Crab cakes

Crab cakes are another family favourite. We had them last night, nested in a leaf of Boston lettuce, accompanied by sugar snap peas, basmati rice and sliced vine-ripened tomatoes. Heaven!

Crab Cakes

1 can crab meat
1/2 lb fresh crab meat, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow pepper
1 green onion, finely sliced
1 Tbs capers
1/2 tsp hot sauce (e.g., tabasco)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Dijon (ancient grain) mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
1-2 cups fine seasoned bread crumbs
1 tbs butter
1tbs olive oil.

Mix the eggs, onions, peppers, capers, dijon, sauces, mayonnaise and salt and pepper together. Add in the crab meat. Finally, mix in the bread crumbs and refrigerate mix for 30 minutes. Form into small patties. Heat 1/2 the butter and oil in a frypan (I use an electric frypan at 400 F setting) and fry half the crab cakes for about 3 minutes until browned on bottom. Flip and brown the other side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate or tray and keep warm (in oven). Using remaining butter and olive oil, fry the remaining cakes.

Best Burgers Ever

Over the years, I've tried this and that when making burger patties. I've finally perfected the following recipe:

2 lbs ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta crumbles
2 tbs pesto
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup baby spinach, finely chopped
1 cup oatmeal flakes

Mix together egg, garlic, onion, feta, garlic, pesto, salt, pepper, and spinach. Add meat and oatmeal and knead to mix. Form into patties and grill on barbecue (or George Forman grill). Serve with sliced tomatoes, sliced dill pickles, and whatever condiments you like. Seriously, these are seriously good burgers.

For Katie....who reminded me that I have a blog!

It must be more than a year since I last posted. No, I didn't stop cooking (or eating). I just got consumed by other passions (rug hooking, for example) and forgot about posting on the blog. But I have been trying out and/or creating new recipes in that time. One of them that I'm particularly fond of lately is Celery Walnut Salad. You could also call it a pate. Basically, I saw a photo on facebook (posted by former schoolmate Yegas) of a celery walnut salad that was served on Emirate airlines as an appetizer. The photo was excellent: it had my mouth watering, but I was also intrigued - I'd never thought of combining the two as a salad. So, I went to work in the kitchen. I tried a little of this and a little of that. I've made it enough times now that I can say that it really is tasty, and there are a variety of add ins, depending on your preference or what's in your fridge. The basic recipe is as follows:

Celery Walnut Salad

2-3 stalks of celery, washed and coarsely chopped
1 green onion (bulb included), sliced
1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbs sour cream (or plain yoghurt or crumbled feta cheese)
2 tbs grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Add the celery, onion and walnut to a food chopper; pulse once or twice; add in remaining ingredients. Pulse until celery and walnuts are finely chopped (but not mush). Transfer to serving dish and enjoy as a dip with crackers, or spread on crackers like a pate.

ChhChhChhili....or baby it's cold out tonight

After a glorious Indian Summer last weekend, we're into real fall weather. Overcast, damp, and chilly. Comfort food is definitely called for. Tonight's offering is beef chili and cornbread.

The chili consists of sauteed onions, garlic, celery, yellow pepper, diced seasoned tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, browned ground beef, maple baked beans, kidney beans, pepper, salt, chili powder and onion soup mix. Combine all in large pot over medium heat. Cook for 1/2 hour to combine flavours. The cornbread is: 3./4 c flour, 1/4 c sugar, 1 c cornmeal, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt mixed in large bowl. 1 c milk, 1/4 c veg oil and 1 egg whisked and added to dry mixture. Whisked to combine. Turned out into greased 8" pan. Baked at 375 F for 25-30 min.

Photos could def'ly be better - my lense steamed up :_)

Catching up - 30 September 2014

OK, never mind what the automatic date says, this is the post for the last day of September. Summer flew by, lots of great meals were made and eaten, and now we're into fall. Today was the day for homemade pizzas (or at least home-assembled pizzas - I cheated and bought premade crusts). Pizza #1 had tomato sauce over the base, topped with chopped onion, fresh sweet yellow corn niblets, chopped fresh basil, sliced spicy Italian sausage, fresh asparagus, chopped orange peppers, roasted garlic/pepper seasoning, and grated mozzarella. Pizza #2 had a homemade pesto spread over the crust and topped with chopped red onion, sliced pears, sliced spicy Italian sausage, halved cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, and mozzarella. Mmm, mmm.

Hurricane Arthur has blown in....

(Not sure how this will look on the page - my computer is acting up, so apologies in advance for layout mistakes!) After days of sweltering heat, Hurricane Arthur has roared in with a vengeance. Heavy rains, strong winds, and, thankfully, cooler temperatures. Fortunately - for us - we are one of the few houses in the neighbourhood that still has power. All over the city, trees are down and power is out. But, as we do have power, I was able to go about my days plans without any major delays (just a few visits from powerless neighbours and family!). First off, was making red clover jelly from the flower heads I had left steeping the night before. I picked the clover up by the Mactaquac headpond yesterday, cleaned them, and then poured boiling water over them to steep. (The recipe/instructions can be found on my July 10, 2011 post.) This morning, I finished making the jelly and sterilized the resulting product. Photos of some of the 8 jars are above.

Next on the list was soup. #1 son had all his wisdom teeth removed yesterday, so he's on a soft/liquid diet. After checking what I had on hand, I figured roasted pepper and zucchini soup would be a great addition. For those of us who were not dietarily challenged, I added spinach and sun-dried tomato bread to go with the soup. The bread recipe was brought home to us by Clara, who got it from the lady who she stayed with this summer in Riviere du Loup. All agreed, the soup was a tasty way to ride out the storm at lunchtime. Providing we still have power, supper will probably consist of vietnamese rice-paper veggie rolls, chicken and various other oriental-inspired dishes.

Roasted Pepper and Zucchini Soup

1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
½ red pepper
1 med. Zucchini
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
1 med. carrot, peeled and grated
1 green onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp fine sea salt + enough to dust the peppers
Ground black pepper
1 tsp. oregano
½ tsp lavender pepper
Olive oil in mister
2 tbs butter
4 cups chicken stock
1 c. whipping cream
Fresh chopped chives

Preheatoven to 425 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Julienne the peppers and
quarter the zucchini and place on parchment paper. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with
sea salt and ground black pepper. Roast the peppers for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the
butter in a large pot. Sauté the celery and yellow onion for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock,
carrots, sea salt, oregano, garlic, green onion, and lavender pepper. Bring to boil, adding
in zucchini and peppers when roasted. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour into blender or
food processor and blend to smooth consistency. Return to pot on stove, stir in cream and
simmer for 5 minute. Serve topped with chopped chives.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's really been a while since I felt inspired - or found the time - to post to this blog. Yesterday, however, I created a soup that blew my tastebuds away so I figured I should record it for posterity. We're having one of our "Soup Lunches" at work today in honour of St. Patrick's Day, one of my very favourite holidays (bring on the spearmint candies!). I always contribute a soup toward this event (especially as I was the one to come up with the idea for it many years ago) - basically a number of us fill our crockpots with homemade soup and bring them to work to serve along with fresh bread (also made by a colleague), and softdrinks, coffee, or tea. We charge $5 per person and you can sample as many of the soups as you like. The money raised goes into our Social Committee account, which funds parties for retirements, new babies, wedding showers, etc. I'm no longer in on the organizing end of this event (too worn out lol), but I always contribute some soup - mainly because I really enjoy making it. So, cutting to the chase, here's this year's version. No pics unfortunately, but trust me, it looks good and tastes even better.

Tangy Ginger Carrot Soup

 

¼ cup butter

1 small onion, chopped
2-inch knob of ginger, finely chopped
1 tbs garlic
8+ large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbs Maille ancient grain mustard
¼ tsp chili flakes
1/8 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp caraway seeds
2 900-mL containers chicken broth
4 sachets Chicken oxo
8 c water
4 green onions
1 750-mL container plain yoghurt

Saute onion and ginger in garlic until soft. Add garlic and sauté 1 min longer, stirring constantly. Add carrots, stir to coat and then pour in chicken broth. Stir in remaining ingredients, except the green onions and the yoghurt. Slice the green onions finely, reserve the green portion and add the white portion to the soup. When the carrots are cooked through and soft, process the soup in a blender until smooth. Just before serving, stir in yoghurt and sprinkle with remaining green onion.