When I'm not at Work

Another Stir Fry

I use the word 'love' too much I think. My first boyfriend once told me that he loved me. I was shocked, we hadn't been dating long and it seemed ridiculous that someone could say that so quickly. I asked him to explain and he told me 'I love chocolate chip cookies. I love football. How can I just say that I 'like' you?' Well, he explained it but it wasn't exactly a satisfying answer, let's just say, we didn't end up together. Beautifully illustrates my point though. I told you all that I loved risotto. I love chocolate cake. I love ice cream... whatever. I really 'like' stir-fry.

Perhaps its a summer thing. Lighter fare. Not long on the stove. Nutritious, seasonal ingredients... and maybe I'm just going through a phase. My fam isn't having trouble indulging my phase though. Let's face it, spicy peanut sauce or (in this case) black bean sauce are both hard to resist.

It's been a great day so far. Weather is perfect summer fare for toronto. Sunny skies, lovely breeze 27 degrees. Perfect. I went for a run this morning and kid #1 rode her bike with me while I ran. I came back ready to eat and threw this together for a hearty, healthy lunch. I won't tell you how much I ate but it was entirely and thoroughly satisfying and I was totally content.

Black Bean sauce has a nice bit but it's by no means spicy. Something just tasty and warm about it. You don't have to do a lot fooling around with adding other stuff when you use this sauce. I can find it easily at a larger grocery store. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in an asian market you'll be tripping over it. Once again, this was inspired by a recipe in BBC's Good Food magazine. It's my new Gourmet *sigh* I think. My husbands cousin is due to make her annual and much anticipated trip to Toronto from London (with her two lovely kiddies) and I'm going to ask her to pick some mag's up at the airport for me on the way. I can't wait!!!

Black Bean Sauce Stir Fry (adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine)

serves 4

6 cups of sliced vegetables (keep the sizes approx. same. I used bok choy, onion, green bean, peppers, carrots and zucchini)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lb thinly sliced beef (optional)

sesame oil/olive oil combo

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup black bean sauce

In a heated wok add the oil and coat the wok. Throw in the veggies and toss for about 4 minutes. Add in the beef and garlic and continue to toss another 5 minutes. Add in the hoisin, soy and black bean sauce. Mix well. Check the tastes and let the flavours cook together for a few minutes.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with chili flakes if you so desire.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Oh man, I can't tell you how long I've had my eye on this recipe. It's yet another recipe from my new favourite BBC Good Food Magazine. I feel so thankful to have found a replacement for Gourmet *sigh* but I can understand that you all might be getting bored with my BBC Good F... rambling. I'm going to try to contain myself.

But right now... I'm just totally stoked because it's the first time that I've used this...

My new kitchen scale. I know, looks totally simple doesn't it? What it means though is that I can finally bake some of these fantastic looking recipes. In the UK they don't measure with cups and all that. It's ml. or oz. or gr. What can I do if I don't have a scale. I know that 250 g is approximately one cup but it can be totally different with different ingredients. Flour and butter just measure one cup differently - ya know...

It's all behind me now though because of this awesome sick kitchen scale. Tell you what... I also made my own self rising flour - another UK thing apparently. Seriously though, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, dash of salt. I make about 3 cups or so of it and mix it together. Tidy. I'll just keep it aside for when I need self rising.

Cupcake was yum but actually got better the next day. Worth making a day ahead - it was that much better. Texture was really nice and light. It's a keeper.

Carrot and Cream Cheese Cupcakes

BBC Good Food Magazine

made about 18 medium sized cupcakes

350 g/12 oz brown sugar

200 g/8 oz whole wheat self rising flour (made mine)

200g/8 oz self rising flour (made it)

2 tsp baking soda

4 tsp mixed spice (I used a combo of allspice, clove, nutmeg and cardamom)

zest 2 oranges

4 eggs

300 ml sunflower oil (I think I use canola)

about 5 carrots grated (let's say 300 g or so)

Icing

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese at room temp.

1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temp.

3/4 cup icing sugar sifted

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line your muffin tin. Mix the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, spices and orange zest in a large bowl. Separately mix together the eggs and oil. Once mixed add to the flour mixture and mix well. Add in the carrots (throw in a few raisins if you like ;-). Fill the muffin tins just to the top and bake for about 20 - 22 min. until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Icing: In a large bowl mix together the cream cheese and butter until well blended. Add in the icing sugar and fully incorporate. Make sure it's the right thickness (add a little more icing sugar if needed). Ice cooled cupcakes.

Fruit Crisp

I don't usually go in for this stuff. I had way too many apple crisps in the 80's and I really thought that I was done with it. However, things change.

This year, so far, has been a year about rethinking my way around the food industry. I've come to realise that I'm slowly trying to extricate myself from it as a consumer... the industry that is. Our eating in the last 6 months has completely changed. We've switched to almost all organic - and that includes our meat (although I think that in future we can revamp that still by creating some relationships with Ontario farmers) - and local as much as possible. Organic meat is more expensive but it means that when we eat meat (which we don't do as often) then it's meaningful and VERY tasty. I've been rethinking how we consume our food and how we waste our food. My goal each week is to have nothing left over from the food box and as little as possible in our compost bin. We usually almost make it and some weeks we actually get there - so that I'm antsy for the food box to arrive on Monday.

With that in mind, I had this fruit that was going to go to waste. The apples were dying, the blueberries were past their prime and the plums were wilting fast. What could I do. Well, I could throw some sugary flour and oats and butter crap on them and bake them. For the kids, they get it with ice cream. If it's just for me, I pour a little bit of heavy cream over it (maybe flavoured with some good vanilla - just a touch) and it's pure heaven. I did use oats in the topping but instead of throwing them in whole I whizzed them for a bit in the blender. It came out quite floury (I'm already thinking about this in a cookie recipe!). That way there was no uncomfortable discussions with kid #2 about what that 'oat' thing was.

So, I guess when it's too blame hot to can the stuff (really though, I've got to get on that more.) and I don't want to stick any more stuff in the freezer then this kind of thing is the way to go. Sure it doesn't contain chocolate but it's summer and this stuff is plentiful and beautiful (imagine this with blackberries - yum) and did I already mention cream??????

Any fruit crisp

serves 4 hungry people or 6 not so hungry

4 - 5 cups of fruit (I would stay away from Bananas, kiwi, citrus, melon - you get the idea)

a little brown sugar (scant 1/2 cup)

a little melted butter

topping

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oats (you can whiz yours if you like)

dash of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg

1/4 cup nuts (I didn't have but hazelnuts or walnuts would work well - whizzed if you like ;-)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a square 8X8 baking dish put the fruit (sliced if plums, nectarines, peaches, apples) and mix with brown sugar and sprinkle with some melted butter.

In a bowl mix all the topping ingredients except the butter. Once the dry ingredients are mixed then add the butter and mix until it's looking crumbly and the butter is well incorporated. Pour over the fruit.

Bake for about 40 - 45 min or until the fruit looks bubbly underneath the golden crust.

Let it set for a few minutes before dishing up (if you can wait)

Serve with ice cream or cream or devon cream or nothing at all.

Raspberry Swirl Mousse.

It just doesn't get better than this. My raspberry patch has finally, after years of underwhelming results, decided that it's ready to do some serious berrying. We got some bowls full! I had all these fantastic ideas about jam (we're not there yet though - maybe 3 more years) and baking and all that but it seemed like I couldn't get to the raspberries before they got eaten - how frustrating is that?

I couldn't let the season go by without doing something though. I managed to hide away 2 cups of berries in the fridge which nobody found and pillaged - yeah. They're not mad at me though. In fact, they are quite happy... because I made this

Raspberry Swirl Mousse. It's a hybrid. I kind of threw it together but it tasted great. It's actually pretty easy too.

Take two cups of raspberries and cover it with 1 1/4 cups of superfine sugar (I'll explain later)

Let it sit for about an hour (I didn't though and it didn't really matter - I gave it about 30 min)

After it's sat for a while mash it up into a chunky syrup.

Whip up two egg whites. In a separate and cold bowl whip up 1 1/2 cup whipping cream. Fold the two whipped things together. Put about 3/4 of the raspberry syrup in with the whipped things and gently swirl it in. Divide it into 4 dishes/bowls/whatever. Divide the remaining syrup on top of each mound.

Refridgerate for at least an hour (we did this but it was hard) and then enjoy.

BEAUTIFUL.

Kid #1 downed her's in 5 seconds flat! kid #2 didn't go for 'em, though. Probably the berries, since they're not chocolate.

Garden bounty pasta

I love this time of year. It's that time when you are just beginning to get crap from your garden that you can eat. I picked my first real crop of green beans today and I have some lovely purple ones too - they are gorgeous. I used my crop in this pasta dish.

I also love this time of year because I'm not working all day. Case in point, as I'm sitting here typing this up, kid #2 who has just turned 4 is checking my heart with a toy stethoscope - that's what I love about this time of year. It means that I can eat a tidy, hot meal at lunch and stay with the lighter stuff later. I still eat light at night during the school year but the lunch time is more hit and miss. Hit and miss as to whether I'll eat lunch at all actually. I only work a 6 hour day at school and I always want to make the most of the time that I've got with the boys (who I teach). As a result, lunch might be a 10 minute affair. Definitely not long enough to take something hearty to heat up and sit and eat.

I start to get palpitations when I think about the business of fall - let's stick with the present.

Today was green bean day. I wanted to do something with the green beans that would be hearty but not just hearty, tasty too. Meaningful food. I thought of the green bean/mushroom soup/almond/casserole/side dish that my Mom used to make. I could do that. I just needed to make some cream of mushroom soup. I'm not keeping that kind of stuff in the pantry anymore. No problem, I had some chicken stock and some mushrooms and we got'er done. Turned out that it tasted way better than the canned stuff too. I also added pasta and some chard to the dish. It was really tasty.

From the garden it was the green/purple beans and my herbs. Cream, pasta, veggies, cheese on top - can't go wrong with that combo. Hot lunch here we come.

Green's n' Beans 'n Pasta in homemade Mushroom soup.

serves 6

1/2 a package of penne or rotini pasta (I used whole wheat)

4 cups of chicken or veg stock

3 cups of chopped mushrooms

1/2 onion diced small

3 - 4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 cup fresh herbs (I used dill, parsley and chive)

1/4 cup of corn starch, made into a paste

1/2 cup cream (more if needed)

salt to taste

2 1/2 cups green beans, in big pieces

1 med. bunch of chard, diced small

1/3 cup parmesan

little cheese for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Get out a large baking dish (I used a rectangular 9X13). In a large pot of boiling, salted water add the pasta and cook to the package specifications.

In a large, heated dutch oven add some oil (I used some of the fat skimmed off my chicken stock) and saute the onion and mushrooms. Give them about 5 min. and then add in the garlic. Dice the fresh herbs and add them after a few minutes. Add in the stock and let it come to a simmer for a few minutes with all the veggies. Add in the cornstarch paste and mix well (You might want to add in the cornstarch in small batches. That way it won't get too thick - cornstarch can get thick fast and if you're not careful you could have glue on your hands). Turn down the heat to low and add in the Cream. Check the taste and add salt if needed. I threw in just a dash of nutmeg and cayenne as well.

After the pasta finished, I threw the beans and chard into the hot pot with a little butter and sauteed it down a little. Adds another dimension to the flavour and ensures that the veggies are cooked through. Add the veggies and pasta to the baking dish and mix together until well incorporated. Pour the soup mixture over the top and mix well. Sprinkle with some cheese and parmesan (I poured just a little more cream over the top too). Bake for 20 min. or until just browned and bubbly (don't want it to bake for too long).

Let it rest for a few minutes when it comes out of the oven.

Summer is Frittering away.

I'm making Cheddar and Zucchini fritters and was just trying to be witty. The reality is though that summer is, in fact, slowly but surely frittering away. I'm still working at home (not at the school but still doing school work remotely) and I'm ready to be completely off for a while. Really though Wanda - 'Waaaa, poor me. I have to work longer than I want to. Waaa, I want more time off. Waaa' Get over it.

I'm lucky enough to get time off and I'm lucky enough to be able to take my kids out to do fun stuff. Today we are heading out to the movies. Fun!!! I feel a bit bad going to the movies in the summer 'cause it's so beautiful outside and we have that weather for such a short time. Meh. We're goin' to the movies. I whipped this up before we left. It was beyond easy. There was no frying, these fritters bake instead of fry. Nice. So, you don't have to stand at the stove for any length of time. If you've got some zucchini growing in your garden then this is a great way to use up some extras. Everything came together in less than 10 minutes and they tasted great.

After baking, everybody had some healthy food to eat before we went to the movie to chop off our arm and leg and give it to the theatre (and that was before we hit the concession stand).

Cheddar-Zucchini fritters

(Chatelaine Magazine)

makes about 8 but I would double the recipe in future.

2 small zucchini

1/4 cup cornstarch

dash of salt, paprika, nutmeg and cayenne

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar

2 green onions (I used garden chives and parsley)

1 egg white ( I used a whole egg)

Sauce (I didn't bother with it)

1 lemon

1/4 cup mayo

1 tsp dijon mustard (grainy especially nice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet for baking.

Coarsely grate the unpeeled zucchini. Drain by putting it in a towel or paper towel and press the water out.

Place the zucchini in a bowl and add the cornstarch. I also added the salt and spices. Mix it all well, making sure that the cornstarch is evenly distributed.

Throw in the cheese and green onion and mix. Throw in the egg and mix well.

Form into paties using about 1/3 of a cup of the mixture. Press each mound down slightly. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn over then bake for another 8 min. or so. After removing from the oven, let them stand for a few minutes to firm up and cool a little. Throw together the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve on the side.

This curry is divine.

Sometimes you just hit the mark - I mean head on, centre, bull's eye. This curry got me right in the best place. I'd been wanting to do a Keema since last week when I got some lovely, fresh peas in my food box (I promise I'll start taking more pics of the food box when it comes - it's so much fun).

I got desperate for something quick and ended up making pea risotto. Don't get me wrong the risotto was thoroughly and comfortingly satisfying (I ate so much of it that I felt sick after - gluton!) but this was really what I had wanted to make. Imagine my joy when this week's food box brought me another bag of fresh peas. Yeah! The universe wanted me to make Keema too.

I didn't have ground beef (and to be honest, it wouldn't be made with ground beef anyway - hello... Hindu - no beef) so I made it out of lean ground pork. Maybe that's what made the difference (it was organic, from Cumbrae Farms). It could also be the fact that summer is here, I'm not working even half as much as I normally do and I'm generally just feeling relaxed and happy... Hey, might be dumb but don't underestimate the power of how you are feeling when you are cooking or baking - No jokes.

The combination of the coconut milk and the meat was divine. Just the right mix of creamy, sweet, salty and spicy. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner... wait. I said that about risotto. Ugh. It'll be big meals, what can I say.

Keema

serves about 4

1 lb minced beef, goat, pork or lamb

2 tbsp butter

1/2 a large onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)

1 rib of celery, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 can of coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 - 3 tbsp of curry paste (use the heat level that you like best - I used Madras)

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

In a large pot, fry the onion in butter over medium heat. Add in the celery, peas and garlic once the onion is getting a little transparent.

After about 5 minutes throw in the minced meat and mix well. Reduce the heat a little. Allow that to cook while you mix the curry paste and spices into the coconut milk. Add the coconut milk mixture into the meat mixture. Allow the liquid to cook down for about 15 min or so. That way it won't be too soupy when it's done. Once things cook down, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Serve over rice or with Naan (yum).