I've Decided

I like eggplant. Yay for new veggies! Of course, this means that I get to play some more in the kitchen to find my favourite uses for this nightshade fruit (yup, it's a fruit along with it's fellow tomato and pepper plants). This was just the first of my recipe ideas, and it was perfect for a warm summer day when turning on the oven or stove just is not the idea of fun!

I'm sending this delicious, nutritious pasta and veggie meal off to this week's roundup of Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's event Presto Pasta Nights... crazy early I know, but with school starting on Tuesday I need all the headway I can get! Abby from Eat the Right Stuff is playing host this week, so don't forget to take a look-see on Friday for what else is being served up!

Nuclear Nightshade Pasta
Serves one, easily multiplied

2oz dry whole-wheat rotini (all I could find was leftover p'sketti)
6oz eggplant, cubed (peels on or off, up to you)
black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 cup diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Cook the noodles 5 minutes (it will still be underdone). Drain, reserving 1/4 cup liquid.
2. Combine eggplant, spices, cooking water and tomatoes in a covered microwaveable dish.
3. Microwave 3 minutes.
4. Top with the noodles and re-cover.
5. Microwave on HI 8 minutes, stirring and uncovering halfway through.
6. Mix lemon juice in well and serve.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 261.7

Total Fat: 1.3 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 335.1 mg

Total Carbs: 58.3 g

Dietary Fiber: 11.8 g

Protein: 9.2 g

What Rainy Summers Mean...

Big farmer's market hauls! My mom and I "braved" the grey, gross drizzle this morning to hit the local farmer's market that gets set up every Friday in the mall's parking lot, and we had to make multiple trips to the car with our goodies! Seems that the ugly (for us humans) weather means that the produce gets gargantuan!

Along with a big bag of sweet corn, a basket each of Ginger Gold apples, peaches and three kinds of plums, we ransacked the leafy greens sections of the kiosks and wound up with this:

Yes... that would be a (very) large cabbage sitting on my countertop. One of two, actually, that we bought this morning. And... you know what that means?? Oh yeah. Cabbage rolls!!!

My mom is famous for her cabbage rolls, and she agreed to help me come up with her recipe for them. Though she claims that "it's just rice, ground beef, spices and tomato sauce", they are so much more than that. Never exactly the same twice over, but close enough that nobody complains when they find out what's for dinner!

Actually, the last time these were for dinner, it was Andrew and I that put them together (with the pre-written instructions from Mom, of course). The leaves we didn't snack away on after boiling the head of green were filled with a simple blend of stuffing ingredients before being baked off under a veil of plain tomato sauce. To try and ease in some nutrients (this was back when the family was very much the "white pasta, white rice, white potatoes, white bread" crowd), I mixed pre-cooked white and brown rice, and drained away the fat left from browning the beef and onions. That batch used a "normal-size" head of cabbage, about 2 pounds total, so I'll use that as the base for my recipe proportions. Even then, the recipe made a good two casserole dishes worth (each one about 2 qts), and we had to use our turkey roasting pan to cook them all! Thank God they freeze beautifully and microwave in minutes whenever you need a quick dinner fix!

Mom's "Guesstimate" Cabbage Rolls
Serves 12, about 2 rolls each
1 head green cabbage (2 lbs)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp each dried oregano and basil
2 tbsp chili sauce (like ketchup, not hot sauce)
3/4 cup cooked, long-grain white rice
3/4 cup cooked, long-grain brown rice
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh parsley

1. Bring a very large pot of water to a boil.
2. Remove the inner core of the cabbage by cutting a deep cone shape around the outer stem end.
3. Gently (using two spatulas or roasting forks) lower the whole head of cabbage into the boiling water. Cook 15 minutes and remove from heat, allow to cool while preparing filling.
4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium flame.
5. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring.
6. Crumble in beef, add in garlic, paprika, pepper, salt, oregano, basil and chili sauce.
7. Cook, stirring, about 3-4 minutes. Beef will not be completely cooked. Drain off excess fat.
8. Combine cooked meat with rices in a large bowl until well blended. Set aside.
9. In a measuring cup or jug, combine crushed tomatoes, red wine, cheese and parsley.
10. Pour a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a large, covered casserole dish or roasting pan.
11. Preheat oven to 350F.
12. Once cabbage has cooled enough to handle, remove single leaves, setting aside.
13. Place a heaped mound of filling inside each leaf (near the core end).
14. Tuck the ends of the leaf in and roll or fold it into a small parcel.
15. Place parcels seam side down on sauce, layering rolls with thin layers of sauce until all filling has been used.
16. Top the final layer of cabbage rolls with remaining sauce.
17. Bake, covered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
18. Store leftovers in covered plastic containers (fridge: 1 week, freezer: 2 months).

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 193.3
Total Fat: 9.7 g
Cholesterol: 28.9 mg
Sodium: 258.6 mg
Total Carbs: 16.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.7 g
Protein: 9.9 g

Have Sum Dim Sum!

The first time I had steamed BBQ buns (or baozi), it was at an international day event my elementary school was hosting. Teachers and parents (who didn't work, apparently) would cook mass amounts of ethnic, traditional recipes and bring them in for us kids to taste. Amazingly, on those afternoons, even the pickiest of eaters would at least taste everything there was to offer. Samosas, chow mein, cabbage rolls, haggis (I know!), souvlaki and even vegetable tempura were on the menu, as were these delicious, pork-filled balls of dough served piping hot from one of three steamer baskets that were working overtime to fill demand.

Years later, I decided it was time to reclaim that taste of my childhood... vegan-style. Ground soy crumbles (ah, yes, my beloved TVP!) and some diced water chestnuts stood in for the traditional shredded pork, and I made more of a "teriyaki" style BBQ sauce to rehydrate and bind the filling together. For the dough, I took a basic ratio I found on fatfree.com and switched it up to make it whole-wheat (with some gluten flour for structure). They freeze wonderfully too, for weeknight meals (but put them on a flat sheet to keep them from sticking together).

So, it may not be traditionally Chinese, but it is truly tasty!

Steamed Teriyaki Buns
Serves 4, about 16 buns
Dough
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water, divided
1 cups vital wheat gluten flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour

Filling
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp ketchup (I have low-carb on hand, use what you have and like!)
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each onion powder and ground ginger
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry TVP granules
4 oz water chestnuts, minced

1. Combine yeast, sugar and 1/3 cup warm water in a small bowl. Allow to stand 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. In a large bowl (or stand mixer fitted with dough hook), combine flours, remaining water and yeast mixture.
3. Mix well until hydrated, then knead (by hand or mixer) for 6-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
4. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rise 3 hours.
5. Meanwhile, combine boiling water through red pepper flakes in a microwaveable bowl.
6. Stir in TVP granules and microwave 1 minute.
7. Allow to stand 15 minutes, until hydrated. Stir in water chestnuts.
8. Punch down risen dough and turn out onto a floured surface.
9. Roll into a log, and cut dough into 16 equal pieces, rolling each into a ball.
10. Flatten each ball into a 3" circle.
11. Cover the dough pieces you aren't working with to keep them from drying out.
12. Place a heaping teaspoon of rehydrated filling mixture in center of each dough round.
13. Gather up edges to enclose the filling, twisting edges together and pressing to seal (this takes some practice... keep trying!). Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
14. Line a steamer basket (either bamboo or metal works) with perforated parchment, cheesecloth or cabbage leaves.
15. Place as many buns as will fit (at least 1" apart) on the lining.
16. Place the remaining buns in the fridge or freeze for later cooking (to cook, thaw completely and proceed with recipe).
17. Cover steamer and cook buns 20 minutes.
18. Serve immediately.
19. Leftovers can be refrigerated 1 day or frozen 1 month.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 472.0
Total Fat: 1.9 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 744.3 mg
Total Carbs: 70.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 13.1 g
Protein: 46.6 g

Unsophisticated

Few things are as perfect for lunch at the end of a Summer day than a simple tomato-on-toast sandwich. It may not be sophisticated food, nor is it the type of meal likely to grace the pages of Bon Appetit, but it is the epitome of all things warm and sunny.

Mind you, it's probably one of the most seasonally-sensitive recipes out there. No way can you truly appreciate the glory of a tomato when it's been shipped miles in a cold, icy truck bed in the middle of November, even if it's on the best slabs of artisan bread and graced with home-made mayo. On the other hand, a ripe, red beefsteak plucked fresh from your garden (or your neighbours', if you are so fortunate!) is perfectly delicious on toasted, white Wonder bread with a dollop of Miracle Whip. Today, though, I savoured mine on lightly broiled sourdough spread with Nayonnaise, salt and pepper. A post-golf game snack never had it so good.

Do you do the tomato sandwich? What's your favourite combo?

Melancholy Week

Ugh. Who actually likes the last week of August? It's so weird, school starts in a week! I swear only yesterday I was picking up my sister from her last exam and planning my trip down to Niagara Falls! Sigh... where does the time go?

Next week will mark a point of substantial change in my life - going back to school for the first time in two years! I'm excited and scared at the same time, though I know I'll be perfectly fine grade-wise (though math class at 6 PM on a Friday?? Ew!) it will be a definite shift. I'm hoping to keep any changes to this blog minimal and I will keep posting as much as I can (quit cooking? Puh-leeeze!) but they probably won't be as frequent or long! Mind you, the more boring a class is the more likely you'll see a long, whiney post (hahaha...).

Anyways, enough of that crap. I bought my first eggplant this past weekend, and I have a couple ideas of what I'm going to do with it (it's fairly large and I'll be the only one eating it I believe...) but I actually found this recipe from my mom (another Classic!) so I figured I'd pass it on today. My mom loves to eat ratatouille, and would make this over the Summers when the veggies were perfect and it was too hot for stovetop cooking! I always remember her eating it with rice and a chicken breast (we were a pretty predictable family) but then the next day she'd bring cold leftovers to work. Who knows? If I decide I like the taste (pretty likely, I love zucchini and I hear tell it's similar), you may just be seeing more of it popping up, and then I'll have a great lunch idea for school!

Micro - Touille
Serves 4
1 eggplant, chopped small
2 medium zucchinis, halved and sliced
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
28oz. can stewed tomatoes, drained, reserve juice
2 tbsp Italian herb blend
Crushed red pepper, optional

1. Chop and place the vegetables in a large microwaveable covered casserole.
2. Cover the dish and cook on HI for 25 minutes, until soft.
3. Stir in the herbs, pepper flakes (if using) and about 1/3 cup reserved tomato juice.
4. Cook on HI 2-3 minutes.
5. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 107.7
Total Fat: 0.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 498.4 mg
Total Carbs: 25.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.9 g
Protein: 4.0 g

"Spring" Cleaning

Andrew gave me a huge bunch of rhubarb the other day, and though I have plans to make jam with a portion of it, there is so much left over that I lucked out and got to pick a new recipe to make! Being as much of a strawberry-rhubarb fan as I am, I knew that it would have to be a player. I originally wanted to make the truffles that I spotted over at Bounteous Bites, especially since I had all the ingredients, but seeing as I had just made another batch of cherry-rosewater cake balls with Andrew I wasn't too keen on doing more chocolate-coating work just now, especially since I'm still nice and oh-so-sick. Comfort food is where it's at, people, and today it came in the form of a warm, gooey, pudding made from the spoils of more deep-freezer diving.

This is a great, healthy (and pretty much any diet-friendly) breakfast or mid-morning snack all on it's own (especially when warm - cold it's a bit too tart for my tastes), but I'd bet that over rice pudding for dessert or even Challah bread with a cup of tea it would be a sure-fire hit. Any berry would work well in this recipe, too... I just happened to have a gigantic zipper bag filled with last summer's halved strawberries in my freezer. Mind you, I have bags of cranberries, peaches, blueberries, pineapple chunks, "mixed berries" and cherries too... come next shopping trip I'm going to pick up some pectin and make freezer jam (if I remember, that is!).

If you are someone who doesn't do Splenda for whatever reason (and please don't innundate me with emails or comments on it's health dangers), simply swap it out for an equal measure of sugar (superfine or "fruit" sugar will work best here).

Berry Rhubarb Pudding
Serves 4
2 cups diced rhubarb
2/3 cup Splenda granular
1 cup water
1 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

1. Combine rhubarb, Splenda and water in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes.
3. Stir in berries and 2 cups water and cook 5 minutes longer.
4. Whisk together cornstarch and remaining cold water, then slowly add to the simmering mixture.
5. Cook, stirring, until thickened - about 5 minutes.
6. Serve warm or cover surface directly with plastic wrap and chill.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 40.5
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 3.5 mg
Total Carbs: 13.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
Protein: 0.7 g
WW Points: .5

Home-Made IS Better!

Hahaha! I have renewed my faith in celebrity chef abilities! This is important, especially after the Korova disappointment and my previous (mostly pre-blog) problems with Anna Olson recipes as well. Well, I knew Alton Brown wouldn't steer me wrong (or at least guide me wrong, since all my substitutions and results thereof are all my fault).

I had been on the search for a good hard pretzel recipe like the kind made by Pepperidge Farms (Goldfish-style) because (as I mentioned before) Andrew fell in love with the bites when we went stateside. Since we can't get them here (along with a gazillion other yummy things, I'm finding), I wanted to set out making my own "bites" that were a) healthier and b) better tasting than the packaged ones (which admittedly are quite tasty).

When I found Alton Brown's recipe online (after seeing his pretzel episode a couple times) I took it as a sign, and set to modify it as per my nutritional goals (i.e.: whole wheat flour, egg white instead of egg yolk) and my own personal tastes (I like what the baking soda bath lends to the dough). Personally, I think I succeeded. These are delicious - better tasting by far - not to mention healthy, llightly salty, super crunchy and best of all fat-free which means I CAN EAT THEM!!! Or, I could, but they seem to have mysteriously disappeared...

The photo I took was just for fun (oh yes, pretzel balls in a beer stein!) - it's actually one of my dad's from his (college, I think) days, he nicked it from their local pizza joint... my mom did the same, so we have 2. All I have from a restaurant is a couple coasters!

Hard Pretzels
Makes about 36 (.8-oz) servings
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package instant yeast
22 oz whole wheat flour
14 oz warm water
Water, for boiling
2 tbsp baking soda
1 egg white + 1 tbsp water (for wash)
Coarse pretzel salt

1. Combine all the "dry" ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, stirring well.
2. Add warm water, stir to combine, then knead for 6-7 minutes, until elastic.
3. Place dough into an oiled bowl and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
4. Divide dough into 36 1-oz pieces (use a kitchen scale for dead-on accuracy if you like), and form into sticks, knots or whatever shapes you desire.
5. Keep the dough you aren't working with under a damp towel.
6. Preheat oven to 350F.
7. Bring a half-filled pot of water mixed with the baking soda to a boil.
8. Carefully add shaped dough 4-5 pieces at a time.
9. Cook in simmering until they float, about 30 seconds - 1 minute.
10. Remove from water and place on greased or parchment-liked baking sheets.
11. Repeat with remaining dough.
12. Brush pretzels with beaten egg white mixture and sprinkle with salt.
13. Bake 50-60 minutes (for full 1-oz pieces) or 30 minutes (for "bite-size" pretzel balls).
14. Cool completely, and store in a covered container.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 60.9
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 8.5 mg
Total Carbs: 13.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2.4 g

These are great nibbles, and ones I'm passing along to Bread Baking Day 13: 100% Whole Grains at Apple Pie, Patis, & Paté.

Following the Herd

You should know the drill by now, this list's been all over the foodie spectrum in almost every form imaginable - Bittersweet's vegan version, the vegetarian one at Feeding Maybelle and the original one written up at Very Good Taste. There's a lot to look at in the world of food - I didn't even know some of these things existed!

Sorry for the crappy formatting, too, Blogger is sucking majorly today!

General rules for all lists:
bold = have eaten
unhighlighted = haven't eaten
struck out = won't ever eat

Vegetarian 100
Click on the (?) if you need an example. Thanks to Maybelle's Mom for the original list and links!
1. Edamame (?)
2. Cha Soba (?)
3. Arame (?)
4. Earth Balance Buttercream
5. "Homemade" sprouts
6. Green Bamboo Rice (?)
7. Absinthe
8. Eat at a raw restaurant (?)
9. Fresh (real) wasabi
10. Deep fried pickle
11. Fiddleheads (?)
12. Garlic stuffed olives
13. Smen (?)
14. Goji Berries (?)
15. Shiso or Perilla (?)
16. Amaranth (?) – I had this as callaloo... didn't know they were the same!
17. Pomegranate molasses (?)
18. Water convulvulus (Water Spinach) (?)
19. Pea eggplant, Thai eggplant, green eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Indian eggplant, Sicilian eggplant (?) – Can't wait to try some recipes I have saved, though!
20. A Zen Buddhist Vegan Meal (?) – If home-made counts.
21. Kohya Dofu (?)
22. Wild Asparagus (?) (I've had wild foraged asparagus though)
23. Elderberry (?)
24. Candlenuts (kemiri) (?) – Probably won't get a chance... too high in oil for me!
25. Salsify (?)
26. Nutritional Yeast (?)
27. Pandan (?)
28. Roman cauliflower
29. Anything with acorn flour (?) – Would LOVE to try it though!
30. Poi (?) – When I go to Hawai'i... ooh yeah!
31. Chaya (tree spinach) (?)
32. Pitahaya (dragon fruit) (?)
33. Asafoetida (?) – Reeks, but yum!
34. Fried plantains – SOOO yummy!
35. Basil seeds (?)
36. Cardoon (?)
37. Durian (?)
38. Ground Cherry or cape gooseberry (?)
39. Fresh waterchestnut (?)
40. Cashewnut cheese – Oil content again! I'd love to taste it though...
41. Nettles (?)
42. Fake duck from a can, Tofurky, or any prepared vegetarian product to resemble meat – yup! Almost so much it's scary, actually. Though I do want to try the duck. (?)
43. Kimchi (?)
44. Masala Dosa (?)
45. Lotus Seed (?)
46. Matcha (?) – Awesome stuff... go Tea Ceremonies!
47. Loubie Bzeit (?)
48. Quince (?) – Only as jam though, but it was GOOD!
49. Blue Potatoes (?)
50. Injera (?) – On my to-do list!
51. Nasturtium (?) – Go gourmet salads!
52. Turkish Delight or Lokum (?) – Christmas candy list!
53. Spruce tips (?) – Teaghan had spruce tea once, and promptly got sick. I'm thinking not so high on my list!
54. Breadfruit (?)
55. Mangosteen (?) – Only the juice, but if I can get the fruit I'll give it a shot!
56. Swede or Rutabaga (?) – Not yet, but I have my eye on some oven fries with them!
57. Garlic Scapes (?) – Sooo good in pasta!
58. Lavash (?) – Yummy with Baba Ghanoush.
59. Candied Angelica (?)
60. Rambutan (?) – Seen it, not eaten it
61. Sambal (?) – I never buy this when I see it, why not??
62. Bhutanese Red Rice (?) – I was pretty underwhelmed... it's rice... I like Forbidden Rice though!
63. Candy-cane or Chioggia beets (?) – Grew these last year and YUM! Sooo much better than the standard ones!
64. Mango – Not often, but it's so good!
65. Ras el Hanout (?) – Definitely on the "to try" list... but with what?
66. Vegan marshmallow
67. Umeboshi (?) – I'd possibly do it once, just to say I did.
68. Red Currants (?) – Straight from St. Lawrence Market!
69. Puy or French lentils (?) – Not often, but yup.
70. Millet – Only in part of a pilaf, though. Too "odd" for me alone.
71. Fresh Bamboo shoot (?)
72. Jerusalem artichoke (?)
73. Wild strawberry (?) – My childhood best friend had these in her garden.
74. Jambool (?)
75. Po cha or Yak butter Tea (?)
76. Adzuki beans (?)
77. Shirataki (?)
78. Manioc, yuca, cassava (?)
79. Quinoa (?)
80. Ramps (?)
81. Chufa (?)
82. Purslane (?) – Eh, probably not again though.
83. Curry Leaves (Kadipatta) (?) – I can't find these anywhere!
84. Sorrel (?)
85. Sumac (?) – In something, can't remember what!
86. Vegan cupcake – Made my own, thank you!
87. Montreal bagel (?) – Best damn bagels ever!
88. Peri-peri (?)
89. Syllabub
90. Chartreuse (?)
91. Kamut berries (?) – Berries, puffed, cake-form and flour!
92. Kalamansi Lime (?) – Only in Ponzu
93. Aloe (?) – Thank you Auntie Janice!
94. Morels (?)
95. Raw "bread" (?)
96. Dandelion wine
97. Rosti (?)
98. Loomi (?)
99. Stinky tofu (?)
100. Something grown by you – All the time!

Vegan 100
Thanks to Bittersweet for the reference links! I've added as I saw fit.
1. Natto (?)
2. Green Smoothie (?)
3. Tofu Scramble (?)
4. Haggis (?) – Not this particular version though.
5. Mangosteen (?) – See above
6. Creme brulee (?) – I didn't even know this existed in the vegan world!
7. Fondue – Chocolate all the way!
8. Marmite/Vegemite (?¹) (?²)
9. Borscht (?) – Pretty good!
10. Baba ghanoush – I like this recipe for it, though
11. Nachos – Pre-vegan? Yes, but not vegan.
12. Authentic soba noodles – Yup! Yum!
13. PB&J sandwich – I think this is a given for most people
14. Aloo gobi (?) – Way too good to be a vegetable!
15. Taco from a street cart (?) – We don't have these suckers here
16. Boba Tea (?) – The bubbles aren't my thing
17. Black truffle – I WISH!
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes – Strawberries, yumyumyum!
19. Gyoza (?) – Good in a pinch
20. Vanilla ice cream – Not the vegan version, and probably never... too high in fat!
21. Heirloom tomatoes – Growing them, loving them!
22. Fresh wild berries – Every summer at Beausoleil!
23. Ceviche (?) – This recipe looks great though!
24. Rice and beans – Oh yeah!
25. Knish (?)
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper – Hahaha, never again! My mouth is still scorching from years ago!
27. Dulce de leche (?) – It looks so good!
28. Caviar (?) – Once I get my hands on it!
29. Baklava – Damn straight!
30. Pate (?) – No thanks...
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl – Not a vegan version, yet! I'm looking at this one though.
33. Mango lassi (?) – Not likely, but who knows!
34. Sauerkraut – Once, it's not too bad!
35. Root beer float – Not a vegan one
36. Mulled cider (?) – Yum!
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly (?) – Don't do the alchy!
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food French fries – Oh, yeah!
41. Raw Brownies (?) – I like my sweets baked, and can't do the nuts.
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans (?) – If I ever see 'em, I will!
43. Dahl (?) – Yummy, especially at a little place I can no longer remember the name of downtown !
44. Homemade Soymilk (?) – I'm too lazy to make it myself!
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more – Again, don't drink, so nope.
46. Stroopwafle (?) – Topped with ice cream and caramel!
47. Samosas (?) – One of my old MLCP teachers made the BEST!
48. Vegetable Sushi – One of my standards when we go out!
49. Glazed doughnut – I worked at Tim's, people!
50. Seaweed – I love sushi!
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi – See above
53. Tofurkey (?) – Sure, why not?
54. Sheese (?) – I can't get this here, and I think it's too high in fat for me.
55. Cotton candy – Every summer!
56. Gnocchi – Yup, nothin' special
57. Piña colada – And EWWW!
58. Birch beer (?) – Not really a "yum" factor with me.
59. Scrapple (?) – No thanks.
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores – Not veg ones, though
62. Soy curls (?) – Generic counts, right?
63. Chickpea cutlets (?) – Might give 'em a go, though
64. Curry – Love it!
65. Durian – See above
66. Homemade Sausages (?) – I have a different recipe though I haven't made it yet.
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake – Oh yeah, Wonderland staples!
68. Smoked tofu – Not yet
69. Fried plantain – Sprinkled with sugar and nutmeg!
70. Mochi (?)
71. Gazpacho – Made it too... ick
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies – Oh yeah!
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can (?) – Used to be able to find it, can't now!
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake (?)
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy – Not veg gravy yet.
79. Jerky (?) – Only saw it in the States
80. Croissants (?) – Too high in oil... sigh
81. French onion soup – Not my cuppa soup, though.
82. Savory crepes – Once, don't think they were vegan though.
83. Tings (?) – Nope.
84. A meal at Candle 79 (?) – That'd be pretty sweet...
85. Moussaka (?) – Not a veg version.
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and "cheese" – Have a recipe though.
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate (?)
91. Seitan – I will make it!
92. Kimchi (?) – Ew, though.
93. Butterscotch chips (?) – Totally didn't know they made vegan ones!
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti (?)
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

Omnivore's 100
The one that started it all! Thanks to Andrew for most of the reference links – I've added to them as needed.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (?)
4. Steak tartare (?)
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht – See above
10. Baba ghanoush – See above
11. Calamari
12. Pho (?)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (?)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream – Not so crazy about it.
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (?)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (?)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (?)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (?)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (?) – I so would...
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (?)
47. Chicken tikka masala (?)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin – Want to!
51. Prickly pear (?)
52. Umeboshi – See above
53. Abalone (?)
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle (?)
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (?)
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads (?)
63. Kaolin (?)
64. Currywurst (?)
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (?)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (?)
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (?)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie – Road trip!
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (?)
80. Bellini (?)
81. Tom yum (?)
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (?)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (?)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash (?)
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (?)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab (?)
93. Rose harissa (?)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor (?)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So, yeah, I think I'm done now! There's a ton of stuff I haven't tried! What's on your list?

Unimpressed

When recipes come along to me from good sources, whether blogs, chefs or family members, I often clamour to make whatever it is according to their recipe and the acclaims that follow it, knowing that whatever emerges will be impressive and a surefire hit.

These cookies, well, weren't.

I hate to say that.

Although, I have to say that my unimpressed reaction to Dorie Greenspan's Korova cookies was partially my fault. All the while I was making these, all I could think was "yeah, so they're chocolate-chocolate chip cookies... whoop dee doo". I'm pretty sure that my apathetic stance while mixing, rolling, chilling and finally baking these cookies led to my total frustration when it came time to take them out of the oven. True to form, they were chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies. I don't know what I did wrong, but they didn't exactly leap off the sheets at me screaming "eat me!". And it isn't as if I'm an apathetic chocolate eater, either. Just the opposite. I NEED my chocolate - more than 1x a day if I can swing it - but I wonder if it's possible that my physical inability to enjoy these butter-filled bites played a critical part in my disappointment with them.

Seeing as I can't taste-test these for you to read about, I've passed on the fruits of my labour to Andrew's family and my mom to give me the final verdict on my batch - hopefully their impressions are more favourable than mine! Update: my mom ate two in one sitting, and Andrew nicked one out of his "goody bag" and deemed them amazing... I guess the nuances of the cookie are lost on me I want to like these cookies, really I do! But, if "yays" are not to be with my lab rats, there are glowing reviews out on the 'net from some awesome bloggers, and I'll probably give these another go around Christmas, but for now these are "just okay" in my books.

What definitely helped was having a recipe with ingredients in weight (this is where I channel all I learned from my highschool days of scaling 10kg of flour for doorstopper chocolate chip cookies and combine it with Alton Brown's more fun method of teaching... the TV!) - I definitely notice a difference in my baked recipe outcomes when I weigh rather than volume-measure ingredients. I did play with the recipe a touch - just to help me unload some more pantry space - using part Kamut flour and part all-purpose, and because I had no Fleur de Sel I used what I had... coarse sea salt. Those were my only change... I promise! I even went all-out and bought butter, which I never do, to make these. And I used top-grade Amedei 70% chocolate coupled with some leftover Lindt, and I definitely agree with quality counting here!

The best part about making these cookies is that I get to cross off a "must make" item from my baking / cooking list! Remember that one I started back at the end of last year? Well, it pretty much went to hell has evolved beyond anything it looked like before.

I do have a whack of "what if" scenarios for using these cookies (you know, if indulging in chocolate upon chocolate upon butter isn't good enough... you'll hate me for posting the nutritional info if you're a dieter!). What about using them to sandwich a scoop of cheesecake (or salted caramel!) ice-cream? Or layering cookies with fresh berries and cream for a parfait?

Here's my take on the cookies, with apologies to Dorie for not finding them as exponentially wonderful as the rest of the globe did!

World Peace Cookies
Makes about 36
3.4 oz (3/4 cup) flour
3.4 oz (3/4 cup) Kamut flour
1.8 oz (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5.5 oz (11 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
4.25 oz (2/3 cup) packed brown sugar
1.7 oz (1/4 cup) sugar
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

1. Sift together the flours, cocoa, and baking soda - set aside.
2. Beat butter and shortening together with electric beaters until fluffy.
3. Beat in sugars and salt, followed by vanilla, until well blended.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients, beating only until just blended.
5. The mixture will be crumbly, but don't add any liquid and don't overwork the dough.
6. Fold in chocolate pieces by hand.
7. Squeeze and shape the dough into logs about 1 1/2" across.
8. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze 1 hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
10. Slice the logs into 1/2" thick slices and space them 1" apart on sheets.
11. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time, for 12 minutes. The cookies will not look done or firm.
12. Cool completely on sheets.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 96.5
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Cholesterol: 6.9 mg
Sodium: 2.1 mg
Total Carbs: 11.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 1.0 g
WW Points: 2

As a total and completely different side note (after that rant!) I wanted to say a big THANK YOU! to Kitchen Flavours, who gave me the gift of the 'Wylde Woman Award'. Now I must pass it along - here are the rules!

• Give it to one or 100 or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.
• Link back to this blog: http://tammyvitale.typepad.com/ Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women.
• Remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

Wow! There are so many deserving bloggers out there and it's so hard to pick out a couple (though most of them will have recieved this award already!), but here are a few that I'm passing this on to:

Jess - The Domestic Vegan
Deb - Altered Plates
Chocolate Covered Vegan
Peabody - Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Jules - Domestic Goddess in Training
Maggie - Dog Hill Kitchen
Mandy - Fresh From the Oven
The Food Allergy Queen
Bakerella
Allergic Girl - Please Don't Pass The Nuts

Anything But Ordinary

Sometimes, when I get requests for baked goods from either friends or family, the specific details make be laugh. It isn't often that I even get requests for my cooking, since three quarters of the time I'm way ahead of the game as far as that goes (I mean, come on - I made the PBJ Cupkins, these cookies and the forthcoming Korovas without being asked!), but it does happen!

Like the lemony cookies I'm detailing today, for example. Andrew (my life's muse) and I had been talking about cravings, and the random ones that would pop into our heads for no reason other than to torture us. For me, it was a desire to make cookies of any kind, or to try my hand at making hard pretzels like the Goldfish crackers Andrew fell in love with last week in Niagara Falls (why the heck don't we get any of the good stuff up here?).

After I mentioned my hankering for cookie-making, Andrew offered up his services as an indulger taster, provided that the cookies I made "were normal, without anything weird added in...".
"Weird... like what?"
"You know, like tofu or anything... different. Like if you're making lemon-poppyseed cookies, make them with normal ingredients."

Sigh. Okay, Andrew, I'll make them without any tofu. Seeded lemon cookies it is.

Notice I didn't specify what kind of seed I was using. Therein lay the critical turning point. I did, after all, have an overstocked pantry to clean out! Poppy seeds gave way to something a little more eclectic and - dare I say, nutritious - a mix of hulled hemp hearts and chia seeds! I'd written about these before when I made my West-Coast muffins, and I threw some of the leftovers into this batch of otherwise basic lemony sugar cookie dough. I doubt that Andrew can tell the difference if he doesn't read this blog before having a cookie! It's not like I lied, after all... there isn't a speck of tofu in sight!

Lemon - Seed Cookies
Makes 12 large cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp chia seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375F, and line a cookie sheet (I used the Silpat Andrew gave me).
2. Cream together shortening and sugar.
3. Beat in egg, extract and zest.
4. Gently stir in the dry ingredients.
5. Drop 2" apart on sheets.
6. Bake 10 minutes.
7. Cool 5 minutes on sheets before removing to a wire rack.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 160.8
Total Fat: 9.4 g
Cholesterol: 17.7 mg
Sodium: 5.5 mg
Total Carbs: 16.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 2.2 g

Digging Deep... Freezer Style

I admit it... I'm a hoarder. If you saw yesterday's photo, you know that I have an unbreakable addiction to Bulk Barn, and not enough time or ideas to use up all the stuff! I spent this morning (or the part of the morning that I was upright for, at least) trying to organize my stuff so I could store it more efficiently. While putting a bag of nuts into the basement freezer, I came across one of the *4* bags of frozen fruit that I had saved from earlier in the year, and with space at a premium these days, I decided it was time for some of it to meet it's maker.

I also had peanut butter, which is a very good thing in this household because not only do I love the stuff (as you can tell by my mug's inscription, sucks that it no longer likes my body!) but Andrew and the rest of the family are partial to it as well. Inspiration struck, and I set about making these light, rich and oh-so-perfectly yummy "cupkins"... a cross between muffin and cupcake, good for breakfast or dessert!

Given that the berries came from the nether regions of my deep freezer, I'm going to send the recipe off to Mele Cotte's Deep Freeze Summer Challenge! Now to make my way through the rest of the frozen fruit / nut / seed / flour stash...

Note: I apologize for the shameful length of the recent posts... I'm not feeling up to par these days!

PBJ Cupkins
Makes 12
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter, warmed until runny
1 cup strawberries, lightly crushed

1. Preheat oven to 375F, grease 12 muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar.
3. In another bowl, combine water, vanilla, peanut butter and strawberries well.
4. Blend gently into the dry ingredients.
5. Bake 12-14 minutes or until they test done.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 154.5
Total Fat: 3.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 25.7 mg
Total Carbs: 28.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
Protein: 3.6 g

Hmm...

I have this theory... it isn't that I have too much stuff in my pantry, it's that my pantry is too small. And that I only have one oven... which today was in constant use making dried tomatoes. I tried doing them this time the way David suggested ("face down" on racks), but I have to say I kind of preferred the "raisiny" tomatoes - especially since they dried faster (aka I could pick them off the sheet sooner). Tomorrow's task is going to be making Korova cookie dough (with luck) and finding out ways to use the assembly of bulk ingredients I've collected (and finally labelled today!).

Once I do that... then I'll have a new recipe post for you!

Boring Yumminess

My lunch today is not a photogenic one, so I'm opting out of a photo this go around. However, it IS a delicious concoction, and one that Andrew is completely responsible for inspiration wise. Thanks honey!

The main star of today's lunch salad (I'm so predictable... always salad!) is a new ingredient that I threw into my cart on the last grocery impulse buy shopping trip... So Soya+ Meat Substitute Slices. I've used TVP (textured vegetable protein) before, but only in "ground" form with things like sloppy joes, my famous "Redwall Pasty" and chili (I've also combined it with "real" meat as an extender... works very well to flesh out the meal and the budget! Yes, it's soy, no, it's not gross!). This was something that I wasn't too sure what I was going to actually do with it, but I was game to try anything new, tasty and my restricted-diet-friendly. I was really really glad that I took the plunge, though, and when a box gives you 6-8 servings and only costs $5, it's worth it!

Basically, what came in the package are dried out "chunks" of pure soy protein made from defatted soy flour, that you need to soak in hot liquid (be it broth, water, juice, etc) for about 15 minutes before you can use them. This is where Andrew gave me a spark of genious - yesterday when I first tore into the package and rehydrated it with some vegetarian "chickenish" broth for lunch (which he graciously agreed to taste test with me) he commented how adding some poultry seasoning would really amp up the flavour of the bits and make them a great base for a chicken salad sandwich. At the time it was kind of late (we got sidetracked browsing through Crappy Tire) and I didn't think we had any of the spice lying around so we did without, but he did make himself a "yummy, and really filling" sandwich on toast and I stir-fried my share up with a spicy teriyaki sauce. These are crazy filling, no word of a lie, and since they really soak up whatever flavour you choose for them the stir-fry worked nicely too.

Today I had more time on my hands (or stomach, as it were), so I was able to "pantry dive" - lo and behold, we actually did have (relatively fresh) poultry seasoning! Mixed with some simple boiling water, it was a great broth, and intensely flavoured the bits. After they had soaked and I drained them I set about making a dressing for my salad. It turned out to be a variant of one that I remember my grandma making once or twice to mix with leftover turkey after Thanksgivings, and it was awesome! I have sort-of measurements for the recipe today, and no nutritional analysis, but I know it's very low fat and reasonable with the calories (a generous serving of the slices is only 95 cals and is fat free), especially served over lettuce and fresh tomatoes like I did today. I'll probably stick this in a wrap for school later on this year, too.

Oh, and if you're in photo-withdrawl, here's Andrew's and my latest mini Roma haul. A bunch of that bowl's already gone, too... yay for tomatoes!

Chickenish Salad
Serves one
1 serving (35g dry) So Soya+ slices
Boiling water
Pinch poultry seasoning
Pinch salt
Lettuce - as much as you want
Tomatoes - ditto
1 tbsp (or thereabouts) Fat-Free Nayonnaise (yay USA shopping!)
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp cranberry sauce (I make my own with stevia in place of sugar)
Black pepper (next time I'll swap in horseradish... maybe wasabi!)

1. Put the soy slices into a bowl.
2. Combine the boiling water, poultry seasoning and the salt. Pour over the slices and let sit 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Shred lettuce and chop tomatoes, toss into a bowl (I sometimes add in dried oregano too)
4. Add Nayonnaise, mustard, cranberry sauce and pepper to the rehydrated soy, stirring well to blend and coat everything.
5. Add soy mix to the top of the lettuce and eat!

*Note: You can make the chickenish mix ahead of time and pop it in the fridge for later, make sure you add the mayo mix to it while it's warm, though - it soaks up the flavour better*

Thanks to a great note from Kitchen Flavours, I'm just in time to submit this post (albeit without a photo, sorry!) for Jihva for Ingredients: Soy, being hosted at Monsoon Spice. It's a new event for me, and it looks yummy!

Taco Time

Summer vacation is in it's last leg for this year, the back-to-school ads have been out for ages and the last time I was at the grocery I saw HALLOWEEN candy on the shelves! Good Lord - if they begin the Christmas carols before November I swear I'll go off the deep end! It's still AUGUST, people!

Yes, August is still with us, and that means picnic and BBQ fare is still fair game. I'm including something in this post today that's fairly odd for this teetotaler's blog - an alcoholic punch - because when I read about it in August's Toronto Life it looked too good to keep all to myself. It's the invention of a restaurant in Toronto known as Spice Route, and would probably be a perfect pairing to some Summer rolls or a light Asian-style slaw salad. Definitely pop over to the article and read the take on the drink by the author, though... it's too funny to pass up!

Zen-Gria
Serves 4
1 1/2 cups papaya juice
1 1/4 oz Asian pear sake
1 1/4 oz plum wine
1 1/2 oz of mandarin vodka
1 cup frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 lime, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced
1/2 blood orange, sliced

1. In a pitcher, stir together juice, sake, wine and vodka.
2. Stir in berries.
3. Float citrus slices on top and serve.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 97.7
Total Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 4.9 mg
Total Carbs: 14.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 0.2 g

Looking for a side dish for the fruity drink that isn't Asian? Well, I made these cornmeal tortillas a while back and think they'd be excellent as grilled pizza shells. Of course, you could go completely Mexican and make tacos or burritos too...

Cornmeal Tortillas
Makes 10
2 cups flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup warm water

1. In a medium-sized, mix together all of the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening.
2. Gradually mix in the water and knead briefly, just until the dough is smooth.
3. Divide the dough into 10 pieces, weighing about 2 ounces each.
4. Round them into balls, flatten slightly, and allow them to rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat a heavy frying pan over medium heat.
6. Working with one piece of dough at a time (keep the remaining dough balls covered), roll balls out until they're about 8 inches in diameter.
7. Fry in the ungreased pan for about 45 seconds on each side
8. Stack wraps on top of one another as you fry them to keep them soft and pliable.
9. Store, tightly wrapped, in a plastic bag at room temperature. For storing wraps longer than a couple of days, freeze them.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 162.3
Total Fat: 3.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.3 mg
Sodium: 11.3 mg
Total Carbs: 29.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
Protein: 4.1 g

Slowly I Turn...

That old Vaudeville line always reminds me of my Dad, though it's in I Love Lucy and a Three Stooges skit too. All the authors / relayers of that line have one thing in common though - a reference to Niagara Falls. As you (should) know from reading my previous posts, Andrew and I took a few days earlier this week and drove to the gorgeous, romantic region for a break away from family and work. Sorry guys, we love ya, but we needed it! It was a rest we thoroughly enjoyed, with the exception of some poorly labeled streets in New York (where we went originally to procure some groceries - supposedly at Wegmans, but because of the bad directions we wound up at Tops instead). I'll have to go back over the border again soon, though, since I didn't buy nearly as much as I wanted to! We also stopped in at Target, just because we could. Andrew (who had never travelled into the US before, or even to Niagara Falls) was in awe at the selection of beer available at the grocery store - not something you find here in Ontario! He also loved the discovery of pretzel Goldfish crackers, so I'm going to be attempting a recreation of those soon.

Touristy-wise, we did almost everything: Ripley's and Guinness museums on Clifton Hill, the Maid of the Mist (that's us in our cheesy - but free - blue ponchos), the Hershey's store (where I learned just how much of a sucker Andrew is for chocolate-covered pretzels), stops at almost all the tacky tourist gift shops, and on our way home we even took a side trip to the Butterfly Conservatory and Niagara Botanical Gardens, where I got to explore the veggie gardens of the students at Niagara College, marvel at the things I never knew would grow in Ontario (kohlrabi, plantains and pak choy!) and try to figure out what some of the plants actually were!

As a side note from there, if anyone can help me out figuring out what this plant is to the left, I'd appreciate it! All I know is that it looks like a totally black pepper plant, with black and dark red small round fruits. It was in the veggie gardens, and I'm figuring a pepper of some kind, but I'm at a loss as to what kind.

Foodie-wise, our (purchased) lunches were pretty standard. Because I can't have a lot of traditional restaurant fare without crazy alterations to the menu or calling ahead to special-order, we stuck to Subway. Mind you, I'm a Subway fan - I am totally content with a Veggie Delite, no cheese, double toasted, soaked with mustard and loaded with pretty much every veggie offering they have (including hot peppers, but no olives... ewwww olives). Both our dinners were sushi from a place near our (dive of a) hotel that you would have walked right past if you weren't looking for it - not really being in a great-looking neighbourhood, and it's outer shell looked like an abandoned warehouse. Inside, though, was gorgeous, and styled in a very traditional Japanese decor. Suisha Gardens (suisha coming from Japanese for waterwheel, apparently) did not disappoint when it came to freshness, politeness or speed, and since it is a teppanyaki grill as well we got to watch a performance that was being put on for another group. I would definitely go back there if I'm in the area again, especially since the fish quality and prices were both awesome.

We did eat breakfast in our hotel room to save some cash, though, and the very first day we packed this fritatta that I made for lunch once we got into the city. It was okay in taste - Andrew liked it more than I did - but I think I was jaded since I got to taste it hot right out of the oven. To me, cold egginess is, well, not too yummy. It's saving grace is that when it's nice and hot, this tasted like Egg Foo Young, which I totally gorged on back in the day! Next time I'll ditch the peppers though, and swap in some cherry tomatoes or maybe caramelized onions. Peppers are better friends with Andrew than I. As far as being nutritionally sound goes, though, you can't beat a slice of this with a hunk of crusty bread. Yummmm!

Italian Flag Frittata
Serves 4
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, chopped
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, diced
12 oz silken lite tofu, pureed
4 egg whites, beaten slightly
1/3 cup fat-free, unsweetened soy milk
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease a 9" springform pan with PAM, lining the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Scatter chopped spinach and peppers into the bottom of the pan.
3. Beat tofu, egg whites, soy milk, herbs, garlic and onion powders, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
4. Pour over vegetables, smoothing down with a spatula.
5. Bake for 50 minutes.
6. Cool 10 minutes before turning out and serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 90.1
Total Fat: 1.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 382.3 mg
Total Carbs: 7.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 14.0 g
WW Points: 1.5

Drying Out

I'm back from Niagara Falls, and bringing you more of my favourite veggifruit! Yes, more tomatoes! Sorry, but when you're as deep in them as I am lately, they tend to dominate the kitcheny universe!

Having already filled my slow-cooker with tomatoes to make passata, I figured I would take a cue from David (from Wish I Were Baking...) and dry some of them out for salads and pasta. Heck, most of these babies never made it to a salad or bowl of spaghetti - they're like candy! Just as sweet and addicting, but without the whole sugar-rush and extra caloric thing happening.

I took the basic method from Trattoria by Patricia Wells and let them sit in the oven all day while I ran around packing for my trip, which I'll tell you all about later. Can you tell I like lazy cooking?

Oven-Dried Tomatoes
As many "meaty" tomatoes as you want to preserve (I used baby Romas, they're about cherry-size)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Place in the lower rack of the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours (mine took about 12 hours, and some could have gone longer).
4. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain pliable.
5. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and store in a Ziploc.

You Say Puree, I Say Passata!

Remember that pile of Summer's bounty I wrote about a couple days ago, the one that came in the form of a ton of tomatoes? Well, I'm finally getting around to writing about what I did with them all, and it's so simple it's inane. I threw them in my slow cooker with a head of garlic, turned it on, and walked away for 12 hours. I'm a genious.

Slow cookers are God's gift to the lazy chef. Especially when the lazy chef is me, and the recipe has a grand total of two - yes, two - ingredients! Heck, you can even get away with just the tomatoes in this recipe, but you know me... I'm a garlic freak! Since the puree (essentially the purest form of crushed tomatoes you can make) is unsalted, unpeppered, unherbed (well, apart from the garlic) and totally smooth, it's the perfect base for your favourite pasta sauce, soup or stew. I, for one, have plans for an eggplant casserole, and I'm sure that once my garden spits out another load of goodies I'll have to put together a lasagne or two!

The only things you need for this sauce are a sharp knife, a large slow cooker, and a food mill (either manual or electric). The one I used is plastic and metal, and cost $6 downtown (my dad got it for me on our Chinatown trip). It's one of my favourite pieces of equipment. The pulpy bits of skin and seeds left behind I scattered back into my garden... instant compost!

Passata al Pomodoro
Makes 13 half-cup servings
2 1/2 kg fresh tomatoes, chopped
10 cloves garlic

1. Place all ingredients in a crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on HI for 8 hours, stirring occasionally (if you happen to be around).
3. Process through a food mill, discarding skins and seeds, and place puree back into the crockpot (it will be very watery).
4. Cook, uncovered, on HI for a further 4 hours, stirring every hour, until thickened and reduced.
5. Portion into bottles and store in fridge or freezer (if you don't want to can it properly - I never do).

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 43.8
Total Fat: 0.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 17.7 mg
Total Carbs: 9.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g
Protein: 1.8 g

Middle Ground

**Note: I'm coming to you today from beyond the computer screen... I'm off enjoying a couple laptop-free days in Niagara Falls!**

Where is the Summer going? It seems only yesterday that I was planning Andrew's birthday cake and frolicking at Canada's Wonderland, and now I'm caught up in the throes of pre-college planning, and trying my best to hold onto the last rays of sun! Ah, well, 'tis still the season for BBQs and picnics (at least for a few more weeks!), and whenever I think of those types of group events I always think of salads. Whether they're pasta, rice, cabbage or potato based, at least one offering of every summer party I've been to has had one thing in common - a creamy, mayo-based, super-heavy dressing. For some odd reason they seem to be "the thing" for Summer, though why - seeing as the whole non-refrigeration thing is an issue in the heat - is a mystery.

I personally prefer my salads to be more on the leaft green side, but I will be the first to admit they aren't exactly filling. I mean, as a side dish, sure, but if you want a real meal of a salad you have to pile on the toppings, taking away from the lightness of it all!

Enter, the middle ground.

I like to think of this recipe as more of a salad component rather than a meal in it's own right, since on it's own it is rather carb-heavy. Garlicky and spicy from a hint of Dijon mustard, this is a creamily-dressed potato salad - but it's light on the goo-factor, and you'd never know it was mayo free! If you use it to top off a bed of mixed greens or baby spinach (go iron-building!) it's a yummy, protein-packed salad dressing. No picnics calling for your services? Serve it up for lunch or as a dinner side too, since this is one of those awesome seasonal recipes that works hot, room temperature or straight from the fridge. Do make sure to store it in the refrigerator though, the tofu may not be as volatile as mayo, but it will spoil! And, like any good potato salad, make sure you use a good "boiling-style" or "waxy" potato that holds up to cooking... I like to mix Yukon Gold and red-skinned ones for colour.

Roasted Potato-Soy Salad
Makes 4 one-cup servings
2 1/2 lbs mixed Yukon Gold and red potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
5 oz (1/2 block) low-fat silken tofu - try Mori Nu brand
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Spread potatoes on a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast 25 minutes.
3. Add garlic, and roast for 5 minutes longer.
4. Put tofu, lemon juice, herbs and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Toss potatoes (while still hot) with dressing.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 230.4
Total Fat: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 188.8 mg
Total Carbs: 46.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.9 g
Protein: 8.2 g

Oh... waiter! There's a salad in my picnic!

More Tomato Love!

I told you I'd try to make those ugly heirlooms pretty! I figured I'd stick this photo out there quickly before running off with Andrew for our vacation in Niagara, since there isn't going to be any cooking for the next couple days! I do have a post or two lined up in the queue, though, including just what I did with the tomato glut, so never fear! This shot is also my entry to the Red & White Foodie Photography Contest being hosted by new (to me) blogger Fitri at Rumah Manis. Thanks to IMMB for clueing me in!

If you want to take part in the colourfest too, send in your entry to the hosts at redwhiteevent@gmail.com by midnight on August 15, 2008. There are even prizes to be won, but I'm more interested in seeing the pretty offerings on display!

Messin' Up

Yup, you all called me out on it - that bee is not a bee. It's a hornet. Can I get away with calling it a "wanna-bee"? No? Okay then, well I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for all your suggestions for the tomatoes - I have some goodies to show you from my kitchen escapades after I get back from the Falls. I can't wait!

Garden Explosion!

Okay, so what do you get when you combine:
3 over-zealous, ambitious gardeners
20 strong, healthy tomato plants
1 row of borlotti bean stalks
1 summer of alternating thunderstorms and blazing sun
1 hour of solitary work?

Well... this.

Yup. The garden exploded on me again! Go figure - right when I am (literally) the only person in the house: the rest of the family is either out camping at Sandbanks, living in the lap of luxury out east in P.E.I., or off God-knows-where with friends. It's just me, the cats and the dog, and gardening is an awesome way to kill time, but jeez - it's a little overkill!!

There's more out there, but I'm hiding - not only did I get tired out and covered in something else that gave me a light (but itchy) rash (like the last time I gardened... can you tell I didn't learn?) - but I can barely deal with what I have now on the kitchen table, given that with my upcoming trip I can only save so many fresh goodies.

So, what to do? Well, the borlotti beans that I didn't eat straight from the bowl (about 2/3 of the bunch) I blanched and froze as per the mother's requests, and as for the tomatoes - well, we'll see where 3kg of the suckers + 10 cloves of garlic + 12 hours in a crockpot leave us! I'm hoping for a chance to use my new food mill and make a decent passata-ish sauce, since chunky ones are snubbed by the family *sob... I love the chunky kinds!*. So far I have a very very full crockpot of very liquidy fruit, but hey, it's only 6 hours in! After milling it through I'll reduce it down and bottle it, and I'll let you know how it goes! I have some pretty good ideas for some of the remaining garden produce though... including a riff on this delicious-looking recipe as well as one or two of these. I'm also definitely going to make oven dried tomatoes too, since my Baby Romas are the perfect size and consistency for that application, being small enough for bite-sizeability in salads and pasta and "meaty" enough that they don't all just burn to nothingness when their juices evaporate. I haven't quite decided how I'll do it, since there are a few different recipes out there, but I'm looking for one that allows me to store them in the cupboard, not in oil, and grab them when I need. There's a good tutorial-style recipe on VegeYum that I found, so I'll probably use it as a guide.

I'm not claiming that these goodies are the prettiest, though. Delicious, yes. Healthy, yes. Perfect in every way but beauty? Yes. But pageant-winners? Not so much. Eh, who needs beauty when you have round protrusions like these?

Is anyone else out there like my family - planting a ton of things only to wind up with so much produce you have no use for? Or do you have any other tomato / hot pepper / assorted bean recipes or use-ups to pass along to me? I'm probably going to use up some of our dill glut and make pickles (mmm... pickles), but I'm always on the lookout for healthy veggie uses! Come to think of it, I have an herb garden full of mint (it never dies!), parsley, dill, spring onion, chives and lavender awaiting harvest too... I could use some tips there as well!

Next - making those tomatoes pretty (ish) for a blog event!

Luck of the Draw

So, how is everyone's day of luck going? If you don't know why I ask that, today - 08/08/08 - is supposed to be the marker of one of the luckiest number sets in Chinese tradition. The number eight is already considered a bearer of luck, and three in a row... well, you can see why Bejing's Olympics opened today! Not only did the Olympics open today, but many Chinese couples booked this date for their weddings several years ago - according to this paper, over 8000 in the capital!

As for me, well, my lucky day has been full of all kinds of luck - and it didn't start with the good kind! I had to go to our city college's bookstore today (after putting it off for... oh... 3 weeks!) to buy my lab coat that I need in September (let the geekdom begin!), but apparently oh so helpful MapQuest neglected to indicate that the campus address was on the north end of the street, not the south. Needless to say (especially for those who know me and my lack of directional ability) I wound up driving 20 minutes down a very long, winding road to be rewarded with, not an industrial-looking building, but a gorgeous lakefront view! I didn't have my camera, obviously, otherwise I would have taken a photo to show you all! So, a turn-around and 35 minutes of city traffic driving in the pouring rain later I finally got to my destination. Bad luck: 1, Sarah: 0.

Once I got to the college though, I decided to dare parking without paying the ridiculous minimum $4 pay/display fee for parking since I would be in the building for maybe 15 minutes. In and out of the building went I, and lo and behold I made it without a ticket! Score one for me.

Home through the rain again (this time not getting lost!), and by the time I got into the house the sun had come out and was warming up the patio, so I went out to take some photos for Flickr's 888 group event. Want to know what I found?


A single busy honeybee buzzing around my dill plants! I know a lot of people are afraid of bees, but I love them... they're so colourful! And given that everyone from The New York Times to Haagen Dazs is reporting on their disappearance, I'd say that the sight of even one is worthy of a point to luck! I also got a gorgeous shot of my stepdad's gypsum weed, our crop of which was in jeopardy earlier this year due to the frost. As for the veggies, well, I'll tell you about those tomorrow!

For now, here's my tribute to the little buzzing bees in my garden: honey-sweetened ice cream studded with another Summer garden favourite of mine (that was sadly stolen from me this year... damn beetles!) - cherries! It's egg-free but still a creamy yellow from the rich honey, and it doesn't need an ice cream maker... Hallelujiah! Can you tell I still haven't found my wish-list Cuisinart yet?

Honey Cherry Ice Cream
Makes 2 cups - about 4 servings
Don't use maraschinos in syrup for this recipe... they're too moist. Look for glacé cherries instead, they're the solid candied ones you usually find around Christmastime (but they are available year-round).
1/2 cup alfalfa honey
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup 18% cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup glacé (candied) cherries, halved

1. Warm honey slightly in microwave or over stovetop until very runny.
2. Stir the milk, cream and vanilla extract together, then stir in the liquefied honey.
3. Pour into a bowl (I recommend ceramic) and cool completely.
4. Freeze 4 hours, beating mixture well every hour to aerate (alternatively, use an ice cream maker according to directions).
5. After 2 hours of the freezing process (or at the end of the ice cream maker's cycle) add the cherries, folding in well. Freeze completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 377.8
Total Fat: 7.0 g
Cholesterol: 24.7 mg
Sodium: 77.7 mg
Total Carbs: 78.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 3.0 g

Bon Petit Dejuner!

Sometimes, you discover gems in the most random places! Always in search of tasty, healthful and kid-friendly meal ideas (not for my own situation, but more for a future career idea I'll fill you in on later), I wound up stumbling onto the University of Nebraska food website a couple weeks ago. For one, I didn't even know UofN had a food website, and this one was of a fairly high caliber as far as adhering to the U.S. government's healthy eating pyramid goes. I spent a couple hours perusing the articles before I even started looking at the recipes, which is when I found the base idea for the recipe I'm sharing today. Actually, I can definitely see myself using this site as a resource in the future, it's frequently updated (rare in this day and age when it comes to campus publications) and it's full of ideas for families and students alike.

Now, why this is called "French Apple Yogurt" is beyond me, but it is. My modifications are to personal taste and nutrition goals, and include using plain instead of vanilla yogurt and apple juice instead of water. I scaled the recipe down to 2 servings for my pre-yoga breakfast today, and used a small Pink Lady apple, since it was just me eating. With a sprinkling of Rice Krispies (don't tell the stepbrother - they're technically his!), this was a satisfying morning meal that can be fast enough to have before school if you prep the apple mixture ahead (next time I'll make a bunch and store it in the fridge... it's so good on it's own!).

French Apple Yogurt

Makes 8 half-cup servings
1/2 cup 100% apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
3 large Golden Delicious apples, skin on, diced
2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla

1. Combine apple juice and cinnamon stick in a small, deep pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add apple pieces and cook 10 minutes. Drain apples, reserving 2 tbsp juice. Remove cinnamon stick and discard.
3. Reserve one cup of the drained apples, and put the rest into blender with the saved juice, one cup of the yogurt and vanilla.
4. Pulse until mostly pureed. Remove to a bowl and mix in remaining apples and yogurt.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 83.0
Total Fat: 0.4 g
Cholesterol: 1.2 mg
Sodium: 47.3 mg
Total Carbs: 17.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g
Protein: 3.7 g

I Told You So...

I've been bad as far as cooking anything new lately, and even worse for blogging! I do apologize, since I've been so busy preparing to go to Niagara Falls on Monday and trying to get my friend Heather's blanket finished that something had to give! However, I did make those roasted beans again, and I took a photo this time! I changed up the sauce choice too, using my favourite hummus (Wendy and Barb's) thinned out with some lemon juice and extra pepper as a dressing. These beans are like French fries, they're so addictive! I tossed in some halved Juliet tomatoes with the beans as they roasted, and let them get all gooey and sweet as they carmelized. I love Summer!

As a total, bogus side note that has nothing to do whatsoever with my garden or Summer, this has got to be the most outrageous baking experiment I've seen in ages. I wonder if it tasted any good. Care to comment?

P.S. - any suggestions on must-do's for Niagara Falls? We'll be hopping over the border on the Rainbow Bridge for an afternoon, any foodie shops I can't miss? Or any only-in-America products I should stock up on? Info's appreciated, thanks!

Inhale...

...and go to butterscotch heaven. If you don't care for the sweet, rich, buttery, slightly tannin-y flavour of Werther's candy you will want to skip this post. Seriously.


Still with me? Good. Well, now that my mom and stepdad are off on another vacation (this time out to P.E.I.), I'm free to muck about the kitchen as I please without them spraying insane amounts of Lysol air freshener everywhere. Apparently, chokingly fake flowers beat out the smell of cooking, go figure. Well, yesterday I was tres bored, after trying and failing to find an ingredient for a seperate recipe I wanted to try. Baby sister's off camping with my dad, and stepbrother was gone all day so I was completely alone with a wild imagination! I started poking through our pantry for inspiration, and found it in another tiny bottle of LorAnn's extract - butterscotch flavour this time - that had come in a "grab bag" from Bulk Barn one of the trillion times I bought something on impulse there. I also found some butterscotch chips and shredded coconut. I even had real butter in the fridge, which is rare because a) I don't eat any sort of added fats or oils, b) my sister only eats Becel and c) the rest of the family is keeping the olive groves in business.



Now, I suppose I could have made muffins, or cupcakes, but pawning those off is so much harder than giving away a bagful of freshly baked cookies! Easy transport and eating, good things in this time of unrefrigerated road trips and camping! I also threw in the remaining bits of white and dark chocolate from my cake ball experiment. Hey, who am I to deny the will of the kitchen gods?


Now, I've said it before, but LorAnn's flavourings are extremely potent, so don't go overboard if you use them. It's fine to leave them out, though they do add the extra "oomph" in this recipe. It'll seem like there isn't enough dough to hold all the chips and coconut, but it will be okay - just be sure to space them out well - no more than 6 to a sheet - because they spread!

Super - Scotcheroons
Makes 30
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
5 oz low-fat silken tofu (like Mori-Nu)
½ tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp concentrated butterscotch flavouring (like LorAnn's)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F, line sheets with parchment.
2. Cream the sugars, shortening and butter until fluffy, but not a paste.
3. Puree tofu and extracts in a blender or food processor until smooth.
4. Add pureed tofu to the creamed mixture and mix well.
5. In separate bowl, mix flours, baking soda and salt.
6. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix until flour just disappears.
7. Fold in chips and coconut.
8. Make balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
9. Bake for 11 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking.
10. Cool on sheets 10 minutes, then remove to racks and cool completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 177.1
Total Fat: 9.5 g
Cholesterol: 8.1 mg
Sodium: 34.1 mg
Total Carbs: 20.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 2.1 g

Psst... throw these in the freezer for a couple hours before eating them for a real treat!

Photo? ...Lunch First

You're going to have to trust me that these beans are better than anything else from my garden right now. In fact, they may just be the best thing I've had all week. You'll have to trust my typed out gushings about this recipe instead of looking at a pretty photo, though, because I was feeling more hungry than artistic this lunchtime - ergo, no shots were taken. Heck, I didn't even think of camera usage until oh, 6 or so tonight. Ah well, they will be made again - that's for sure!

Roasted Green Beans
Serves 4
2 lbs green beans (I used my purple guys again), washed, well-dried, and trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil (or PAM)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Put green beans on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil (alternately, use an olive-oil spray).
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Ensure all the beans are spread into 1 layer.
5. Roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring the beans after 15 minutes, until beans are fairly brown in spots and somewhat shriveled.
6. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 100.4
Total Fat: 3.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 13.6 mg
Total Carbs: 16.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 7.7 g
Protein: 4.1 g

The dipping sauces I made for these, too, are absolutely incredible. For some odd reason I am completely incapable of making up my mind when it comes to things, and so I made three of them. For one serving! The extras were really good on toast though, and I'm sure tortilla chips or raw veggies would be at home in each flavourful pool!

Spicy Pepper Dip
Makes 12 quarter-cup servings
3 cups jarred roasted red peppers, undrained
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 medium yellow pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1. In a blender or food processor, combine roasted peppers, garlic, jalapeno, mushrooms, ginger and mustard.
2. Purée until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Fold in remaining ingredients. Chill before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 27.0
Total Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 231.1 mg
Total Carbs: 5.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Protein: 1.2 g

Spiced Berry - Mustard Dip
Thin this out with a touch of orange juice or olive oil for a delicious, zippy salad dressing, or use as is for a great toast or cracker spread. Delicious with roasted vegetables too.
Serves 4, 2 1/2 tbsp servings
1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 tbsp honey mustard
1 tbsp prepared horseradish

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Keep in refrigerator - stores about 1 week in a covered container.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 64.3
Total Fat: 0.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 39.3 mg
Total Carbs: 14.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 0.0 g

Orange Dippy - Do
Serves 8 (2-tbsp servings)
This is my go-to fry dip, also great on burgers!
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Store covered in refrigerator until use.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 27.5
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 369.0 mg
Total Carbs: 6.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
Protein: 0.3 g

Taming of the 'Shroom

Yes, soup in August! Blame it on the fact that my yoga studio is always hovering around about 5°C, cold enough to send even the warmest-blooded people in search on a sweater. Or chalk it up to my irresistible desire for mushrooms - an umami craving brought on by Michael Smith's steak for one episode, or the unending Kikkoman commercials on TV. Either way, I knew what was going to play the starring role in my lunch yesterday!

I had stumbled onto the concept of this full-bodied puree while browsing the website for fellow Torontonian Chef Michael Bonacini's restaurant group (which he runs with partner Peter Oliver). The franchise includes the popular (and pricey!) restaurants Canoe, Jump, and Biff's Bistro among others, and one of the things that struck me as unique (not to mention AWESOME) on a lot of their menus was this particular soup. Advertised as having no butter or cream, the Oliver & Bonancini mushroom soup (also called the Wild & Tame Mushroom Soup) is an exotic combination of earthy flavours that doesn't let anything else get in the way. To me, it is what a mushroom soup should be in it's purest form, and you can customize it to your whim based on whatever fungi happens to be available.

For instance, this pot full of goodness which serves four (four? Um, yeah... I ate it all... 4 servings for your average person, or 1 serving for me [AKA The Pig]) took advantage of oyster, shiitake, cremini and white button mushrooms, making for a rich and almost meaty puree with delicate and almost "seafoody" notes from the oyster 'shrooms poking through. I have dried porcini and morels in my cupboard too, though, so I'll have to remember those for next time! I also took advantage of the stock my garden gave to me this summer, and used a fresh-pulled spring onion and snipped garlic chives in place of the half sweet onion and herbs in the given recipe. I am very pleased with the result - being a garlic freak I added freshly-ground garlic pepper at the end of cooking (thank you SpiceDepot!) instead of the regular black stuff - apparently 4 cloves of garlic plus garlic chives weren't enough for me!

The best part about this pot o' greatness (besides the flavour, of course) is that the WHOLE RECIPE is under 120 calories and 1g of fat! Of course, this is a huge plus if you are a volume eater like... well... me.

But enough about me. Onto the umami!

Wild & Tame Mushroom Soup
Serves 4
1/2 large, sweet onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 sprig fresh thyme, chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
2 1/2 cups (6.5oz) assorted mushrooms, chopped (rehydrate any dried ones in boiling water)
2 cups water
2 cups mushroom stock
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large, non-stick pot, saute onions, garlic and herbs in 1/3 - 1/2 cup water until onions are translucent.
2. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, 10 minutes. Add the water and stock, cook 20 minutes, uncovered.
3. If using an immersion blender, puree in pot. Otherwise, allow to cool slightly, then puree in batches in a blender before returning to pot and reheating.
4. Season to taste before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 29.2
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 472.9 mg
Total Carbs: 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 1.8 g