Sunny Sunday Morning in Spring

Contemplating the sun shining outside, the grass growing and greening, and all the plants starting to spring to life, and relishing the relatively unfamiliar sensation of a clean kitchen....I was inspired to create this zesty soup to welcome home the churchgoers.

Cream of Carrot Ginger Soup

2 tbs butter

2 large shallots, coarsely chopped

1/2 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped

900 ml chicken broth, unsalted

1/2 tsp crushed rosemary

2 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 c cream (use milk if you want a lighter version)

In large pot, saute shallots and pepper in butter until transparent. Add chicken broth, carrots, and seasonings. Bring to low boil and simmer until carrots are tender, about 1/2 hour. Use immersion handblender to puree vegetables. Stir in cream and serve. Garnish with fresh chives and wedge of lemon.

A whole lotta cooking goin' on

Yep, that's the truth. First came Christmas and various pot lucks, then we hosted a baby shower for Iris on New Year's eve, and today, the annual family Yankee Swap. So far, I've made fudge (thank you Trish for a fabulously easy recipe), spicy pecans, seafood chowder, a rosemary/cranberry bread wreath, cherry fruit bread, and Dear Abby's "St. James Baked Beans" (if you haven't tried this recipe yet, google it and make it immediately - it's a real crowd pleaser!). I'm absolutely loving my new Kitchenaid Artisan mixer - it sure eliminates a lot of shoulder and wrist pain when making bread dough. This was a Christmas gift from Ralph and, I've got to say, one of the best. I resisted for many years, saying why would I need one when my hand mixer does just fine, but old age is taking its toll and it's nice to let the machine do the work for a change. However, given that its permanent home is going to be on my counter, I have to get busy and make a cover for it to keep it clean. Anyway, better to get sewing than to get baking as 2012 is definitely going to be the year to lose some weight...starting tomorrow! After all, you can't go on a diet when you're heading to one of the major potluck events of the year!!!

Today's recipe....and a last hurrah for sugar and fat...is Trish's easy, delicious chocolate fudge.

Chocolate Skor Fudge

1 pkg chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
1 pkg skor bar bits (or Heath bar if you're in the U.S.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chips and condensed milk. Mike on high for 2 minutes. Stir. Mike for 2 more minutes. Stir, Mike one last time for 2 minutes and then stir in pkg of Skor bits. Scrape into a greased 8 x8 inch pyrex pan. Chill in fridge for 2+ hours. Cut into 1 inch squares and enjoy. I'll have to take a pic some other time because there are none left from my last batch!

Oh yeah - Happy New Year!

Tourtiere on steroids...

I try to pump out a few tourtieres every fall and freeze them for future use. Tourtieres are a traditional French-Canadian dish - basically a seasoned meat pie. I've always found them a little too dry and meaty for my tastes...so I made a few adjustments to the basic recipe. This is my version of tourtiere, not to be confused with the real thing, which does not contain potatoes or gravy.

Pie pastry - enough for two covered pies
1 lb ground pork
2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 large onion
1 bay leaf
1 tbs chopped garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs chopped celery leaves
1/4 tsp mace, cayenne, cloves
1 sachet beef oxo + 1/4 cup water
4 medium potatoes diced finely
1 1/2 cups gravy (2 tbs butter, 2 tbs flour, 1 1/2 c beef bouillon, salt and pepper)

In very large frypan, saute bacon till crisp. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, bayleaf, spices & herbs, pork, beef, and stir to combine. Sprinkle beef oxo over meat mixture and then add the water. Stir to combine. Meanwhile, microwave the potatoes for about 5-7 minutes and prepare gravy. Add potatoes and gravy to meat mixture. Stir to combine. Simmer over medium low for 45 minutes. Line 2 pie plates with pastry and prick over whole surface with fork. Spoon meat mixture into pie plates. Top with upper crusts. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for a further 30 minutes. Bake one pie now, and freeze the other for later use - or bake both now and freeze one of the cooked ones - your choice.

Curried beef - just the thing for a miserable cold fall day

Had ground beef in the fridge; wanted something warming. Found this on the net: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1882/mince-with-black-eyed-beans.aspx . It was great - served with rice and asparagus, as well as tzatziki (no raita to be had) and pitas.

Fall Marketing

I was given a marvellous book recently (thank you Jasmin and Peter!): Nigel Slater's "Appetite". Inspired by the bit I've read so far and by the perfectly typical fall day that is underway, I set off for the local farmer's market with the intention of finding and enjoying some great produce. I'm cooking for one (or two if you count Granny next door) today, so I'm free to choose just about anything. For lunch today, I'm having fresh tabouleh, some slices of red Leicester and Dubliner cheeses, all from the market, a wholewheat Parker House roll from the hippy bakery in Houlton, Me (which was baked and purchased yesterday afternoon), and some of my own homemade tomato salsa. I also picked up a lovely head of red cabbage, some large white radishes, and some parsnips at the market. Tonight I'm planning on cooking some curried cabbage, glazed chicken breast, roasted parsnip, and new potatoes, with beet greens on the side. Tomorrow, if all goes well with Patrick's hunt, we'll be dining on roast partridge....

In a rush - thank heavens for Kraft's What's Cooking!

Too much to do today and not enough time. Lucky for me, I received the Kraft's What's Cooking weekly email today and there, right at the top, supper stared me in the face: Sausage and pepper rotini (http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/sausage-peppers-rotini-pasta-126827.aspx). I had most of the ingredients on hand and a quick stop at Sobey's on the way home got me what I was lacking.This was a really tasty and easy-to-make supper that received positive feedback from husband and kids alike (except for dear daughter's dislike of peppers!).

Borscht - or what to do with leftover beets and potatoes

The surfeit of leftover vegetables from this past weekend's Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival meals was weighing on my mind (and occupying way too much fridge real estate). Yesterday was a crisp fall day and memories of delicious borscht sprang to mind (red fall leaves - red beets, you see the link?). A perfect solution to my veggie l/o dilemma.

(Almost) Vegetarian Borscht

2 tbs butter
1 large onion, chopped
900 mL container of beef broth
1796 mL (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbs tomato paste
4 c coarsely chopped or shredded cabbage
3 large cooked carrots chopped
3 cups small red potatoes, cooked and halved
4 cups chopped beets, cooked
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsp caraway seed
1 tsp dill seed
1 cup water
2 sachets low-sodium beef oxo
3 halves sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
chopped mushrooms (optional)

In very large pot, melt butter and saute onions until transparent. Add remaining ingredients in order and bring to low boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer over medium heat for about 1 1/2 hours, again stirring occasionally. Serve with dollop of sour cream.