GOING GREENS

Today the world is green, and so too, must be our dinner plates! It’s the time of year to sprout fresh ways with, well, fresh things. As in chard greens, beet greens, kale, baby spinach, grown-up spinach.....mix and match till your heart’s content (and, oh yes, your heart will be content). Mother Nature is helping out in the kitchen big-time this summer, so let’s take advantage.

(I’ve used spinach in this recipe, but you could happily substitute any green of your choice. Also, you will have success making it a couple of hours ahead, if you cook everything just up to the point of wilting the spinach. That way it can hang out on the stove as you get on with the rest of dinner.)

SAUTEED ONION, TOMATOES AND SPINACH

¼ cup olive oil

2 large onions, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, large dice

8-10 cups spinach

½ cup kalamatas, pitted

3 scallions, minced

Splash of red wine vinegar

Drizzle of white truffle oil (optional, but advised)

Heat olive oil to medium high. Add the onions and the mushrooms, sauté. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down slightly after the initial browning and let them go for a while, until deeply browned and sumptuous.

Add tomatoes and garlic and let them cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Toss in the spinach, kalamatas and scallions. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the spinach has wilted.

For the grand finale add the red wine vinegar and truffle oil (if you don’t happen to have truffle oil lingering in the cupboard, a bit more olive oil or a dab of butter will do the trick).

Consume with great gusto!

HEALTHY RESOLUTIONS? STEW ABOUT IT!

Ideal for a cozy fireside evening, this Cioppino (fish stew) really needs no embellishment. It’s a deliciously perfect one pot dish. And it has the added benefit of buoying up those annoying New Year’s resolutions, whatever they may be! However, I did have gorgeous fingerling potatoes lingering in the fridge (the dreaded lingering fingerling) and wanted to use them up. I considered adding them directly to the fish stew, but didn’t want them losing their distinctive shape. So, I cut them in wedges and roasted them with olive oil and herbs.

For serving, I placed some of the tender crispy potato wedges on the bottom of the bowl and spooned the Cioppino atop. This proved to be quite the clever idea, if I say so myself. Roasting the potatoes added a depth of flavour to the stew you wouldn’t get by merely adding them to the liquid to cook. Also, they provided a great deal of interest at the bottom of the bowl. Or, you could simply serve them on the side and use them as dippers. (We did both! Food decisions not being my strong suit).

SHRIMP AND HADDOCK CIOPPINO

1.5 lbs haddock (or any firm white-fleshed fish will do. eg cod), large dice

Salt & Pepper

Thyme

Olive oil

1 small lemon, thinly sliced

¼ olive oil

1 large white onion, minced

1 large red onion, minced

! fennel bulb, chopped (or 1 teaspoon fennel seed)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Pinch of saffron (if you have it)

Pinch of dried chile flakes

Salt 

Pepper

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

11/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon  prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes hot sauce (Franks in our case)

1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes

3 cups fish stock (substitute chicken or vegetable stock if necessary)

1 pound large shrimp

Oven wedges for serving, if desired (highly recommended)

Season fish with plenty of salt, pepper and a bit of thyme. Toss with enough olive oil to coat the lemon slices. Let this all hang out for about 1/2 hour. Or refrigerate for several hours. 

Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Heat the oil and add onions, fennel, oregano, thyme, chiles, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until onions and fennel begin to soften and brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and sauté for a minute or so. Pour in wine and reduce to about half. 

Add horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

Add the haddock for about one minute, then add the shrimp. Simmer just until shrimp begins to turn pink. About 2-4 minutes. 

Serve over oven potato wedges with a big, crusty loaf of bread on the side!

MOODY FOOD

There are two perennial conditions I can set my watch by. One; my pre-holiday angst. And two; its accompanying bi-polar tendencies.  One minute wild-eyed and railing at the injustice of a doomed to-do list, I can be transported by a carol or a snowflake or a child’s smile (but mostly by a strong, black coffee). And voila.  Like holiday magic, I’m brimming with love, joy and goodwill for all humankind.

The only thing that never changes- never, never, never- is my need for food. Good food and lots of it. Nothing like the anticipation of a great meal to carry a momentarily crazed woman to another dimension.

So I love this recipe during the mad rush of the season. It’s all those things we appreciate (quick, healthy and delightfully delicious). But most importantly, it’s a mood changer.

SAUTEED SHRIMP: IT’S ZESTY  FOR THE TESTY 

This is my adaptation of a recipe by Canadian Chef Michael Smith.

½ cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

½ cup chili sauce

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

¼ cup horseradish

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 bunch fresh parsley, minced

4 scallions, sliced

In a large, heavy frying pan, heat oil over low heat and cook garlic until just to starting to release aroma and before it starts to brown. Add shrimp, increase heat to medium and until they begin to turn pink. Add remaining ingredients up to parsley and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and scallions.

Serve over rice pasta if you would like. But really, it can stand alone.

Pumpkin Stuffed with Goodness

I've been sooo looking forward to making this divinely decadent pumpkin from the incomparable Dorie! Although mine looks absolutley nothing like hers, it was pretty darn good anyway. Will have to make again with tweeking. The point is, just hollow out a 3-4 pound pumpkin, stuff it with bread, cheese, garlic and cream. Then bake for a couple of hours at 350 degrees. I know a certain someone, who though refuses vegetables on principle, would most eagerly and joyously devour the inside!

Steak Salad with Potatoes, Leeks and Bok Choy


There are times when I am wildly in-love with life, with food, and yes- with myself. Last night was one such time. Being a semi-committed vegetarian, my constant challenge is the care and feeding of the four carnivore males in my life (or as I like to call them, the carni-fours). They are a fast living, high energy, sports loving bunch; as represented by their food consumption. So I’m sure you can imagine the protests if I were to make say…. a salad.  For main course? For dinner!?A ...salad?! Oh the unspeakable atrocity! And yet…. If the "salad" involves some sort of animal product and if said salad were actually served warm. And if I don't actually refer to it as a "salad", well then, that's another story, isn’t it?
You see, it's all semantics.

(Bonus! If you wipe up the pan before you eat, the only dish to wash after dinner is the serving bowl!)

STEAK SALAD WITH POTATOES, LEEKS AND BOK CHOY

1 large strip loin beef steak, about 2" thick
Steak spice
Seasoned salt
Dried oregano
Dried chile peppers
1 pound small potatoes
Olive oil
Pepper and salt
1 large leek, thinly sliced (you really have to soak these well, and scrub between each stalk)
6 baby bok choy, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ lemon
Small bunch of dill, minced
¼ cup pickled peppers, chopped
¼ prepared antipasto
1/3 cup Creamy Dijon-Tomato Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Ok, so a couple of hours before starting dinner liberally season the steak with steak spice, seasoned salt, oregano and chile peppers. Let it hang out on the counter.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Scrub the potatoes and cut them into halves or quarters, depending on the size. The thing is you don’t want people to have to cut up huge pieces of potato in their “salad”.
Place the potatoes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil and pepper and salt. Roast for about 40-50 minutes, or until a bit brown on the outside, soft on the inside. (I roast them on the top rack for first 25 minutes, and the bottom rack for the remainder of the time.)

Preheat a heavy oven-proof fry pan to medium-high. Add a little clarified butter if you have it, or maybe a bit of oil.
When the pan is good and screeching hot, sear the steak. About 2 minutes per side. Then transfer the steak, right in the pan, onto the center oven rack. Roast it for about 8 minutes, or until still reddish in the middle. It will cook more as it rests.
When the steak done, remove it from the pan and cover loosely with foil on a cutting board.

Meanshtvile, using the same pan that the steak was cooked in, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the leeks until are soft, and then add the garlic and bok choy. Sauté another couple of minutes. Now add about ¼ cup of water and bring to a simmer. Add the lemon and cook for 4 minutes or until bok choy is soft.

Transfer the potatoes to a large serving bowl and toss with the dill, pickled peppers, antipasto and vinaigrette. Slice the steak on a diagonal, very thinly. Now add the steak and bok choy mixture to the potato mixture. Top with a little extra dill for presentation, and serve.



Creamy Dijon-Tomato Vinaigrette

¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons ketchup (Surprise! That’s the tomato portion!)
1 garlic clove, crushed
¾ cup olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper

Whisk together everything up to the olive oil. Then drizzle the oil in slowly, whisking away madly all the while. This is even better after it sits a couple of days.

AN “APPLE A DAY” TOO MANY? BEET IT!!

Scenario: Return from vacation.  Fridge; devoid of food. House; full of guests. Status; hungry.  Expected produce delivery; no-show.  Condition; critical.

Resourceful Solution: Backyard; prolific fruit tree. Husband: a quick apple picker. Pantry: leftover pickled beets. Talented (albeit unconventional) food photographer; niece Madi.

Result: Household; satiated and satisfied (although not very photogenic).

BALSAMIC AND PICKLED BEET SALAD

Here’s a salad that goes gorgeously with fall roasts; beef, pork, or chicken.

Salad:

2 cups baby pickled beets, halved

2 cups apple slices

2 cups sorrel (if you can nab some from your neighbour’s garden)

1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

1/2 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

. Season lightly with pepper and salt. Then toss the joyously coloured conglomeration together with the dressing(below). Use just enough to coat. Top with extra pecans and goat cheese if desired.

Balsamic Dressing:

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

1 cup olive oil (I happened to have Walnut Oil on hand, so substituted ½ of that. Oh my goodness)

Mix vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt and pepper. Slowly incorporate olive oil, whisking all the while.

                                            

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Shrimp Bisque

SOUPY SEND-OFF

Parents of college children realize that summer, supposedly a carefree time of familial togetherness, has transformed into one long goodbye. We are preparing the chickies to fly the coop and parents to inhabit it alone. One popular parental coping technique is denial. This method works well until reality (that buttinsky), sticks its nose in and blows. At this vulnerable time parents must be careful to guard against unpredictable bouts of weepiness, due to the high annoyance potential. To mitigate the angst, you could adopt a “why suffer alone?” school of thought, perhaps by inviting everyone you know over to dinner. Thus, you have an opportunity to showcase your triumphant victory over self-pity while grieving and celebrating simultaneously. A handy skill.

SHRIMP BISQUE

A large bowl of this can take the sting out of any situation. Let go, and bask in the bisque.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

Large onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, mince

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 cups marinara sauce  (Marinara could not be easier. All I do is throw about 4 sliced cloves in a sauce pan with some olive oil. Gently heat for about 1 minute (be very careful not to burn it). Then toss in a 28 ounce can of good quality tomatoes (San Marzano are great), maybe some basil (or thyme or oregano) if you have it, salt and pepper. Crush the tomatoes with a spoon, bring to a boil. Then simmer for 10-15 minutes.)

12 ounces low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon Tabasco

¼ cup light cream

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil with the butter over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté until golden. Season with a little salt and pepper. Toss in garlic and red pepper flakes for 30 seconds. Add marinara and chicken broth, bring to boil. Reduce to a low simmer for about 30 minutes. Add shrimp just until they turn pink, about 2 minutes. Now add remaining ingredients and heat through. Await your applause.

(If I serve this as a prelude to a meal, I allow only a small cupful for each person as it’s very filling. However, I always get conned, by the usual suspects; into serving another helping.)