil), pepper, and pop the lid on again. Let it stand with the heat on very low, about 4 minutes, for the flavours to combine.
Beautiful Black Beans
Winter is returning. The urban farm is looking pretty barren, with the exception of the bird feeder and the occasional cardinal. The silver lining? Damp, chilly days are a great time to warm up the house with a batch of beans.
In this case, they’re black turtle beans from our friends at Better Bulk. We’ve got a host of meals planned to use them over the coming weeks, including Black Bean Enchiladas, so we cooked them with some onions and hot peppers. They’ll warm us up, for sure!
I'm Hot and Cold on this Lunch!
On Wednesday we had a very interesting lunch. It started as a recipe from Cooking Light, except we didn’t use any of the same ingredients. Theirs called for Serrano Ham, Manchego, sourdough bread and arugula. Instead, our quick trip in the rain and wind to Plank Road yielded multigrain bread, prosciutto, and Crotonese cheese. All good, nonetheless. On the bottom, a piece of toasted multigrain was spread with grainy mustard and just a little mayo. On top of this, the ham, and a grating of cheese. All that was heated under the broiler, then topped with some mizuna picked from our garden, a sliced apple, and a little grainy mustard vinaigrette (using Triple C from Kozlik’s).
No Knead to Fear – It's Batter Bread!
One complaint (dare I say excuse) we often hear about not making homemade bread is that it’s so much work. We disagree of course, since we love breadmaking and it doesn’t feel like work as it can fit in around dinner-making, book-reading, or blog-writing.
However, in an attempt to tempt the non-bread-bakers out there, I decided to try some batter bread this week. Confession: I have never made this kind of bread before. Also, I must admit that I adapted the original recipe before even trying it, as I had some buckwheat flour we wanted to use up. You can find our version here.
Fishy Fall Flavours
Sometimes certain foods have a “season place” in our minds. We always think of swordfish as a summer food, cooked on the grill, with a fresh salad, some tomatoes, or avocado.
But with fall arriving full-force, we weren’t willing to give up swordfish for the season. This version was grilled, but on a tabletop grill. We served it with some blue fingerlings and steamed carrots, topped with a peach-pear salsa tossed in a mustard vinaigrette.
Tomatoes, and More Tomatoes…What Next?
September is tomato-canning month. 
After putting up dozens of jars of diced and ground tomatoes, salsa, and sauce, we still had more tomatoes that needed to be used. We were incorporating them into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Here, some tasty huevos are nestled in a spicy tomato stew – a great way to add some zip at the start (or end) of your day.
Lightly saute a diced onion and a couple of hot peppers (we got these ones from our garden, but the selection is wonderful these days at local farmer’s markets). Then dice 2 or 3 large, juicy tomatoes and add them to the pot. Reduce the heat and simmer until the onions are soft. Crack in a couple of eggs for each serving, cover the pan, and continue to cook until the eggs are just set.
We at ours with a side of homemade multigrain toast.
It's World Food Day. Do You Know Where Your Food Came From?
We love being lucky enough to walk out in our neighbourhood to buy food. Sometimes it’s from small shops where we know the proprietors and they know the source of the food they’re selling. Other times, we’re lucky enough to get it direct from the farmers. Even luckier, is that we’re never truly hungry.
Today groups around the world are celebrating World Food Day. We’ll be giving thanks for the food we have, and doing our part to support our local food bank. We hope you will, too.
Soup Season has Arrived
The cold weather is here. Soup season has definitely arrived. After church today we wanted something to warm us up before heading out to rake the leaves (again) that the blustery day has loosed on our yard.
We had some leftover chicken broth, pureed pumpkin, and bacon (yes, leftover bacon). Along with some potatoes, beets, a shallot, and some chili powder, we had the makings of a warm, delicious soup.