Baking tips December 22, 2008

A Beautiful Mosaic posted some tips on perfect baking: how to avoid your cookies spreading out on the baking sheet and stuff like this. These are things to keep in mind when baking…

The original tips can be read here:  Chemist Divulges How to Bake Perfect Cookie.

Pickles, pickles… December 22, 2008

If you love pickles, you’ll love these pickled peppers with cabbage. I didn’t make them, but you can get them at various ethnic stores across Calgary:

- Kalamata (downtown, close to 17th Ave with 11St. – Address: 1421 11 Street SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1G7)

- Maria Market (NE, #42, 2770 – 32 Avenue N.E.)

Boeuf Salad December 18, 2008

They call it the boeuf salad, but to some it’s merely an oriental salad. Well, the heck with all the definitions and labels. What matter is that it’s tasty, not to mention you can express your creativity with the decoration. Here’s what you’ll need: 2-3 large potatoes, 500 gr. peas and carrots (buy them frozen, with the carrots already chopped), 1-2 parsnips, half celery root (optional), black pitted olives, pickles, 300 gr. ham, 1 jar of mayo and 1 jar of mustard.

To decorate it, boil 1-2 eggs, 2-3 whole carrots, and set aside some pickles and olives.

Instructions:

1. Peel potatoes, then cut into small cubes. Boil. When done, drain them well and place them in a big big bowl.
2. Boil peas and carrots. When done, drain them well and place them in the bowl.
3. Peel and cut parsnips and celery root into small cubes (if you’re not a fan, you can forget about them). Same as above.
4. Cut pickles into small cubes. Place in bowl.
5. Cut olives. Place in bowl.
6. Cut ham. Place in bowl.
7. Now that all ingredients are in the bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of mustard and 2-3 tablespoons of mayo. Carefully mix.
8. Put everything in the serving dish, pressing with a tablespoon or spatula to make sure the salad gets compact. Take one extra tablespoon of mayo and spread it on top, in a thin layer.
9. Decorate with remaining olives, boiled eggs and carrots, and pickles.

You can always replace ham with chicken breast. Or, if vegetarian, just take the meat out completely.

Spreads that make your life easier… December 15, 2008

Here are two spreads that will make your life (and party-planning) much easier. Not only are they healthier than most of the cheese-based stuff, but they are… well, different!

The first one is the Vegetable Spread – you can find quite a wide variety of them in the ethnic stores, with prices ranging from $5-7. They are usually made up of roasted red veggies (such as bell peppers, tomatoes and occasionally eggplants) and are delicious with crackers or even carrots.

The second one is the Taramosalata - basically fish roes with a bit of oil. Add a bit of finely chopped onion and/ or garlic, and you’re guaranteed to have a smashing success (for around $4-5). Crackers, toast or thin strips of bell pepper are great with this salad.

If you live in Calgary, you can get them at Kalamata – the downtown grocery store next to 17th Ave, located at 1421 11 Street SW.

Bison Meatballs (Quasi) Marinara December 12, 2008

For a lack of better name, I call these bison meatballs marinara. But the sauce I use is a bit different from the meaballs marinara sauce. If in Calgary, you can buy a small bag of minced bison meat from Sunworks farm at the Farmers’ Market – it’s around $6 and it’s good for 3-4 portions. You’ll also need: 1 onion, 3-4 white mushrooms,  1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, 1 carrot (optional), 2-3 garlic cloves, oil, 1 egg, cooking (red) wine and dry spices (like parsley, basil, oregon, thyme).

Instructions:

1. Prepare the meat: put it in a big bowl and mix it with a bit of red wine, 1 tablespoon oil, 2-3 garlic cloves (finely minced), 1 egg and spices. Let it stand in the fridge for anything between 30 minutes – 24 hours.

2. You’ll first fry the meatballs: in a frying pan, put enough oil to cover the whole pan. Take small pieces of the minced meat with your hands, and roll them into meatballs. In a plate, have some white flour and roll the meatballs in it, just enough to coat them.

3. Fry the meatballs for some 5-10 minutes. Turn them around to avoid burning them. Drain them of the extra oil, and put them on a plate.

4. In a different pot, put a bit of oil and fry the finely chopped onion for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add the sliced mushrooms, and stir for a couple of minutes.

6. Add tomato sauce and/or diced tomatoes and a bit of (red) cooking wine. Add salt, pepper and, when boiling, add the spices. Optional: add the finely grated carrot for extra taste.

7. Put the meatballs into the boiling sauce. If the sauce doesn’t cover the meatballs completely, add more water.

8. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes (medium to low heat).

Garlic Roasted Vegetables December 8, 2008

A Recipe a Day recently posted a recipe for roasted veggies, so I wanted to try it. I had some baby potatoes from Farmers’ Market, and some asparagus and white mushrooms from Superstore. So, the easiest way to eat them was to roast them. For extra taste:

1. In a cup, mix some 2-3 tablespoons olive oil with basil, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.
2. Peel and crush 2-3 garlic cloves, then put them in the oil & spices mixture. Let stand for some 15-30 minutes.
3. Put veggies in an oven-proof dish or pan, then pour the oil on top.
4. Put in the oven (350F) for 30 minutes (or until veggies are tender).

Quick and Easy Creme Brulee December 6, 2008

Creme brulee is not as complicated as it seems. In fact, it only takes some 20 minutes to prepare everything (and some 40 minutes in the oven). No need to worry about complicated bain marie/ water bath, here’s the quick version. You’ll need 1 l milk, 8 eggs, one and a half cup of sugar, some vanilla essence and lemon zest.

Instructions:

1. In a pan, melt half of the sugar until it becomes liquid. You’ll need to use an oven-proof pan. If you are using a ceramic or glass oven-proof dish, quickly pour the liquid sugar into the dish and make sure you coat all the base surface while the sugar is still liquid.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the 8 eggs. Gradually integrate the rest of the sugar and the milk.
3. Add vanilla essence or vanilla sugar and a bit of lemon zest.
4. Pour everything into the oven-proof dish or pan, and put it in the oven (300 – 350F would do it) for some 40 -50 minutes.

I found this nice video depicting the process step by step. Although the instructions are not in English, it’s quite good in terms of finding out what you’re supposed to expect when making this delicious dessert.

Easy avocado snack December 1, 2008

I’m a big fan of guacamole, so whenever I get the chance I prepare this quick, almost-guacamole snack. It’s easy, and all you’ll need is 1 avocado, a bit of feta cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

1. Gently cut avocado in two and scoop the flesh.
2. With a fork, mash the avocado flesh.
3. Add a bit of feta cheese. Just a small piece that you crumble with your fingers.
4. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice, then add salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

I always eat it with those President’s Choice crackers you find in Superstore.