the small town chef

dill cheese buns, or plain dinner rolls

2011-04-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

these dill cheese buns pair perfectly with any soup, but borscht is always my first choice. they also soak up beer really well after a hockey game, just ask my team. and as for the regular buns, this batch was used as a side for a roasted chicken dinner, but what i really make them for is an afternoon snack. i make little butter and jam sandwiches and have them with tea. it is an instant time warp to being about 6 years old and spending time with my great grandma. i guarantee every great grandchild of hers thinks of fresh bread, butter and jam the same way.

i got this particular bun recipe from a friend - and it is so, so, so good. it's basically the perfect, homemade comfort food. and it was originally her (ukrainian) mom's recipe, so that automatically makes it worthy.

so here, i try to do it justice. the good news is that it's really easy. i love these cheesy dill buns? dill cheese buns? whatever you call them, they're better than you think they will be. and they totally deserve this photo essay/tutorial.

first, dissolve the sugar in the (hot tap) water. then let it cool until just warm.

then sprinkle in the yeast.

while the yeast reconstitutes, get your flour mixture, egg and oil ready.
i'm all about the mise en place.

when the yeast is warm and happy, add the oil.

and the egg.

and about 3/4 of the flour/salt mixture.

mix it together, adding more flour if necessary, until it resembles a sticky dough. it should pull away from the counter easily, but will still stick to your hands. place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and put it in a warm spot for it to rise. check the instructions on your yeast package for rising times.

after the dough has risen, gather your assistant(s), cause this is their favourite part.

roll the dough out on a floured surface and punch it down/knead it for a few minutes. seriously, just a few. or throw it in your kitchen aid mixer while you grate some cheese and get the dill out of the freezer. (ain't no fresh dill around these parts in march.)

when the dough has had it's work out, start rolling out the buns. i can be a little, ah... ocd about cooking sometimes, so weighing out my buns makes me very happy. and 1.8 oz. is my favourite number for buns.

flatten out the dough using the palm of your hand and add a pinch of cheese and a pinch of dill. make sure you don't flatten it too thin, because you don't want these to burst while baking.

fold it over and pinch it together, sealing it well.

then roll it into a little ball, like so:

place it seam side down. then do that 19 more times.

after you have them all rolled up, gently cover the buns with a clean towel, and place them back in a warm place to rise for another half hour. this batch wasn't all dill and cheese, so i made sure to mark which rows were them.

after they've risen, add another pinch of dill and cheese to the tops, being careful not to disturb any of the buns too much and risk deflating.

bake at 375 for 10-15 min, rotating the pan once while baking. watch them closely.

i took them out at this point, even though the dill cheese buns could have gone in for another 2 minutes. the plain buns were done, and because i only have one silpat mat, this was how it was going to be. but they still look gorgeous!

and at this point, right out of the oven, i brush the plain buns with butter. but only because a (different) ukrainian mom does that.

beyond delicious.

dinner rolls

1.5 cups warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp yeast
3 tbsp oil
generous pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
4 cups flour

bake at 375 for 10 - 15 min.

roasted acorn squash

2010-12-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

if i may introduce to you, a perfect side dish.

these little golden nuggets of pure goodness are roasted acorn squash. they are my new staple. and they are a whole food. and they are easy to make.

start by halving it, scooping out the middle, and chopping it up. i have found this is the easiest way to take off the very tough skin.

after this step, use your favourite paring knife to peel the sections like you would a potato. then chop them up into (roughly) bite size pieces.

these are about one inch cubes - and just right for how i want to bake them.

after this step, toss the squash in a bowl with some melted butter, a sprinkle of kosher/sea salt, and a drizzle of agave syrup. if you don't have this syrup, you can use maple syrup or regular pancake syrup.

but i highly suggest you go out and find this stuff. i get mine at costco, and it's two bottles for $12 or something like that. but you can go here to find a store location near you, there are a lot of places you can find their products, even in saskatchewan.

the syrup goes a very long way, and i use it in place of sugar most often when i am cooking now. it's also what we use as a sweetener or syrup with the kids. it has replaced the brown sugar in their porridge and syrup on their pancakes.

and any time you can eliminate refined sugar is huge.

the lighter the syrup (it's really nectar) the lighter the flavour. so this stuff is excellent for adding to foods that you want to sweeten, but not necessarily change the flavour of. for instance, the squash roasted with the nectar vs. the maple syrup will taste very different. both are delicious, but you may not want a maple flavoured side dish with your meal. but then again you may.

after you've tossed the squash with the butter, salt, and nectar, bake in a roasting pan at 400 for 20 minutes. adjust the cooking time based on the size of your squash pieces. but i think this is perfect for achieving the ultimate texture - caramelized nuggets that are a little crisp on the outside, and absolute melt in your mouth in the middle.

yum!

one acorn squash, peeled and chopped.
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
3 tablespoons of agave syrup or 4 tablespoons of an alternate syrup
1/2 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt.

combine ingredients in a bowl and toss. place in a roasting pan in a single layer, bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the squash starts to caramelize and is pierced easily with a fork. serve immediately. give the pan a good shake half way through baking to ensure even roasting.

you can make this dish even simpler by skipping the peeling and chopping stage. after halving and scooping out the squash, drizzle the butter and syrup and then sprinkle the salt over the inside. and roast from there. you will need to at least double the roasting time, and when the squash is cooked thoroughly, you scoop it all out into a bowl and mash together and then serve.

the flavour is still great, and it's simpler than peeling and chopping, but you don't achieve the same texture that the little roasted cubes provide. biting through the sweet and salty skin that is formed during roasting is heaven in your mouth. knee weakening even, and i hope you try it!

and if you really have to, you can substitute olive oil for the butter. it's considered a vegan dish if you do, and it'll be slightly more healthy.

2010-11-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

see look, our grocery store is not that limited anymore.

fantuz flakes and edamame.

still haven't tried the (store brand) edamame yet, will report back when i do.

update: that edamame was really good!

2010-10-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

things i love:

preparing and cooking food, talking about food, taking pictures of food, reading about food, shopping for food, sharing and showing off the food i make. (food meaning food and drink. of course. i love to drink. well, i don't love to drink, but you know what i mean.)

things i don't like:

this blogging format, how my recipes are categorized, the blog's name, that my food photography skills are just average, and how i forget to photograph some of the best parts of a recipe. and how i don't blog enough.

so i'm working on making this blog space better. lists are being made and changes are being implemented. more things about food, more pictures, more recipes. and a better name.

2010-10-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

mike and i almost never eat out, other than the golf course, it's only a couple of times a year. we sometimes order a pizza, but since cooking dinner is usually my favourite part of the day and there really aren't a lot of restaurant options around here, we just stay in. and we have small kids. that's what i tell myself anyway when i splurge on something as delectable as this.

that's triple cream brie and black truffles. the truffle shavings are folded into the cream and then a truffle paste is put through the centre of the wedge and then it's left to age. wow.

some people would scoff at a $10 hunk of brie and an $8 sleeve of crackers but it's the little things that keep me sane people. i live in the middle of rural saskatchewan, it's not even november and we've already had a crazy, school closing blizzard. and my pork butt that i ordered at the local grocery store didn't come in, again, and i got that phone call while i was shopping for this stuff.

it's ingredient lists like this that make me warm and fuzzy inside.
broke, but still warm and fuzzy.

when i was paying for my assortment of goodies from this one particular store, the girl at the register asked if i was buying the brie to have with the raincoast crisps. i said i was, and as she wiped a little drool from the corner of her mouth, she told me to enjoy my little slice of heaven and good luck with resisting the urge to come back for more every time i'm within 90 miles. true story.

if i was a good writer, i might be able to communicate to you just how smooth and creamy and delicious and perfect this cheese was. if you like brie, you will love this. and when you try it you will understand why someone would buy cheese that's thirty five bucks a pound. probably.

add a cracker that is really worth it's weight in gold and your favourite german riesling and you will die a thousand deaths of food pleasure. it's combinations like this that the term food porn was coined for. yum.

my favourite white is the wine in the middle, the 2008 selbach. and not just because it's a wine that's featured in the kinette food and wine night that i'm helping organize, but because it's been my go to white wine for as long as i've liked white wine.

this other white (that my aunt mariette is displaying) was consumed at thanksgiving. and it was wonderful. i had two glasses and it was the only bottle (of this specific wine) for like 18 people. finally, my palate is evolving to enjoy white - or maybe just german rieslings?

this wine is from the same area in germany that one of mariette's exchange students is from. andrea - the german - was one of about 14 students that have come through the family. i'll update with that wine's info when i get it.

perfect potato salad

2010-04-19T17:34:00.001-07:00

i am officially a potato salad snob after finding this recipe. i made it a million times last summer, and now have it altered to utter perfection.

to be honest, i don't even really like potato salad that much. but this one is the end all and be all of potato salads. it is soooo goooood that once i have it prepared i never get through the rest of my meal prep without ruining my supper by sneaking forkful after forkful.

and please, use a real lemon.

and please, find real dill. even if it's 8 months old and freezer burnt like mine. it's still good! right?

and ideally, it's best if you make this ahead of time, giving the flavours plenty of time to marry. but not so far ahead that it has to live in the fridge, because the texture is sublime when the potatoes are kept at room temperature.

2 pounds potatoes, chopped and cooked
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. about a tsp of each.
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup tightly packed, fresh dill, chopped
1/2 lemon, zest and juice. (or more if you love lemon)
1 heaping tbsp dijon mustard

never mind the vinegar, i pulled that out before i remembered that i cut it out. and i only used one of those lemons.

leave the skins on, please.

boil 'em up.

after draining, i return them to the pot that's still hot because it'll help evaporate any left over water.

i hope you have a microplaner or something similar, because the impact of fresh lemon zest cannot be understated. the finely diced onions are another nuance of this perfect salad. and in case the food network isn't your only reason for having a tv like it is mine, i'll break down the easy way of dicing an onion.

split it like this, and then peel the outer, inedible layers off, keeping the root intact.

make horizontal cuts, stopping before cutting all the way through.... the root is there to hold it all together, so don't cut through it.

make several vertical cuts across this way.

then finely, like this.

it may not have looked pretty, but the dill was still yummy.

i think i gave it another shot of dijon after this.

mix it all up.... and you would never know it's wasn't fresh dill.

and again.

PERFECT!

2010-04-15T12:37:00.001-07:00

LE CRUESET giveaway on my other blog!

**closed**

smashed potatoes

2010-03-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

these potatoes are the best. they are easy, healthy and cheap. we are always striving to eat more whole (and local) foods, and this is a great way to do that.

first, boil your potatoes... cook most of the way through. to save time you can cut them into smaller pieces - but leave the skins on.

drizzle a roasting pan with extra virgin olive oil. (notice the drake's sausage that will hit the bbq, that's so not a whole food, but it is local!)

place the cooked potatoes down on the pan

and smash them! i usually score mine first - use a plate or bottom of a bowl if you don't have a potato masher.

don't flatten them too much.

another hearty drizzle of olive oil... for moisture and flavour. i always use what looks like too much.

sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

smother with fresh parmesan.

bake 450 - 500 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes - all depending on how quickly you want them ready.

crispy on the outside, soft and steaming on the inside. so, so good.

these potatoes are very forgiving - they can be baked first instead of boiled, they can go back into the oven for roasting when undercooked, and are more than fine if a little over baked at the end. in fact, i leave them in until they look a little over done - the crispier the better. just don't skimp on the oil if you want to do that because the potato could dry out.

2010-03-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

i worked in an italian restaurant - you know the kind that grate the fresh parmesan right at your table? - and part of the daily maintenance was the cutting and stocking of the parm. i got out of doing it most of the time because cutting through a $1000 slab of the hardest cheese out there was nearly physically impossible for me. in fact, cutting through a $27 hunk of parm is still enough of a battle for me that i usually get mike to just do it.

costco!

but fresh parmesan is worth it and so easy to stock. a block this size will last us about ten meals. i cut it up and freeze it because i'm sure we either eat carbonara or parmesan roasted potatoes once a week. it thaws nicely in the fridge, or if you are like me and only making carbonara because it takes twenty minutes and you've certainly not thought far enough ahead to have the parm ready, you can grate it right from frozen (just like ginger). you just need a little more elbow grease.

amazing carrot cake - for bonnie

2010-03-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

here it is. the carrot cake of all carrot cakes. and like i said, i know carrot cake. i wish i could take credit for it, but i can't. and there's almost enough healthy things in it that you could claim it for a healthy snack. but not when you add the cream cheese icing.

and you have to add the cream cheese icing.

and i know that it's a huge recipe, but don't half it. you will regret it. in fact i've been known to double this recipe. and i know the extra step in the beginning is well, an extra step, but please don't skip it. it's the je nes se quois of this carrot cake.

you're welcome.

6 cups grated carrot (about 6 medium carrots)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup raisins
4 eggs
1 + 1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup oil (i use canola)
2 tsp pure vanilla
1 small can of crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups flour
1 + 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tap salt
4 tsp cinnamon (or more!)
1 cup walnuts

in a bowl, combine the grated carrots and brown sugar. set aside to soak (marinate if you will) for at least one hour. stir it once or twice while the carrots soak.

in a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs and add the white sugar, oil and vanilla gradually while mixing well. then fold in the pineapple and raisins.

in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

gradually, add the dry ingreidents to the wet. combine well and then fold in the carrots and finally, fold the walnuts into the batter.

pour into pans and bake at 350 degrees. 45-50 min for cakes and 25-30 min for cupcakes.

i got this many cupcakes

and these beauties from one batch. into the freezer go the muffins!

and we feast on this!

and while i anticipate your thank yous for the cake recipe, i can only apologize in advance for the icing recipe. it is disgustingly unhealthy and wholly designed to add inches to your waist.

so for that i'm sorry. but i dare you not to make it.

i'll just leave this with you and you can do with it what you will.

regretfully amazing cream cheese icing

2 - 8oz bars of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla

whip the cream cheese and butter together. then sift the sugar (if you really want to, i'm a geek, so i do) and add it to the cheese mixture. stir in the vanilla.

voila. so simple you have to make it. and both the cupcakes and the icing (together or separate) freeze very well.

and i'm going to update this post with much better photos next time i make this.

candy sushi

2009-07-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

saw this on the internet last year and i have been waiting to try it. we hosted a play date a few weeks ago it was the perfect opportunity. i thought it turned out perfect - especially considering the five cent candies at the c-store are all i had the choose from.

pretty simple, yet impressive.

the dragon cake

2009-04-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

i love the idea behind these cakes - cool designs from regular pans. the dragon requires 2, 9 inch round pans. and if you don't have them, you should just go out and buy some. i had to, and i spent $7 on each (baker's secret brand) and they are excellent quality for the price.

i didn't get a good picture with the sparklers - we add them for the fire-breathing part.

we modified the tail pieces to make it look like this. much better, i thought.

we (i say "we" because mike was totally into the candy placement, and he made the wings) used fruit roll ups for wings, and because it was saturday evening on easter weekend when i decided to make the dragon, i had to call around to find those fruit roll ups. that's the perils of living in a small town - stores are actually closed on holidays. good thing we keep a steady supply of jelly beans and hershey bars.

rigatoni pie

2009-04-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

this recipe came via my mother-in-law, via noble pig, via martha stewart. such a simple recipe with quite a wow factor. i really enjoyed making it - except standing the first dozen or so noodles up was a bit of a challenge.

1 pound rigatoni, salt for water
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tsp thyme
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
1 large can (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp white sugar
salt to taste
1 cup fresh parmesan, grated
enough mozzarella to cover, grated

brown the ground beef, add carrots, celery, onion and thyme. saute for a few minutes, add crushed garlic, continue to cook for another minute or two. add tomatoes and season to taste. let simmer on stove for as long as possible, i always leave it for at least an hour.

while the sauce is simmering, cook the rigatoni until just under el dante - you want it a little firmer than usual so the pasta holds up for the next few steps - the noodles will be finished off in the oven anyway. once you drain the pasta, return it to the pot and toss with the parm.

these noodles were probably overcooked by a minute or so - getting them just right is probably the hardest part of the recipe.

using a buttered, spring form pan, stand the noodles up - it really doesn't take that long. then scoop your sauce over the rigatoni, pushing the sauce down into the pasta. the back of a wooden spoon is just fine for this.

love it!

bake in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes, add the grated mozzarella to the top, and bake until golden - another 15 minutes or so. let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

the big moment - will it stand it's own? how about those oven mitts, eh?

it worked perfectly.

i apologize for the less than stellar presentation but i made the mistake of calling my guests to the table before i remembered that it should to rest for 10 minutes. so by the time i was willing to cut it, no one was willing to wait for me to plate it properly. oh well. it was awesome, anyway.

*the measurements for the seasonings are just a guess. if you don't want to eye ball it, those ratios should be just fine. and next time i'll probably add about half a cup of pasta water to the sauce right before i scoop it onto the rigatoni. i cooked my sauce to it's regular thickness, but found that after everything got baked together in the oven, the pasta left my sauce a little dry.

roasted vegetable soup

2008-11-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

i think an update is very over due, so here is a good one!

i made a lot of homemade soups this fall and this roasted red pepper, parsnip and squash soup was soooo good and very easy.

1 onion
2 tbsp butter
1 butternut squash
2 parsnips
1 red bell pepper
garlic, to taste
chicken/veggie stock
pinch of salt

quarter the squash, scoop out seeds and place in roasting pan, rind up. cut up the parsnips and peppers, place in second roasting pan/cookie sheet. roast 425 for 40 min or until squash is easily pierced. peppers and parsnips won't take as long as the squash, so keep an eye on them. garlic takes even less.

while roasting, saute the onions in the butter in large soup pot.

after roasting, roughly chop vegetables and add to the onions/garlic. add at least enough stock to cover vegetables and then simmer for as long as you want - i did about an hour and that was plenty of time. don't forget to season a little to taste, you won't need anything more than a pinch of salt or a little white pepper if you have it. then, with an emersion blender or by transfering to a food processor, (like i did) puree.

may as well roast the garlic, too. i drizzled it with olive oil and threw on a few seasonings.

and i didn't get a picture of the finished product and i can't believe it. i'll update next time i make this. i did add a few dashes of club house's vegetable spice to the veggies before i roasted them, but i didn't add it to the recipe because i think the flavour addition was minimal and i won't bother with it next time.

this makes about 4 - 6 bowls, depending on how thick you make it. and just a heads up that the parsnips can carry a lot of flavour, so if you aren't sure, substitute.

cheesecake lollipops

2008-06-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

so i'm back. it was a long break, but ever since i've started gardening, my kitchen has been slightly neglected. and if i'm not ignoring my kitchen, i'm ignoring blogging in general. my other blog has suffered, too. but i'm going to make up for it by sharing my latest baking adventure with you - and an adventure it was!

i've seen these before on other baking sites, but i decided to go my own way - the recipes either seemed too complicated or not to my tastes. this was a rehearsal for when i plan on making these for a wedding shower i'm hosting in a couple of weeks. i took one to the bride-to-be and she goes, "but i don't like cheesecake." too bad i said, i'm making them anyway, and i'll make another dessert just for you. i think these are just too cool not to share with a crowd, and i plan on having them as centre pieces first - you know, like a bouquet of flowers sort of thing. i'm glad i made these once first because there will be a few changes next time, like making them about half the size. they are a lot of work, but sure to be a crowd pleaser!

5 8oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp pure vanilla
¼ cup heavy cream
boiling water as needed
thirty to forty lollipop sticks - i cut up wood bbq skewers

beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, salt. add eggs and egg yolks one at a time. lightly beat in vanilla and cream. grease baking pans, fill with batter. place baking pans in larger roasting pan, fill roasting pan with boiling water, about half way. bake for about 45 min at 325 - or until starting to brown. you don't want to over cook these, and there's nothing wrong with it being a little undercooked.

i would have baked in two pans, this one was a little too
full, but i didn't have any that would fit in the roasting pan.

after baking, set in fridge to completely cool. you can leave it over night, whatever, just make sure it cools as much as possible. roll into small balls (i got carried away with the size of mine), place on cookie sheets lined with parchment and add sticks. freeze completely - should only take a few hours.

after freezing, dip in melted chocolate (melt chocolate in a double boiler, or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water like i did) and sprinkle with toppings. i added about a tablespoon of shortening to about 2 cups of chocolate. it helps it set better and keeps it looking the best. i used coconut, sprinkles and crushed peanuts for toppings, just what i had on hand. i think i might get a little fancier for the shower, though. set in fridge to thaw, they aren't that good frozen, but are awesome after they've been in the fridge a while.

thai pork skewers

2008-05-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

update: i just made these again on the weekend, possibly the most amazing skewers or pork anything i've ever had. so good i couldn't believe it.

here's something that i completely made up last week and it turned out so delicious! after i had made the marinade, i couldn't stop smelling it - it was that fresh and aromatic! i wanted to replace my boring recipe for pork tender loin, and this is what i came up with:

thai pork skewers

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (or add 1/4 cup crushed peanuts to smooth pb, that's what i did and i think the fresh peanuts really made a difference)
1/4 cup soy sauce
juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup, and lime would work, too)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, diced
1/2 tsp of grated ginger
2 tsp coriander
dash of cayenne pepper or crushed chili flakes
1 pork tenderloin, cubed
a couple of bell peppers to skewer
pineapple, cubed
mushrooms, whole
anything else you want on your skewers

combine pb, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, green onions, ginger, coriander, pepper. mix well and then thoroughly coat pork. let marinate in fridge for at least an hour - longer is better. reserve enough marinade for basting while bbqing. assemble skewers, then bbq.

since i've only made this the one time, i would add a little more spice for heat next time. i didn't know how far the chilis would go when marinating for several hours and i don't like things too spicy, or actually spicy at all.

sorry for no after picture, my house was CRAZY and i just said screw it, let's just eat already! and even though i've read it a million times, and even passed it on to you, soaking my wooden skewers for an hour in water before bbqing doesn't keep them from burning. what's up with that?? do i just need to suck it up and invest in metal ones?

2008-05-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

this is another big meal that i was very proud of. the first time i made this chicken a few months ago mike almost died he said it was that good - and the recipe came about because the ingredients i wanted to find -flavoured havarti, prosciutto - i couldn't in our small town, so i came up with other things. i think it's much better this way anyway!

the thing with this stuffed chicken is that it's really not that hard, and is totally an impressive meal. i find the trick to it is to get the chicken pounded out, clean up that mess, then lay everything out in front of you in stations. it makes stuffing, wrapping and coating go super fast and quite easy once your elbow deep in raw chicken.

stuffed chicken (or the awesome chicken if you're mike)

four chicken breasts, pounded flat
herb and garlic cream cheese
a handful of spinach
a handful of mushrooms, sliced thin
shaved deli ham (or prosciutto if you can get your hands on it, but i can't)
home made shake 'n bake (recipe to follow)

pound chicken breasts flat between parchment paper with a meat mallet or rolling pin. prepare baking dish by sprinkling home made shake 'n bake on bottom. spoon cream cheese in centre of chicken, add spinach and mushroom. roll up and secure with toothpicks. place ham on top, set in baking dish and top with shake 'n bake. bake 350 for 40 min. this may vary depending on the thickness of you chicken.

i got this next recipe out of a canadian living a while ago. it was originally a home made chicken fingers recipe, but it's so awesome i use it for everything - it goes especially well with a white fish. i make tons of this at a time and keep it in the freezer and pull it out for whenever.

home made shake 'n bake (i really need a better name for it)

1 cup fresh bread crumbs, as small as possible, like food processor small
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano (or more to taste)
1 tsp paprika (or more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

combine altogether... and that's it!

i came up with this next dish about half hour before supper. for some reason i always struggle with a side for this chicken, so i thought i was just go herby and cheesy to compliment the flavours in the chicken and keep it as simple as possible.

butter herb pasta (a chemical and processed-free version of a side kick. and a lot cheaper, too!)

1/3 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced (but we like things garlicky)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp of freshly grated parmesan

combine everything in a sauce pan (i recommend not really cooking the garlic much), simmer on low for a few minutes so the flavours marry. then toss with hot pasta. this amount of sauce covered enough pasta for a side for 4 people. mike thinks i could serve this as a main dish as well.

i always serve a salad, always.

that's just steamed asparagus with a store bought cheese sauce, i didn't have the energy to make up my own at the time.

chicken fajitas

2008-05-05T19:50:00.001-07:00

when i first started making these a couple of years ago we couldn't stop eating them. like once a week - we were so addicted. i love it because it's so easy ... it's something i can even prepare in the morning and take ten minutes (plus bbqing) and finish off at supper time. and i always keep wraps handy in my freezer. this recipe makes about 5 large fajitas.

sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water
1/2 cup white sugar (i don't think i ever put that much in)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
*and then i'll add a dash of whatever i have in the fridge in the way of asian cooking sauces - oyster, store bought teriyaki, whatever - but this is completely optional.

combine everything on low heat and bring to a simmer. stir frequently until sauce thickens.

fajita filling

2 sweet peppers, sliced
1 small onion, cut in rings
2 chicken breasts, bbq'd and basted with homemade teryaki sauce
1 large tomato, diced
cheese grated, to taste.

bbq chicken breasts (or bake) then cut into strips. saute with peppers, onions and sauce until peppers are cooked, but still firm. dish onto fresh fajitas and top with tomatoes and cheese.

you can make a surplus of the sauce and keep it in the fridge in a recycled bbq sauce container and use for anything and everything. it's what i use for my stir fry if i don't feel like making my oyster/black bean sauce combo. and it's a big time money saver because store bought stir fry sauce is very expensive.

i cut up a wrap to make a toddler sized one for
the boy. he loves his personalized fajita!

2008-05-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

i had a dream last night that i was trying to find fresh basil in a supermarket. the anxiety of not finding any was nearly too much to take.

brutal, i know.

stew and dumplings

2008-05-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

this is my grandma's dumpling recipe i got a few years ago. one night while having supper at her house mike exclaimed, "you must make these dumplings!" i don't think they are spectacular or anything - i'm mean, they're just dumplings - but it's a good recipe with ingredients i always have on hand. and that's how i make my stew as well, i throw in whatever is in the fridge.

dumplings

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg, well beaten
3 tbsp melted butter
2/3 cup milk

sift together dry ingredients (you don't have to sift, but i do, and they always turn out better.) mix wet ingredients. add dry to wet. spoon into servings on top of already cooked stew, bake altogether in oven at 350 for 18 min.

at this point, they weren't quite sticky enough so i added a touch more of milk.

baking is the important part - the stew doesn't burn to the bottom of the pot and the dumplings get cooked thoroughly.

i don't have a recipe for the stew, because well, i don't have one. this is one of the few meals i cheat with and use a boughten spice mix - i'm almost ashamed to admit that! but i do have a few tips; always add parsnips, they keep forever in the fridge and add a wonderful sweetness to the stew you just can't get out of anything else. and towards the end of cooking (before the dumplings) i thicken it up with the classic 2 tbsp of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water combo - sometimes even doubling that.

roasted potatoes

2008-04-28T19:19:00.001-07:00

these are inspired by nigella - only she did hers with seasoning salt and garlic cloves. after making hers once i altered it to be even simpler and they are so delicious i'll even serve them to company.

cube potatoes 1 inch or smaller
enough olive oil to coat
vegetable spice to taste

coat the cut up potatoes in olive oil by tossing in a bowl. shake some spice on and toss again. lay flat in roasting pan, then finish seasoning. bake at 425 for 40-45 min, flipping and rearranging half way through.

simple roasted chicken

2008-04-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

i've been abnormally busy this week and haven't updated either blog because of it. i've been lucky enough to convince both my babies to nap at the same time, so instead of blogging in the last two days, i've napped when they have. not to mention the 12 hour day that matthew and i had in the city on wednesday. i think i'm still recovering from that. but here is my roasted chicken and it couldn't get any easier! i love doing this and i was inspired early this week because it was so crappy out i thought i should make chicken noodle soup - gotta make the bird first though!

1 frying chicken, i always keep it to five pounds or less because that's plenty for a big meal (for us) and lots of meat for the soup
2 tbsp of butter
salt and pepper
water for the roasting pan

slather the butter all over the bird (make sure all the innards are removed and legs tied together). sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. always keep water in the roasting pan. it will evaporate as it cooks, so be prepared to add more as you go. but don't keep too much water because when you need the juice to make gravy it will be too diluted. and i do bast it periodically.

i don't know what i did differently than the other twenty times i've done a bird, but this was the best tasting chicken mike and i have ever had.

and here's my secret - i don't know if it's much of a secret - but bake the bird at 425 for half an hour, then turn the oven down to 350 for the remainder, usually about 1 1/4 for a 5 lbs bird (so almost 2 hours in total oven time). internal tempurature should be 176 f. make sure you let the bird rest outside of the oven for at least 10 minutes before tearing into the sucker.

carbonara with scallops

2008-04-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

this was my first time making this specific version of carbonara, or bacon and eggs pasta. i make carbonara all the time, but have never added the scallops. when i went to the freezer for the bacon and saw the scallops, i thought it was a natural combination. it was pretty good, but i think i'll omit them next time because i love the original dish so much! but something scallopy (i just made that word up) would be an awesome appetizer for a meal like this.

i've explained this dish to people before and the reaction is usually negative, and i thought the same when my mother-in-law introduced this dish to me several years ago. but it's a must try and when paired with a fresh, light salad, it's not that bad. it's one of our favourite indulgences.

1/2 lbs of bacon
4 eggs
2 tbsp of parmesan cheese
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper (at least)
pinch of salt
a handful or two of scallops, totally optional
enough pasta for 4

i think i picked the most chipped plate in my cupboard for this picture

in a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper and parm. saute bacon (a little under cooked is better than crispy, trust me on this, it's the only way and i even like really crispy bacon) then cut into bit sized pieces (i just use my kitchen scissors). reserve a few tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan. saute scallops with bacon (if using).

cook pasta, drain, return to pot. add egg mixture to pasta, then add hot bacon and bacon grease to pasta. toss until the egg is cooked, sometime you might need to keep the pot on a low burner, sometimes not, it depends how well the bacon cooks the egg. serve immediately.

*a few notes on this recipe. after years of experience, i insist you use fresh pasta for this dish. i buy mine in the city when it goes on sale. you can get 350 grams of fresh linguine for $1. you can't beat that price, so i always stock up, i'll buy literally a dozen or more and freeze them. put the pasta right into the boiling water frozen, it might add a minute or 2 to the cooking time. if you don't have fresh stuff, short pasta like penne, is the next best thing.

also, my husband and i are pigs. that 350 grams feeds us and our 2 year old. but for a meal with a nice salad and small appetizer, you could get away with feeding 4 with this recipe.

cucumber tomato salad

2008-04-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

i really didn't want to add this recipe because it's so unhealthy, but it's a great treat for the summer months. it goes so well with anything bbq and it's so easy to make it's a great last minute dish. lou gets credit for this because i got the recipe from her. i do up the veggie to pasta ratio in an attempt to make it a little better.

3 cups macaroni, or shells, or penne or whatever you have
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 green onions
1/2 cup cucumber, diced

dressing:

2/3 cup white sugar (i know!)
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
paprika to taste

mix it all together, add dressing. serve with the pasta warm or cold. this is another recipe i never measure for (well, the dressing i do.) and if i don't have green onions, i'll still dice up a little bit of a white one because i think it needs the flavour. it's really a delicious salad, and last night i served it with bbq pork chops (the sweetness goes really well with the pork) and a spinach garden salad.

the first time i had this it was at lou-anne's. i loved it and demanded the recipe - she hesitated, 'it's all sugar' she said, but gave it to me anyway and we love it.

matthew's cake

2008-04-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

although i would normally make the cake from scratch, i didn't this time because you can't beat a $2 cake mix when you're slightly hungover from a night of drinking too much red wine and spending too much money (re: du banquet).

i got the inspiration for this very simple cake design from a book of cakes that my mother-in-law inherited from her mother. in total there about a dozen different cakes you can make, here's the penguin cake my mom and i did for his first birthday:

made from 2, 9x13 cakes

matthew's current obsession are cows so i came up with a cow-like design for him. in the end, he honestly wasn't that impressed... his cow card he received from his nana and poppa was a much bigger hit than the actual cow cake. a little disappointing, but i get points for the cake none the less. and for the record this was only the second time i have ever decorated a cake, i know i can do a better job next time.

sorry for the blurriness

iced using my grandma's icing tools, circa 1950.
she still had the price tag on it, it was 49 cents.

i'm not sure if the trip to the store specifically
for the licorice tail was worth it. but there you have it.

moral of this story? never rent or buy a fancy cake pan again!

homemade burgers and a veggie pack on the bbq

2008-04-14T19:36:00.001-07:00

these veggies are my 'holy shit it's after 5 and i have no idea what i'm doing for supper! dish. they take about 20 minutes on the bbq and you can use whatever you have. since i always, always, always have these veggies, it's always the same for us. we love it so much, we'll eat it sometimes as often as once a week.

i know pretty much everyone does a variation of this dish, but i like to think i've perfected it.

four small potatoes, sliced thin
a handful of baby carrots, quartered the long way
a handful of green or yellow beans, or both
a few rings of white onion
2 tbsp of clubhouse vegetable spice
1 tsp of seasoning salt
2 tbsp of butter

take 2 large sections of tin foil and fold them together so they make one larger sheet. spray with cooking spray. lay out potato slices, sprinkle evenly with vegetable spice. add carrots, and beans. top with onions then sprinkle the onions with seasoning salt. top with butter. fold up and put on top rack of bbq.

what's great about the veggie pack is that they are delicious even when they are slightly undercooked as well as a little crispy. and you can make this even when the beans aren't in season, now that i keep a bag of them frozen in the freezer i'm adding them to so many more dishes. and to make this dish absolutely amazing, add fresh dill. that's a tip from my favourite friend to cook with, lou-anne. (hi lou!)

homemade hamburgers

a few years ago when we had to budget our grocery bill fairly tightly, i started making my own burgers and have never looked back. store bought patties are quite expensive and never as good as homemade ones. mike always harrasses me about not writing down my recipes. he's right, i should. but i just get going in the kitchen and i never even measure let alone write stuff down, so all the measurements here are an educated guess. my burgers taste a little different every time, but pretty much the same since it's a fairly basic recipe.

1 pound of lean hamburger
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
3 tbsp montreal steak spice
3/4 cup bbq sauce

mix well then form into patties.

i usually mix these up after a trip to the city when i load up on hamburger for the freezer. i'll make a couple dozen then freeze them myself. so when i only feel like doing the minimal amount of work for supper, the meal can still be homemade and fairly inexpensive.

blueberry muffins

2008-04-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

this is a recipe i've been using for a couple of years. i can't remember where i got it, but i know i made a few changes. i made these yesterday, but cut back on the sugar by a 1/4 cup, added a tablespoon of honey and upped the blueberries a little. this was my first time making these while living in a small town, and fresh blueberries, even when available are very expensive, so i used frozen.

feel free to cut back even further with the sugar, and just use more honey. they may not be as sugary-delicious as store bought at this point, but the freshness of them take over, and you'll kids will still love them.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (i used whole wheat)
1/2 cup butter milk
1/2 tsp salt
400g fresh blueberries (i think i always use a little more than this)

whisk melted butter, eggs, sugar/honey, buttermilk and one quarter of the blueberries (smashed up into pulp). mix the flour and the salt, add it to the buttermilk mixture.

toss the remaining blueberries in a 1/4 cup of the flour and then fold the berries into the batter. bake 375 for 40 min. oh! and sprinkle and little sugar on the top before they hit the oven.

pulled goose meat on a bun with a tossed spinach salad

2008-04-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

what's great about this dish is it's very inexpensive to make, and most of us rural people have access to someone who hunts in the fall. thanks to my brother, there's always goose in my freezer. the only problem with goose specifically, is that it can be pretty tough and not a lot of people get very excited about the flavour, like my mom, for one.

but what's different about this recipe is that the slow cooker really tenderizes and the other ingredients really take over in flavour. and because the bulk of the work is done by the slow cooker, it's great for working moms, or anyone with a busy house. i won't eat goose any other way now.

pulled goose meat on a bun

1 goose; breasts, legs, wings - it all works
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
minced garlic to taste
2 cups stock - any will do, i used my beef broth that i keep in the freezer
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
a few shakes of liquid smoke (totally optional)
1 cup of your favourite bbq sauce

in a pan, add the butter and onion and saute until about half done (to your taste) add garlic and goose pieces. brown the meat, should take about 5 min, each side. put everything in the pan into a slow cooker, set on high. add stock, worchestershire, and liquid smoke. leave in slow cooker for 6 - 8 hours.

i thought i pulled out goose breasts from the freezer, but it turned out to be wings and thighs. it didn't make a differnce.

once everything is cooked, pull meat off the bone using a couple of forks, and shred. toss back in pan with about 1/2 a cup of the stock/onion/garlic mixture. let simmer on stove for about 5 minutes to reduce the liquid, add the bbq sauce and cook for another couple of minutes. serve on open, fresh buns. mike likes his toasted, but i don't.

i added the bbq sauce a little early (the liquid hadn't quite reduced enough) but it made no difference and i just gave it an extra 2 minutes in the pan.

serve with salad and it's an easy, inexpensive meal. and it freezes really well!

dinner with the grandparents

2008-04-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

i put together a rather large meal, and i'll be posting the courses one by one. we love having people over and i love cooking for those people, so i went all out when we had my grandparents over for dinner friday night.

cheddar chive biscuits, shrimp kabobs, maple glazed salmon, mushroom-green bean risotto, fudge brownies and fruit salad for dessert.

with this being such a big meal to make from scratch i had to start a day early to get some things out of the way. there's only so much i can accomplish in a day with two babies under two.

the salmon i always start a day ahead - you have to give it 24 hours or else it won't be as good as it should.

maple glazed salmon marinade:

1/2 cup maple syrup - if i'm out i always use regular syrup, it's still good.
1/2 cup soy sauce
grated ginger to taste. i always put in a table spoon or more, we love ginger. ginger is an ingredient i use a lot because it's something we can get in a small town and it keeps so well in the freezer you don't feel bad about paying a little more for it. and i find grating it frozen is easier and once it's grated it thaws instantly.
fresh cracked pepper

marinate salmon then prior to baking coat top of salmon with freshly cracked pepper. bake at 400 for 15-20 min, depending on the thickness of the salmon. it's done when it flakes with a fork, it can over cook easily.

*first time i had this our friend alysia had us over for dinner. that was about 6 (??) years ago. thanks alysia, this is still a favourite - the ginger is a great addition to your already awesome recipe.

2008-04-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

cheddar chive biscuits

sort of a rip off of the red lobster ones. i made these the night before, and then reheated them at 350 for 5 minutes. and since i can't get chives in my town and my planted ones aren't ready for harvest, i just used green onions and kept the white part out.

2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter
at least 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese (the older, the better)
3 tbsp chopped chives
1 cup buttermilk

in a bowl, whisk together flour, baking power, sugar, soda, and salt. use a pastry blender, or a couple of knives and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. stir in cheese and chives with a fork, then stir in buttermilk to make a soft dough.

on a lightly floured surface, gently kneed dough. the less work the better, like no more than ten times. pat into 2cm thick round then cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds using something floured - i used a glass. bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes (until golden).

2008-04-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

shrimp kabobs

before the bbq

there really is no recipe for these. i just stuck together what i had handy then basted them on the bbq with sweet thai chili sauce that i bought at costco in the city - but you could use any sauce that has a little sweet and spicy flavour. because we were having company i bought cherry tomatoes. normally i would never dream of this purchase, as a small container are usually around $4 (in these parts, anyway). i skewered:

pineapple
mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
red pepper
red onion
raw, peeled shrimp

pre-soak skewers (if using wooden ones) in water for about 20 minutes before assembly so they don't burn on the bbq. they only needed to be bbq'd for about ten minutes, maybe a little more. bast towards the end. i served these in lieu of a salad.

2008-04-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

mushroom - green bean risotto

i tackled my first risotto several years ago when my husband and i lived with his parents the summer that we were married. my in-laws love, love, love food and i would browse her cookbooks for hours. now that we live in the middle of nowhere and what most cooks would consider basic ingredients aren't available, i had to use orzo instead of arborio rice. it turned out wonderfully, and my husband said that this risotto specifically was one of the best things he's ever had. the extra effort that risotto takes is always worth it.

this is about half way through adding the stock

4 cups stock (i used my beef stock from scratch i had in the freezer, but any kind will do)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, or to taste*
1/2 pound of orzo (about a quarter of a regular sized package or 2 cups arborio rice.)
s & p to taste
1 tbsp of dried parsley
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

heat stock. in separate pan heat olive oil and butter, add onions and fry until onions are translucent. add minced garlic and rice/orzo and fry until orzo is toasted or rice is slightly translucent. add stock one ladle full at a time and keep stirring. turn heat down a bit and keep added stock and keep stirring. i find that towards the end, you can add the last two cups all at once. stir until absorbed. add s & p, remove from heat and add butter and parm. cover and let stand for a few minutes.

*we love garlic in our house, and when i'm cooking i put a clove in for each serving, plus one or two more for the pot

2008-04-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

fudge brownies

probably the best brownies you'll ever have - and i can't take credit for it. the recipe is so simple that you'd be a fool to use a store bought mix again and so deadly delicious that the icing isn't necessary. i served these for dessert with a fruit salad so those of us who are reasonable about what we eat could nibble on a brownie and load up on fruit.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp real vanilla
3 cups flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips (i only bake with milk chocolate)

mix all ingredients in a large bowl in order. pat down in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. bake at 350 for 15 minutes. ice while still warm.

icing

2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp real vanilla
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cup icing sugar

mix above and spread over warm brownies.

oatmeal banana cookies

2008-04-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

i was looking for a much-surgar-less cookie than i usually bake... and it's a great alternative for baby biscuits. and so easy to make my two year old was actually helpful.

oatmeal banana cookies

3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried fruit (raisons, chopped apricots, crasins, nuts, whatever)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

allow batter to sit for 15 min, scoop desired shape onto cookie sheet, bake 350 for 15 min.