Tiger Butter

It’s so easy to make your own chocolates, and if you like peanut butter, then you might like this one – white chocolate and peanut butter drizzled with dark chocolate on top – Yum!  I love the tiger butter they sell at Purdy’s, so I made up this recipe to imitate theirs.  I haven’t done a side-by-side taste test, but from what I remember, this is pretty close.  I don’t usually measure the ingredients, so feel free to alter the ingredients as you see fit.  Just don’t add too much peanut butter or it will end up being too soft.

What you need:

1 cup white chocolate

1/4 cup dark chocolate

1 tablespoon peanut butter

What you do:

1.  Use a double boiler, or if you don’t have one, put a bowl on top of a pot containing a little water.  Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to minimum.  You’ll need two of these set-ups, one for the white and one for the dark chocolate (or you could heat the dark chocolate in the microwave… although the only time I’ve done this I accidentally burned it).

2.  Put the white chocolate in the top of one double boiler, the dark chocolate in the other.  Allow them to melt, making sure that no water touches the chocolate.  If that happens, the chocolate will seize up.

3.  Stir the peanut butter into the white chocolate.

3.  Line a pan with some parchment paper or plastic wrap.  Pour the white chocolate into the pan, spreading it around a little.

4.  Drizzle the dark chocolate on top in stripes.  Pull a knife through the stripes so they form a pattern.

Let it cool, then cut into squares or just break it up.

Crepes with Peach Compote (or anything else)

In the spirit of  “clean out the fridge” weekend, Sunday morning called for crepes.  We pulled all the jams, fruits, cheeses, nut butters, yogurt and syrup out of the fridge for toppings.  The only tricky part was finding the right consistency for the batter and learning how to swirl it around quickly so it covered the surface of the pan, or most of it anyways.

After we had our fill I cooked up the last of the batter, cooled the crepes, then placed them between sheets of plastic wrap, popped them into a baggie and stored them in the freezer to reheat and eat later.

I found this in Mark Bittman’s book How to Cook Everything.

What you need for the crepes:

1 cup flour

1 & 1/4 cups milk

pinch of salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

What you need for the peach compote:

1 peach

a smidgen of brown sugar

a splash of brandy

What you do:

1.  Whisk the flour, salt and sugar together.  Whisk in the milk until there are no clumps.  Whisk in the eggs, then the cooled butter.  If you have the time, put the batter in the fridge for an hour or so.

2.  Peel, then cut the peach up. Put it in a pot with a tiny bit of water.  Cook until soft, then stir in the sugar and brandy.  Serve hot.

3.  Heat a lightweight pan or crepe pan to medium heat.  If your pan is not non-stick, add a little butter to the pan.

4.  When the pan is hot, pour in about 1/4 cup of batter, quickly turning the pan in a circular motion so the batter covers the surface of the pan.  Okay, so this might not work out as planned – so practice a little!  They still taste fine!  If the batter seems too thick, add a little more milk.

I like to serve mine fresh out of the pan, but you could put them in a low oven between clean towels.  Just about anything goes in crepes – one of the favourites this time was brie with guava jelly.  So good!

Salmon Croquettes

These are a yummy way to use up leftover salmon.  I planned ahead and made mashed potatoes with barbecued salmon so that I could try out this Mark Bittman recipe.  Shaping these into croquettes was a little finicky, so next time I might try to form them into patties instead.

I served them with honeyed-ginger carrots and lemony kale with onions, garlic and pine nuts.

What you need:

1 cup leftover salmon meat

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

1/2 cup finely diced onion

a few chopped parsley leaves

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 egg

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

bread crumbs

olive oil

lemon wedges (optional)

What you do:

1.  Mix all the ingredients except the olive oil and lemon together, using just enough breadcrumbs to stiffen the mixture.

2.  Form into small logs or patties, then coat in bread crumbs.  Place on a rack, then refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to dry them out a little.

3.  Heat some olive oil over medium heat, then cook the croquettes until they are browned.

Serve them with lemon wedges if you like, or a yogurt dill sauce.

Lemony Kale with Onions, Garlic and Pine Nuts

Another quick, easy and delicious way to serve up the super-food kale!  Kale is one of the few things I can harvest from my garden year-round, so it’s always good to find some new ways to cook it up.

What you need:

1-2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted

olive oil

1/4 of a red onion, sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

1/2 a lemon

salt, to taste

What you do:

1.  Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the sliced onions and cook until they are browned.

2.  Add the garlic, cooking briefly, then add the chopped kale.  Toss the kale with tongs a few times until it is wilted and the onions and garlic are distributed throughout.

3.  Squeeze on a little lemon, a little salt too, and then toss the pine nuts in.

Serve it right away!

Spanish Stew With Vegetables and Olives

The weather is turning a little cooler, and I always look for an excuse to put olives into a recipe.  This one has tons of flavour, and it’s got lots of veggies to keep you healthy.  This one comes from Maryana Vollstedt’s Big Book of Soups and Stews.  It’s pretty easy, just a bunch of chopping, sauteing and stewing.

What you need:

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 & 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 3 cm-ish cubes

1 cup chopped sweet onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper and 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into chunks of about 4cm

10-12 mushrooms, cut in half, or quarters for large ones

1 large can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme (less of each herb if you use dried)

1 cup kalamata olives, or a mixture of olives of your choice

1 pound green beans, frenched

salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot, then add the pork and brown it for about 5 minutes. You may want to do this in batches.

2.  Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, then add the pepper and mushrooms and cook for about 5 more minutes.  Add more oil to keep the veggies from sticking, if you need to.

3.  Add the tomatoes, wine, oregano and thyme, then reduce the heat so it is just simmering, for about 30 minutes.

4.  Add the olives and green beans and cook for a few more minutes, until the beans are lightly cooked.

5.  Season with salt and pepper, remembering that the olives will add a bit of salt to the stew, so don’t use too much salt without tasting it first!

Serve it up with a nice loaf of crusty bread!

Panzanella

 

For this salad I used tomatoes from my garden – they are so flavourful!  A local farmer’s market is another great place to find amazing tomatoes if you don’t have a garden yourself.  I also used the remnants of a crusty loaf from the farmer’s market.  We ate this one at a picnic at English Bay.  Gorgeous, delicious.

What you need:

a few great tomatoes

cucumber

a few slices of stale bread

1 clove garlic

fresh oregano and basil

salt and pepper

olive oil

balsamic or red wine vinegar

What you do:

1.  Cut the tomatoes into chunks, removing a lot of the liquid.  Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and let them sit in a colander to drain.

2.  Chop the cucumber.

3.  Cut the clove of garlic in half and rub the bread slices with it.  Cut the bread into cubes.

4.  Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and throw in the cubed bread.  Cook, turning from time to time, until the bread is browned and crispy on the outside.

5.  Throw the bread, tomatoes and cucumbers together in a bowl along with the herbs, salt and pepper and a few splashes of olive oil and vinegar, to taste.

6.  Toss it all up and you’re ready to go.  Some recipes say to let it all sit for a while, but I prefer for the bread to retain a bit of its crispiness, so I like to eat it right away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Quesadilla

A great comfort food – I love fried onions and steak together, add the salsa and yogurt and it’s a dream come true!  This one is great to make if you’ve got some left over  steak from your barbecue the night before.  Another amazing addition is some slices of avocado – that puts it over the top!

I don’t eat cheese very often, so when I do but it I grate the unused part and keep it in the freezer.  Same goes for the tortilla, just pop them in the freezer to use later, maybe even in a tortilla pizza.

What you need:

1/2 onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 beef steak

cheddar or another favourite cheese, grated

salt

olive oil

yogurt or sour cream

salsa

tortilla shells

What you do:

1.  Take the steak out of the fridge so it isn’t completely cold when you cook it.  Rub a little olive oil on each side, then liberally salt each side, then set aside.

2.  Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the sliced red peppers and continue to cook until the onions are quite browned.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

3.  Heat the pan to medium high.  When it’s good and hot, place the steak on the pan.  Cook it for just a few minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak and your preference.  I love mine quite rare, so I don’t leave it for long, plus it continues to cook while it rests out of the pan before cutting.  Use tongs to flip the steak and cook the other side for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the pan to rest for at least 5 minutes.  Slice very thinly.

4.  Clean your pan out and place a tortilla in it, on medium-low heat.  Sprinkle a little cheese on one half, then add some onion and pepper and some slices of steak.  Add a little more cheese, then pull the other half of the tortilla over the fillings.  I like to put the cheese on the top and the bottom because I think that when it melts it helps hold all the fillings in.  Plus people love cheese, so often a little more is better.

5.  Let the quesadilla cook until that side it slightly brown and crispy, then flip it over and do the same to the other side.

6.  Serve with some salsa and yogurt or sour cream on the side.

Thanks for the great photo, Megan!

Pistachio and Chorizo Bread

I wish I had gotten to posting this recipe earlier in the summer, because it makes a great picnic food.  It would be a great appetizer too, any time of year.  It’s pretty easy, impressive, and loved by many.   Feel free to add more or less of the chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, chili powder and pistachios depending hon how much you like each of those ingredients.

I forgot to put the pistachios in when I made it, so I piled a few on top when I ate a slice.  This worked great because the nuts stayed crunchy.

This recipe comes from David Lebovitz’s blog.  I also recommend his book The Sweet Life in Paris for a taste of life in Paris and some good recipes.

What you need:

butter for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for the bottom of the pan

1 & 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

3 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup plain yogurt

85 grams or so of chorizo sausage, diced (the kind that doesn’t need cooking)

8 or so sun-dried tomato halves, finely diced

3/4 cup unsalted pistachios (hard to find, but they are available at Trader Joe’s)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)

What you do:

1.  Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with some butter.  Toss the sesame seeds around in the pan until there is a layer of them over the bottom.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

2.  Mix the egg and yogurt together in a bowl.  Add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt and chili powder.  Stir, being careful to mix only until just incorporated.

3.  Fold in the chorizo, tomatoes, nuts and parsley.  Pour into the loaf pan.

4.  Bake for 40-50 minutes, then let it sit in the pan for about 15 minutes after you’ve taken it out of the oven before removing it to cool on a rack.

When it’s cool you can cut it into thin slices to serve.  Wrap leftovers up tightly in plastic wrap; apparently it lasts a few days at room temperature.  Mine didn’t last the night, so I didn’t get to test that out.

Let me know how you like it!

Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Served on salmon this simple dressing was delicious.  It would also be great as a veggie dip.   I found the recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.  I only made half of this recipe for a salmon dinner because Bittman said it doesn’t keep well . . . and he was right.  It tastes fine the next day, but it turns a little brownish, so it’s probably a good idea to make a half recipe unless you’ve got a big crowd to eat it up for you.

What you need:

1 large ripe avocado

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons minced shallot or sweet onion

1/2 cup plain yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1.  Scoop the avocado flesh along with the lemon and orange juices into a food processor or blender.  Puree.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients and puree again, tasting to see if you need to correct the seasonings.

Spanish Salad

This isn’t an authentic Spanish recipe; instead I was inspired by the amazing vegetables I found in the markets of Barcelona.  Was it because I was on holiday, or did these veggies truly have more flavour than the ones at home?  I’m not sure, but since they were bursting with flavour, they didn’t need much doctoring up with dressing.  I just drizzled on a little extra-virgin olive oil and cracked some salt on top.  Simple and amazing.

What you need:

a few tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes

a few mini cucumbers

an avocado

olives with the pits in them

What you do:

1.  Chop the veggies up and put them into a bowl.

2.  Drizzle with the best quality olive oil you have.

3.  Crack on a little salt.

I served mine with some chorizo, flatbread and a glass of red wine.  Buon provecho!

Monserrat