Something to keep in mind.

I was reading a book today when I came across this passage and it really spoke to me. The short story is titled "Finding A Girl In America" and is by Andre Dubus. Dubus is a fantastic writer and he never fails to move me. What I like about this passage is the truth in it. It also reminds me of a story about my mother and her brother. He told her that perhaps she would be more lucky in love if she cared about more then if the man had read the same books as her. Long story short, it was pretty bad advice.

The point was, finally, that Donna did not read. He guessed all me did not have to love women who were interested in their work; somehow a veterinarian could leave his work with its odors in the shower before dinner, spend his evening with a beloved woman who did not want a house pet. Be he could not. Literature was what he turned to for passion and excitement, where he entered a world of questions he could not answer, so he finished a novel ot poem or story feeling blessed with humility, with awe of life, with the knowledge that he knew so little about how one was sopposed to live. So, better to have the company of a girl who loved literature and simply had not read much because she was younh, far more exciting to listen to a girl's delight at her first reading of 'Plat It As It Lays' or 'Fat City', than to be with a woman in her thirtiees who did not read because she had chosen not to, had gone to the magazines and television

-Andre Dubus from his short story "Finding A Girl In America"

Panzanella

I love food that doesn’t take much effort yet still tastes amazing. That is why I love panzanella. There is not set recipe for panzanella, you can adapt it to whatever is in season and whatever you have in your fridge. Today I made mine from what I had sitting around and it turned out fantastic.

I cut a slice of ciabatta into small croutons and tossed them in some olive oil and whole grain cranberry mustard then I popped them in the oven to cook at 350 until nice and toasted.

When the bread toasted I cut some cherry tomatoes, a bit of yellow bell pepper and half an avocado into bite size pieces.

When the bread had turned into lovely croutons I took them out, mixed them with the veggies and drizzled some virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them. I finished it off with some fresh ground pepper and sea salt. From start to finish it took a total of ten minutes. Couldn’t be easier.

The Immersion Blender

I got a new kitchen tool the other week, a Kitchen Aid immersion blender. It is something I’ve been wanting for quite a while and got lucky when I stumbled upon one at Winners for a very decent price. Since I bought it I have used it about three times, that means I have made about three times as many soups in one month then I usually do in six months.

I have been experimenting with different vegetables and flavourings. My first soup was a broccoli cheddar soup from over at www.101cookbooks.com, it was delicious so I decided to follow that up with a spinach zucchini soup, also very good. I kept that one quite thick and added a poached egg on top. It was amazingly filling and kept me full for many many hours.

Next I decided to use up the insane amount of carrots and sliced red and orange bell peppers that ended up in my fridge and make a delicious soup from them. I looked around at some recipes then decided to just wing it. It ended up fantastic. I am glad I have a lot of leftovers and look forward to eating it over the next couple of days.

Here’s what I did:

I didn’t cut up the carrots and bell peppers so I can’t tell you exactly how many I used but if I had to guess I’d say about one or two red peppers, one or two orange peppers and probably about five or six good size carrots. Roughly chop and set aside.

I used two leeks, roughly shopped and two thumb sized pieces of ginger also roughly chopped.

Heat two glugs of olive oil in a big soup pot, add the leeks and ginger and a big spoon full of chopped garlic, if your chopping the garlic yourself then chop up about four cloves and about one teaspoon of turmeric.

Once the leeks have started to go soft and the ginger is really starting to be fragrant go ahead and add all your veggies. Stir it all around in the head for a couple of minutes and then add chicken stock to cover all the veggies. You can add more or less depending on how think or thin you want you soup to be.

Let the soup simmer away until the carrots are tender.

At this point if you do not have an immersion blender then put your soup through a food processor or blender until smooth, put it all back in the pot, add a dollop or either cream or yogurt and your ready to go.

If you have an immersion blender then turn off the heat and blend away until you have reached a nice smooth consistency and add a dollop of either cream or yogurt to give it an extra nice texture.

In the end you will have a big bowl of carrot, pepper, ginger soup. The ginger gives it a warmth that will stay with you for many hours and the carrots and peppers give it a wonderful flavour and a beautiful colour.

Delicious Roasted Tomatoes

The best booth at the Calgary Farmer’s Market opened up again and boy was I happy!

Gully Valley Greenhouse produces the most amazing tomatoes, butter lettuce, bell peppers and a few other veggies you can get.

All the tomatoes are excellent but right now my two favourite are the beefsteak tomatoes, sliced drizzled with olive oil, red wine vinegar, thinly sliced red onion and basil leaves, and the little cherry tomatoes.

What I like to do best with the cherry tomatoes is cut them in half, sprinkle with sea salt and roast in the oven at 275 for a couple of hours.

The result is amazing concentrated flavour.

They are great in pasta or salads but I like them the best when they are fresh out of the oven and still nice and warm.

I am so happy that spring has finally arrived.

BBQ dinner

It’s April which means it time to get out there and BBQ.

This isn’t the first BBQ of the year, but one of the best.

The meal consisted of well marbled ribeye steaks, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and ciabatta garlic bread.

I love steak and my all time favorite cut is the ribeye. Tender, marbled and full of flavor all it needs is some sea salt, fresh ground pepper and for a little bit of something extra I like to put some red pepper flakes on it. After preheating the BBQ I throw it on there for about three to four minutes a side. It always end up being a perfect medium-rare.

Once the meat is done and resting I throw on the asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The asparagus stays crunchy and the prosciutto crisps up. It’s a heavenly combination.

I absolutely love the ciabatta bread from Co-op. It has so much personality and stands up really well to being toasted or tossed on the grill slathered with butter, garlic and some red pepper flakes for a little zing.

Oh! I almost forgot one of my favorite additions. I quarter a lemon and put a quarter of it on the side of the grill the whole time everything is being cooked. It caramelizes a bit losing it’s tartness and when everything is ready I squeeze it on my steak and if I’m having some steamed veggies on them as well. It adds a nice brightness to everything.

afternoon snack

Afternoon Snack.

I have been hungry all day and I finally decided to make myself something to eat. I headed to my fridge and made what has become my favorite lunch/snack/bite to eat lately. It is simple, pretty healthy and oh so satisfying.

I take a piece of ciabatta bread, cut it kinda of on the thick side and toast it.

I then drizzle the toast with some premium olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar to add a bit of a punch.

I top that off with half of a sliced avocado and then top that with prosciutto.

It is a crunchy, salty, smooth, and utterly delightful treat. When I have fresh farmer’s market tomatoes I like to add those as well and then top it off with some fresh ground pepper. The tomatoes make it a little tricker to eat but are delicious!

Quick dinner

So this past Wednesday evening I went to the theater to see Sartre's play "No Exit". It was fantastic, disturbing, and a lot to ponder. Just what I like. As for dinner I needed to have us fed by 6:45 and it needed to be easy and nutritious. I cheated a bit and picked up some already crusted trout from Co-op and then made my side dishes to go with it. The trout was nicely flavored and easy to cook. I was quite pleased. To accompany it I made some beets, brussel sprouts and bulgar. Bulgar is not something I have ever made before but I was quite pleased with it and will be using it frequently in place of rice I think. This is a dinner for two with (depending on how much you like beets) some leftovers for the next day.

Fish:
Buy two fillets of trout from Co-op, already breaded.

Beets:
I used two big beets and it was plenty. Boil the beets whole, trimmed of their greens, until tender when a fork is inserted into the middle of them. When they are cooked through run them under cold water to stop their cooking. When cool eel off the outer layers with your fingers. Cut them in half and then slice the halves. Put them in a pan with some olive oil and garlic. Sauté.

Bulgar:
Boil 1 cup water, add 1/2 cup bulgar. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Brussel Sprouts:
Remove any tough outer leaves and trim the stems of the brussel sprouts. Toss in olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Put in the oven at 400 and cook, tossing every once and a while, for 15 or so minutes.

When the bulgar only has 10 minutes left put the fish in the oven at 375-400.

Mushroom Ravioli

So tonight's dinner is mushroom ravioli. I used wonton wrappers for a quick and easy wrapping for the ravioli and I will use up what's left when I make wontons this weekend. For the mushrooms feel free to use any variety you want, I used white button but portobello would lovely and meaty as well. Something which I may try at some point is to add a few pine nuts. I'm not sure how it would taste, but I think it would be interesting.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mushrooms chopped-small
1/2 small onion chopped-small
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. sherry
Wonton wrappers


Smashed peas:
2 cups of peas
1/2 cup of stock
2 tbl. grated parmesan cheese

Add all the ingredients to a food processor, process until they reach a slightly chunky texture. Put the mixture into a small put and warm through.

Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium heat and add the finely chopped onions. Saute those until translucent about fie or six minutes, add the garlic and thyme, saute those for about a minute and then add the mushrooms. Turn up the heat to high and let the mushrooms cook until the moisture has evaporated. Add the sherry and cook for one more minute. Let the mixture cool for about 20-30 minutes or until the next day.

Take out the wonton wrappers and wet the edges of them as you use them. Spoon a small amount of filling into the center of the wrapper, about a tsp., fold in half so it becomes a triangle and press down on the edges so that they stick really well. When you are done making all the raviolis add them to boiling salted water. Cook for two or three minutes. Plate them on top of some smashed peas. Dress the ravioli in a nice olive oil and drizzle with some balsamic glaze. Enjoy!

My new adventures in cooking

I say new adventures because I have been a big fan of cooking since high school but seem to have gotten in quite a rut in the last few years. I continually buy new cookbooks as if my life depended on it, however I find that I never cook anything from them. This is sad for a variety of reasons. I feel badly because it seems like a waste of both time and money to continue buying these cookbooks without using them. I also feel disappointed in myself for not following something through yet again, it just adds to my pile of things to feel bad about.
This year, 2010 is going to be different. My goal/resolution for 2009 can be summed up as such: do things which are challenging and outside my comfort zone. For 2010 my goals/resolutions are: continue to do things which are outside my comfort zone and which are challenging and to cook things from my cookbooks. Now I don't have a steadfast rule such as "cook three new recipes a week" or anything like that but simply to cook new things as often as possible. So that's what I'm going to do. WIth this I hope to explore many different types of cooking from Italian to Mexican to Indian and so on. The focus will be on recipes which are healthy and not to complicated. I am sure some will be bad and some will be great, recipes which I will go back to again and again. I am looking forward to finding those.

So, let's get going!