Cooking for the Soul: Thin Crust Pizza

-homemade or pre-made pizza dough (I found a kit of pre-made/pre-rolled stuff that came with a jar of sauce)

-pizza sauce

-toppings

-cheese (I used just a sprinkling of fontina cheese that was way too expensive to be eaten regularly but oh so divine)

Directions:

Roll, bake (400F, 200 C). 'Nuff said.

I can't even tell you how amazing this meal was. The spring veggie one was actually my favourite one, but the pineapple and ham (we used pancetta) made my day too.

Cooking for the Soul: Cheesy Quinoa Cakes

So for the last couple of weeks I have made these wonderful little creations. I've also gone with what I had in the house, so they've been made with cheddar or Gruyere and parmesan, rather than the fontina cheese. And I've done minced garlic instead of the green onions, but no matter how you change it up, the result remains the same…

Delicious!

I even changed up the dip and did a sour cream, cilantro and lime dip with some salsa. Even plain sour cream tastes great!

You can find the recipe here: http://spoonforkbacon.com/2011/11/cheesy-quinoa-cakes/

Show and Tell: Intuitive Cooking

If I've learned anything from writing this blog is that if I'm going to do a post on food it must have a recipe AND a photo. To do one but not the other is to invite threats of being strung up. Hey, I hear you, I'm listening. Honest!

So, I have more food po.rn .(Are you excited yet?)

Lately, I've been thinking about food and how I cook. In my very humble opinion, the reason most people don't cook is fear. They're scared of screwing up and looking foolish. Why the fear? After all, it's just food! It can't bite you back. Really...

I love cooking, that's no secret. I come from a family of cooks. My father and brother cook for a living and my Mom learned from her Mom, who was a great cook. If I couldn't hold my own in the kitchen, I jokingly tell people that I'd be disowned. I sometimes think it's not so much of a joke.

When I'm in the kitchen, I like to play. Mostly, I take very simple recipes and change them up. Throw in this, and then a little of that. Taste. Repeat. I stop when I feel like it's done.  I add ingredients without always knowing what will happen. So while, I enjoy trying new recipes as much as the next kitchen goddess, sometimes it's much more fun to simply toss out the cookbook and play.

Last week, we had salmon on the menu. We had a package of wild spring salmon in the freezer. I pulled out a couple of fillets to thaw. I also had bought a beautiful large eggplant; it's shiny dark purple skin inviting adventure.

But I had no idea what the hell to do with it.

So I turned to Google. And even though there were lots of recipes involving salmon and eggplant, I either didn't have the ingredients or it took too long. When you care for a baby, time is of the essence.

So I did what I usually do in this situation... I made it up as I went along.

So here is my lovely creation, complete with a name and a recipe. However, if you were hoping for a full ingrediant list and a full play by play, I shall have to disappoint you. Go ahead and try something new, play, be intuitive about your food. You know what you like. Use only my ingredients, use none of them, or even a mix with your own twist- I'll never know. Don't be afraid of making a mess of it, because even if you do, there's always another day to try again.

Lindsay's Italian Eggplant Baked Salmon

Chopped onion

Minced garlic

Chopped eggplant

Fire roasted peppers, chopped (I happened to have these in my pantry, but you could easily use fresh peppers and toss them in wiht the onion etc)

Black Olives

Canned plain tomatoe sauce (or you can even use fresh chopped tomatoes and cook them down a little)

Salt, pepper, oregano

Salmon Fillets

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, cook the onion, garlic and eggplant. Add peppers, olives, tomatoe sauce and seasoning. Remove from heat. Place the salmon in a baking dish and cover with sauce. Generously sprinkle cheese over the top and toss in a hot oven. Cook until the slamon flakes easily (about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F).

Serve with whatever you like for sides. We had slices of whole grain baguette to soak up all the lovely sauce. Salad is nice too.

Food is only good for you if you enjoy it.

Now pop over to Mel's and see what the rest of the class is cooking. AND just a reminder to those participating in my Photo Challenge that the post goes up on FRIDAY.

Cooking for the Soul: As Requested

I LOVE Cooking Light! I have found so many favourite healthful dishes in their magazine and have expanded my ethnic dish repetoire.

Since everyone has been asking, here's the recipe for the Moroccan Chickpea Chili.

I love this recipe mostly for the fragrant spices. There's something wonderful about the earthy rich smell of cumin, tumeric, ginger, cinnamon, and red and black pepper, all mingling to form this heady warm fragrance. When cooked with the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, my apartment smells heavenly! I really love this dish because it's hearty AND vegetarian. I try to do a vegetarian meal at least one night a week, for my health and my budget.

Have fun and enjoy!

Show and Tell: Ice Creamy Goodness

On a hot summer's day, there is nothing better than digging your spoon into lovely vanilla ice cream coated in rich velvety chocolate sauce.

It's been awhile since I posted any food po.rn. So here we go. Soak it up...

I'd share but I'm going to be selfish. You'll have to raid your own freezer. Now where's my spoon?...

Don't forget to drop by Mel's and see what everyone else is scooping up.

Cooking for the Soul: Spring Risotto

Have you ever had a really good risotto? I mean one that’s creamy and slightly chewy and where the flavours mingle perfectly with no one flavour outdoing another?

I love a good risotto. Some people are scared of them because they seem so labour intensive. And I suppose in some ways, they are. But they are truly a labour of love. Yes, you have to stir it constantly, BUT, if you prep all your ingredients first, adding them is a snap and you won’t risk burning your beautiful creation.

Some notes:

-Risotto is a delicate dish. It works best when all the flavours balance each other. You can put almost anything into it but be careful not to go overboard. You want each bite to contain all the flavours you put into it.

-Cooking the rice first allows the rice to absob the liquid properly.

-When buying asparagus, especially for this dish, go for the ones that are thinner. The thicker stalks are older and therefore woodier and tough. Go for the bunch with the fewest thick stems.

-Please, please, please DO NOT substitute margarine for the butter. A quarter cup is not very much when distributed throughout the dish and will add so much flavour that margarine just can’t do.

-For a purely vegetarian dish, omit the shrimp, since the mushrooms will serve as your protein.
For an earthy layer of flavour, try reconstituting wild mushrooms like crimini or porcini and adding them near the beginning. You can substitute the reconstitution liquid for some of the chicken stock.

Okay, let’s begin…

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup shallots or 1/2 cup onions (shallots are stronger)
½ sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange work best)
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1- 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped into small chunks
200 g (or a little less than 1/2 lb.) cooked baby shrimp
1 tbsp. lemon zest
juice from ½ lemon
¼ cup butter
¼-1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. In a pot, combine stock and wine and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat. Transfer to pourable container (like a glass measuring cup) if desired. You can also use a ladle to add the liquid.

2. Heat olive oil in medium sized pot.

3. Add arborio rice. Stirring constantly, cook until transluscent (about 5 minutes).

4. Add garlic, shallots (or onion) and peppers, stirring constantly. Cook for a couple of minutes and addasparagus, mushrooms and lemon zest.

5. Add some liquid to the pot. 1/2 to 3/4 cup in the first batch will get you started.

6. Stir constantly and slowly until most of the liquid is absorbed.

7. Add more liquid and keep sitrring. Continue to add liquid in batches.

8. Add shrimp near the end, probably when you add the last batch of liquid. The rice will be done when it's slightly chewy but not crunchy!

9. Add lemon juice, butter and parmenson cheese. Serve with a slice of parmesan cheese if desired.


Serves 4.

There are so many ways you can change this up. Have fun, be creative and dig in! Yum!

Don't forget to hop on over the Mel's to see what's cooking up with the rest of the class...

Show and Tell: Cooking for the Soul: Brunch Edition

So, one of my favourite brunch dishes is Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise, poached eggs, English muffins. I mean, really, how can you go wrong? Last weekend, I had an amazing version at a restaurant, so I wanted to try and do my own version. In a cooking magazine I get, there was a recipe for Hollandaise, so I also decided to try my hand at making it from scratch. It was a so-so effort. It's a little finicky because you have to heat is slowly so it the eggs don't curdle. Mine curdled a little bit and tasted okay but I think it needed more salt to bring out it's flavour. Although I love the stuff from a package, I think I'll give the homemade stuff another try before going back to the other.

So, here you go, Lindsay's Eggs Benedict. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.

(Serves 2)
Hollandaise sauce
1 ripe avocado, halved, pit removed and mashed in a bowl
1/4 cup chopped red onion
juice from 1/2 lemon
goat cheese (enough to crumble on four English muffin halves)
2 English muffins, split in half
4 eggs, poached to desired doneness
Salt and pepper

1. Add the red onion to the avocado along with the lemon juice.
2. Toast English muffins.
3. Spread a generous amount of the avocado mixture on the English muffin.
4. Crumble goat cheese over the avocado mixture.
5. Position poached eggs on top. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
6. Spoon Hollandaise on top of the eggs.

Voila! Brunch! I served them with sliced strawberries. You could do endless variations, such as:

-adding a layer of fresh basil leaves between the avocado and goat cheese.
-adding a layer of crab and/ or shrimp
-use ricotta cheese instead of goat cheese
-use Bearnaise instead of Hollandaise (same as Hollandaise but with shallots, tarragon and white wine vinegar)

Really, you could do anything. Go wild!

If I make this again soon, I'll take a picture. Promise!

Now, pop over to Mel's and see what the rest of the class is cookin' up!

Cooking for the Soul: Edition 2- Mac & Cheese Casserole

Today's post does double-duty. It's Show and Tell and it's the second edition of my 'cooking from scratch' series. To know what I'm talking about, check out Edition 1.

Today's dinner is a classic comfort food growing up. My Mom made this casserole from scratch and let me tell you, KD's got nothing on this! It's the mixture of a super creamy sauce that while isn't rich in cheese taste, it actually does taste like real cheese and not some chemically, powdery cheese mix. (Although, I confess that with these cravings, some days KD sounds really good!) I created this recipe with a basic recall of what she used to put in it.

To start you'll need to make a Bechamel Sauce. Huh? What? Bechamel is a classic white sauce used in many, many dishes. I modified mine to make sure I got the consistency I needed. Just a note, that a traditional bechamel uses onion or garlic but I've omitted it. If you look up recipes, you'll see what they do with it if you want to add it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup of flour

3 cups of milk

3 cups grated cheese (sharp Cheddar, Monterrey jack, Gouda- use one or a mix- play, have fun!)

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tbsp ground pepper

1/2 tbsp paprika

2 cups dried macaroni (or other shaped pasta), cooked and drained

2 cups diced ham (I use a ham steak and heat it briefly in a pan to cut the final cooking time down)

1- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 cups cubed whole wheat/ grain bread

3 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk constantly. Cook the roux for a few minutes. Add milk and whisk until incorporated. Heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Take off heat.

2. Add cheese and whisk until well mixed. Stir in salt, pepper and paprika.

3. In a large casserole dish put in pasta, peas and ham. Stir in cheese sauce.

4. In a frying pan, melt the last amount of butter. Add cubed bread and stir until well coated.

5. Cover casserole with bread.

6. Bake in oven until bubbly and bread is toasted brown (about 15-20 mins).

Another simple home cooked meal from my home to yours. Enjoy!

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