Category Archives: cook

delicious everyday dal

31 Saturday Dec 2011

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While using up the last of the Christmas roast chicken leftovers in chicken salad sandwiches, I needed a soup idea that was both quick and delicious.  This Dal recipe is from Curries Without Worries, a cookbook I’ve been using for over 18 years. You can imagine how delighted I was to discover that author Sudha Koul has a blog of her own. Click here to visit her site and discover more of her wonderful Indian recipes.

Delicious Everyday DAL

1 cup lentils

6 cups water

salt to taste

3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 tablespoons GHEE

1 teaspoon ground tumeric

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

2 dry red hot peppers

1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped

Bring all ingredients, EXCEPT fresh coriander, to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook until the DAL is tender. This should take 20-30 minutes, depending on which DAL you use.

When DAL is done, sprinkle coriander on top, stir and serve hot.

Enjoy!

eggs benedict for breakfast

29 Thursday Dec 2011

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Eggs Benedict is a household favorite here at cabinorganic. Use organic, free-range eggs and the highest quality organic butter you can find to make an outstanding Hollandaise sauce.

Eggs Benedict

To make Eggs Benedict you simply need Hollandaise Sauce (recipe below), poached eggs (2 per person) and bread to stack these on. Traditionally English muffins are used but you can use any bread you like. You can also add a meat layer under the eggs, such as a slice of ham, a piece of bacon, smoked salmon or prawns (I’ve used prawns here). I like to garnish with finely chopped fresh chives.
Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon or lime juice

1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Bring a small amount of water to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler or in a small pot. Turn down the heat to low. In top piece of double-boiler or in a metal bowl that fits over the small pot of hot water, whisk the eggs yolks and lemon juice together. Begin adding the chilled butter a few cubes at a time to allow the butter to melt slowly and giving the eggs enough time to cook. Whisk constantly until butter is melted and the sauce is thickened.

Hollandaise Sauce can be tricky to make as it is easy accidentally over-heat the sauce which causes the eggs to curdle. If your eggs curdle, try adding 1 tablespoon of boiling water to 3/4 cup of sauce and beating vigorously with a hand beater until smooth.

I also use this sauce over broiled salmon along with a dollop of pesto. Enjoy!

 

cooking with kids: a holiday brunch

25 Sunday Dec 2011

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My good friends, M and E are ‘home’ at their cabin for Christmas holidays along with their cousin Mi (these are three of the five kids who built that amazing fort last summer). Whenever we get together, we always seem to end up either exploring outside or doing something fun and creative inside. As it was Christmas Eve morning, we thought it would be fun to give their parents a nice break and cook a big brunch for them here at the cabin.

M was in complete charge of the waffles, making the batter himself and doubling the recipe (we tease him about the math and fractions!!!) to ensure that we would have enough for everyone.

His sister, E collected the finished waffles and put them in the oven to keep warm. They were delicious!

Cousin, Mi was in charge of the eggs and scrambled them to perfection.

E was in charge of fruit punch. She mixed the juice, then poured it into a nice glass pitcher and added frozen Saskatoon berries and wild raspberries as fruity ‘ice cubes’.

I made bacon and some cheese tarts earlier in the morning. After only an hour of team-cooking we were ready. The kitchen was even clean as E and I had washed a load of the cooking dishes and put them away. The grown ups arrived right on time and were seated. M kept making waffles while M and E served the food and I poured hot coffee.

It was a delicious brunch and everything tasted great! After a few hours of taking our time eating and chatting around the table, the grown ups left (we told them they were not allowed to help) and the team got back to work cleaning up. Actually, the boys did the dishes while E and I took turn providing the music (E on piano, me on guitar).  M couldn’t resist a dance with Lucy (she adores him)…

It was truly a fun morning spending time with my good friends, laughing together, getting caught up on their lives, and working as a team to give their parents a nice break and the gift of a leisurely brunch. Merry Christmas, Everyone!

cheese scones

16 Friday Dec 2011

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I find it hard to find a good scone nowadays as they truly are best when fresh out of the oven. The ones served in cafes are often dry and flavorless so I prefer to bake my own. This is the recipe I’ve been using for years and I always make the scones within an hour of serving them so that they are warm and crisp. Using high quality organic butter and the best cheddar (i.e. Cloverleaf) you can find definitely makes this a scone experience to be remembered! Sometimes I add some chopped rosemary ham (I’ve only found it at Save-On-Foods so far) which adds a hint of rosemary to the scone.

Cheese Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablepsoon baking poweder

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large egg whites

Optional: 3/4 cup finely chopped ham

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).

Lightly mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter in using pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese (and ham if adding).

Combine buttermilk and eggs whites, stirring with a whisk. Add this to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times with floured hands (dough will be quite sticky).

Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

the Vinegar Works

12 Monday Dec 2011

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My internet has been incredibly slow over the past three days making it very difficult to post here on the blog. I had already given up for the day and was just heading to bed when the connection suddenly snapped back to ‘normal’ (still not quite high speed but I’ll take it!) so I thought I’d do a quick post promoting the Vinegar Works. They are not exactly ‘local’ (as in ‘Albertan’) but they are just next door in Summerland, B.C. and a welcome addition to your B.C. wine tasting tour. Located on the Bottleneck Drive Wine Trail, Kim and John first make wine from grapes harvested from their 2-acre vineyard. Then they turn the wine into a wide variety of vinegars, including some lovely fruit vinegars. Everything they add to the vinegars has been grown on their farm. Last summer, I bought a high quality Balsamic Vinegar and a fruity Elderberry Vinegar (my personal favorite of the entire vinegar tasting).

If you can’t make it out, you can order their products from their blog. They also have an incredible list of recipes to offer new ideas and delicious ways to use their vinegars. I find this most helpful as I can use many of their recipes for my own home-infused vinegars. If you need any new and inspiring recipes to try out over the holidays, I highly recommend their blog at: www.vinegartart.com 🙂

wild berry smoothie

08 Thursday Dec 2011

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With the earth asleep under a thick blanket of snow, this is the perfect time to ‘shake things up’ by visiting your freezer and rediscovering those healthy summer treasures stored there. Today, I brought out some frozen raspberries, Saskatoons, wild red and black currants, Highbush cranberries and a few pureed chickweed ice cubes to add to a colorful smoothie. What a great way to wake up those sleepy taste buds, boost that immune system and enjoy last summer’s foraging harvest with this explosion of summer berry flavor.

wild berry smoothie

I use a variety of smoothie recipes depending on what I have on hand.  The most basic smoothie recipes generally calls for:

1 cup yogurt

2 cups frozen fruit, chopped

1 cup ice cubes

Put these in a blender and blend until smooth. From there feel free to experiment by adding:

  • different fruit combinations ( I almost always add a banana to thicken it)
  • frozen honeydew, cantaloupe and/or watermelon
  • frozen pureed dandelion leaf
  • a splash of pineapple juice or coconut milk for a tropical flavor
  • pomegranate or cranberry juice
  • almond or soy milk
  • a tablespoon of freshly ground flax seed or wheat germ
  • honey or Stevia if you want your smoothie a little sweeter
  • a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to make it more sour
  • or top with granola

A friend of mine mentioned that he makes a healthy peanut butter breakfast smoothie… I’ve never tried that before, perhaps he’ll share his recipe with us? In the meantime, cheers everyone…

To health, wellness and vitality!

 

apricot shortbread

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

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Nothing says ‘Holiday Sweets’ like shortbread. I have two variations that I like to make: one is a large wheel of thicker, tougher shortbread, inspired by a trip to Scotland. The other, featured here, is the classic melt-in-your-mouth recipe taken from the back of the Canada Cornstarch Box. I like giving these cookies as gifts, packaging them in pretty little boxes. In winter, I often add dried apricot, dried wild rose petals on Valentine’s Day, fresh wild rose petals in July, and when I’m feeling decadent… a tablespoon of dried organic lavender, this time inspired by some time spent in France.

Canada Cornstarch Shortbread

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup butter, softened

Sift together the cornstarch, icing sugar and flour. Beat in butter until a soft smooth dough forms. Shape into 1-inch balls and chill for 30 -60 minutes. Place 1-1/2 inch apart on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a floured fork. (Note: I always press mine down with a sweet little cookie press, pictured below.) Bake at 300 degrees (F) for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool. Yield: 2 dozen

Experiment with your shortbread. For example, try adding 1/4 cup of chopped dried apricots or dried mango or craisons, 1/4 cup of fresh or dried wild rose petals, dandelion flowers, 1 tablespoon dried organic lavender, or a pinch of dried cardamon. I recently came across a ‘salt and pepper shortbread’. I’ll try it out and let you know how it went.

 Enjoy!

cream of roasted tomato soup with parsley croutons

02 Friday Dec 2011

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A colorful and robust soup! Perfect ‘comfort food’ on a cold winter’s day. Roasting the tomatoes first gives this soup a deep, sweet flavor. Use ripe but firm tomatoes so that they don’t get soft too quickly. For a lower-fat version, use milk or more stock instead of cream. I didn’t make the croutons this time around but did include the recipe as they are delicious. Today I served the soup with a dollop of arugula pesto and some warm naan bread.

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with Parsley Croutons

 For the Soup:

3 lbs tomatoes

extra virgin olive oil

8 small shallots

2 to 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

5 sprigs fresh parsley

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small carrot, chopped

1 fennel bulb, chopped

5 sprigs fresh tarragon

1 cup heavy cream

For the Parsley Croutons:

12 thin slices baguette

extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, cut in half

½ cup shredded Teleme or Muenster cheese

¼ cup fresh parsley

Soup: Heat oven to 4oo degrees (F). Cut the tomatoes in half cross-wise and squeeze gently to remove the seeds, scraping them out with your fingers if necessary. Coat the tomatoes with olive oil and place them, cut side own, on a non-stick (or parchment-lined or foil-lined) baking dish. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until the tomatoes are very soft and their skins are dark. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan and sauté the chopped shallots and fennel until they are soft, about 12 minutes. Add 2 cups of stock and the tarragon and parsley. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs and add the roasted tomatoes. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Add the cream and return the soup to a simmer. If the soup is still very thick, thin it with more stock. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm until ready to serve.

Croutons: Heat oven to 400 degrees (F). Brush both sides of the bread slices with olive oil and put them on a baking sheet. Rub the top of each slice with garlic and sprinkle on the cheese and parsley. Bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into warm bowls and float two or three parsley croutons on top of each bowl. Enjoy!

multigrain cereal bread

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

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I have been looking for a dark, dense, chewy, grainy, nutty bread for years and I think I have found a winner! This afternoon the whole cabin smelled wonderful while these were baking- almost like candy, probably due to the molasses. As I eat Red River cereal almost every morning, I usually have it on hand in the pantry. These are great with butter and raspberry jam.

Multigrain Cereal Bread

2- ½ cups milk

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup Sunny Boy or Red River cereal

2 tablespoons instant yeast

3 cups whole-wheat flour

½ cup molasses

½ cup canola oil

½ cup unsalted sunflower or sesame seeds

1-½ cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

5 cups all-purpose flour

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges. Remove from heat. Pour scalded milk over the wheat germ and cereal in a large mixing bowl to soften. Set aside to cool until just warm.

In another large bowl, mix yeast with 2 cups of whole-wheat flour. Stir in cooled cereal mixture, molasses, canola oil, sunflower or sesame seeds, warm water, salt, and brown sugar. Beat in remaining whole wheat four until it forms a soft but sticky dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface, let rest for 5 minutes, then begin kneading. Add all-purpose flour until dough is smooth and silky, but be cautious and add flour slowly. The bran in the mixture can suddenly absorb liquid and you may be left with a dough that is too dry. (Note: you probably will not need to add the entire amount of all-purpose flour. Be sure to stop adding when the dough is the right consistency.)

Form three large loaves and let rise in greased bread pans, covered, until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees (F) oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees (F) and bake 20-25 minutes longer. Makes 3 loaves.

 

Another great recipe from my High Plains: The Joy of Alberta Cuisine by Cinda Chavich.


waffles for breakfast

28 Monday Nov 2011

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I love fresh waffles, especially when they are a bit crispy and fresh off of the waffle iron. Both waffles and pancakes provide a nice way to enjoy both your garden and wild fruit preserves. I served these with my rosehip jelly and highbush cranberry compote. Make a full batch of the waffles as you can always pop the extras into the toaster for breakfast the next day.

Waffles

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1-3/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the waffle iron. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. Beat in the remaining ingredients until batter is smooth. Ladle some batter onto waffle iron (the amount depending on the size of your iron) and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove the baked waffles and place them into a warm oven until all waffles are baked. Serve immediately.