Category: Recipes

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.

Our (Toast) Cup Runneth Over

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What a weekend! Yesterday we installed the first of two new cold frames in the garden. We’re very excited to see what produce we’ll be able to grow in the first year of this new plot. Certainly we have many, many seedlings started, but the wild card will be the animals. No more raccoons, but certainly squirrels, crows, and we hear, deer.

After a day of house and yard work, it was a perfect evening of barbecue with good friends. We’ve awoken to a glorious sunny day with the sun glinting off the bay. How can you feel anything but grateful. So in celebration, a special breakfast – toast cups with tarragon mustard, Cavicchi’s sausage, jumbo poached egg, and some sliced tomato. Bring on the gardening!

Peppery Goodness

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Last night we were craving comfort food after a day of digging – preparing the garden for a first year’s veggie-growing in the new house. It was chilly out, so stuffed peppers fit the bill.

The oven was set to 350F.

We started by hollowing out two peppers and taking a tiny slice as necessary to make them sit straight. Then we sautéed the chopped pepper tops and a couple of stalks of celery, as well as an onion, in chili garlic oil. Next we added some frozen corn til it was a bit toasted. Lastly, we stirred in black beans (home cooked and frozen until needed – defrosted in the microwave) and some cooked brown rice (same story).

We filled the pepper shells and poured 60ml or 1/4 c of marinara on top. They were baked in a lidded, foil-lined casserole for 45 minutes. Then, removing the lid, we grated some extra old cheddar on each. 10-15 more minutes to melt, and they were ready, along with a fresh salad.

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Shiitake Special Pizza

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When this pizza came out of the oven, it looked almost too beautiful to cut! We started with a whole wheat crust (find out how in our recipe pages). Then we turned to the pantry and last summer’s canning for ideas. A little salsa for the first layer, topped with slices of roasted red pepper. After that, half a shallot, thinly sliced, and the caps of a plethora of baby shiitakes from Waymac Farms, by way of our local farmers’ market. Then, to top it off, some aged cheddar and mozzarella from Black River Cheese. We’re so glad we can buy it just down the street at Better Bulk!

Cut it we did, by the way, and ate it with gusto.

A Little Lamb

20120704-095152.jpg Yesterday was a slow, sultry day, the kind where salad is the best option for any meal.

We had a bit of leftover roast lamb (the roast came from the East Lynn Farmers’ Market, just down the street) and a small chunk of feta (from Better Bulk) begging to be used. So we put this salad together:

15ml/1T each of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, whisked together in a medium bowl
A good handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
90g/3oz of diced cooked lamb
6 black olives, pitted and chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
250ml/1c broccoli florets

Our lamb had been roasted in a coating of Dijon; otherwise add about 5ml/1t of that to the dressing as well. Toss the vegetables and lamb in the vinaigrette. Serve on a bed of:

500ml/2c romaine

Over the top of the salads, sprinkle:

30g/1oz feta, crumbled

Serves 2

Hail Caesar!

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This morning we were just getting back from our walk when our neighbour, Nick, came around the corner. Nick is a lovely Italian man who likes to garden. His little city plot is a veritable Garden of Eden, and even those of us with urban farms of our own look forward to his gifts throughout the season.

On today’s menu, three or four heads of delicious Romaine. So what else but Caesar salad? For our lighter version we dressed a whole head with this recipe:

Whisk together a tablespoon each of wine vinegar and olive oil, a teaspoon of anchovy paste, and a crushed clove of garlic. On top, a sprinkling of Grana Padano and some oven-baked pumpernickel and multigrain croutons.

Delish!

Get Grilling!

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Despite the recent cold snap, grilling season is ramping up once again. This weekend we picked up these delicious chops from Rowe Farms, as well as a mixed bag of organic veg.

To cook veg in a packet is foolproof! Take two layers of foil, and put sliced veg of almost any variety (we had carrots, spinach, radish, onion, sweet potato…). Toss with a little olive oil and herbs of your choice. Wrap it up tightly and put it on the grill while it’s heating. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until chops, steaks, or burgers are done.

Change of Seasons Chicken

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Yesterday we had a typical Canadian spring shock to the system. After days of gloriously mild weather, it turned very chilly, gray, and windy. Since we spent the day running around (Alliance Française for French class, some lunch, then the Canada Blooms show, then errands…whew!) we wanted a warming sort of dinner.

We made this easy chicken and pasta dish, which serves 3 (leftovers for Sunday lunch, with a salad).

Cook 100g (3.5 oz) whole wheat spaghettini.

Meanwhile, in 10ml (2 t) olive oil, sauté a leek that has been sliced and rinsed (white and light green parts only) until it starts to become translucent. Add 125 ml chopped cauliflower (1/2 c) and two spears of asparagus, sliced into bite-size lengths. Put a lid on this and give it a couple of minutes to release a bit of liquid. Then stir in a diced tomato, 30ml (2T) pesto, and 60ml or 1/4 c of pasta water. Lid, turn down the heat, and let it simmer til the pasta is done.

Drain the pasta and mix into the veg. Put the lid back on and let the whole thing sit on very low heat for 3 or 4 minutes for the flavour to develop.

Enjoy!

Seeing Fish in a Whole New Light

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What a week! I had eye surgery on Thursday so I am now experiencing the world in a whole new way…without glasses. Even the food looks different. To clarify, I still need a little tune-up in the reading department, but I am gratefully having a chance to re-learn the gift of sight. On Friday after my Day One checkup, we swung by the Purple Purl to pick up some needles, then Hooked for the fish (halibut fillets). Oven-baked fish and chips made good use of some multicoloured potatoes we had on hand. They’re so easy to make…highly recommended!