30 Days of Real Meals - #1

Welcome to Day #1 of Real Meals!  It's winter, the pickings are slim, but we're eating, and eating real.  Good or bad, I am going to share with you what my family of four (2 adults, a 5 year old, and a 2 year old) eats every day for the next 30 days.  In many ways, we are your typical Canadian family, with a few twists.  For one, we never eat out.  We eat only organically. We strive to eat seasonally and as locally as possible.  So within those parameters, my job is to juggle raising two kids, and make three healthy meals, every day.  The pictures may not always be pretty as I reach for the camera regardless of the lighting or perfection of the dish I'm photographing - but hey, over here, we like to keep it real.

DAY #1 - DINNER

Romano Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Steamed Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts with Nori- drizzled with olive oil and umbeshi vinegar

Roasted Haddock with Salsa and Romano Cheese

ROMANO ROASTED POTATOES AND CARROTS

4 cups organic Yukon Gold potatoes (3/4" on all sides)

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp garlic salt or powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp organic paprika

1 tsp organic ground black pepper

5 Tbsp grated Romano cheese

Method: Preheat oven to 425*.  Place the cubed potatoes into a baking dish or cast iron skillet.  

Transfer dish to the oven and bake 30 mins. 

Remove from the oven and toss - put back in oven for another 15-25 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy.

HADDOCK with Salsa

4 pieces hook and line haddock, rinsed and patted dry

1-2 cups organic tomato salsa

sea salt and pepper

romano cheese

Method:  Preheat the broiler in your oven.  Spread the salsa onto the fish, season with sea salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Broil for about 10-15 minutes, or until fish is firm.

HOMEMADE SPELT SPINACH NOODLES with Cauliflower and Broccoli in a Mustard Butter

I really need to learn how to use my external flash to take pictures of the food I make at night.  Now that it is darker earlier in the evening, I've been having a hard time getting a picture good enough to post on this blog!  To my horror, I am unable to share with you the visual delight of the meal we ate tonight.  Trust me, it looked as delicious as it tasted.  The inspiration for this one comes from Deborah Madison's "The Greens Cookbook" which is a classic, French inspired vegetarian cookbook from 1987.  Since I am avoiding wheat these days, one of the adaptions to  the recipe was the use of spelt flour in the pasta.

HOMEMADE SPELT SPINACH NOODLES with Cauliflower and Broccoli in a Mustard Butter

Spelt Spinach Noodles

1 cup organic spinach leaves, loosely packed with stems removed

2 organic eggs

1 cup organic spelt flour

1/4 cup organic whole spelt flour

pinch of sea salt

Method:  Wash the spinach leaves and dry them as well as you can.  Chop them very finely to make a coarse puree, then gently squeeze out the water.  Mix the spinach with the eggs.  Place the flour and salt in a bowl, and make a well in the centre.  Pour the egg mixture into the well and gradually, work the egg into the flour, using your fingertips.  Continue until the egg is evenly distributed, then turn the mixture out onto the counter and begin to knead.  If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny (5 mins).  Place it in a covered bowl and let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients for the pasta.  When ready for pasta, roll the dough out onto the counter by hand and cut into thick strips, or use a pasta machine according to machine directions.

The Vegetables and Sauce

5 Tbsp organic butter, softened

2 Tbsp organic Dijon mustard

3 cloves organic garlic, minced

2 tsp organic balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp organic parsley, roughly chopped

1 cup organic breadcrumbs

2 organic sundried tomatoes, soaked and cut into small pieces

3-4 cups organic broccoli and cauliflower cut into small pieces and florets

sea salt

pepper

romano cheese

Method:  Prepare the pasta dough, set it aside to rest, then roll it out and cut it by hand into strips about 1/2" wide.  Shake them with more flour to keep them from sticking together and set them on a floured cookie sheet while you make the sauce.

     Cream 4 Tbsp of the butter with the mustard, garlic, vinegar and parsley.  Melt the remaining butter and add the bread crumbs.  Fry them in a small skillet until they are crisp and browned.

     When you are ready to cook the pasta, salt the boiling water, melt the mustard butter on low and then add 1/2 cup of the pasta water and the tomatoes.  Drop the broccoli and cauliflower into the pasta water halfway into the cooking time of the pasta and then drain the whole pot  when the pasta is ready.  Toss with the butter sauce, season with salt and pepper.  Serve garnished with the breadcrumbs and fresh romano cheese.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP with Cauliflower and Sage

     It was another beautiful sunny fall day after a week long deluge of torrential rain here in Nova Scotia.  After a long day hanging out with my wee one, I really craved a comforting bowl of soup.  The cauliflower in the fridge was begging me to get creative with it, so this is the soup I came up with.  It is going to taste great with a salad chock full of homegrown sprouts and some warm rye sourdough bread dripping with butter.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP with Cauliflower and Sage

3 cups diced and peeled organic butternut squash

4 cups chopped organic cauliflower

1 large organic onion, chopped

4-5 cloves organic garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

2 tsp dried organic sage leaf, or 2 Tbsp fresh organic sage, minced

3-4 Tbsp organic white/mellow miso paste

sea salt and pepper to taste

enough organic chicken or vegetable stock to cover the vegetables ( or use water )

Method:  Heat a large soup pot over medium low heat.  Melt butter and saute the onion until soft.  Stir in the garlic, sage, squash and cauliflower.  Add enough stock to just cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil, adding some salt and simmer until soft.  Dilute the miso with a ladleful of stock, then stir into the pot, being sure not to boil it to.  Using a blender, puree the soup and thin with more stock if soup is too thick.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.  Serve with a dollop of yogurt if desired.

Barter Pasta

Lately Friedl from Selwood Green has been visiting my table at the Farmer's Market to barter. He is a pleasure to see at the end of the market day because he always comes bearing lovely fresh sprouts, and this week, some of Norbert's homemade kamut pasta.  We had some leftover smoked salmon from Sunday's brunch which I thought would go perfectly in a pasta.  I also unearthed some spinach from the deep freeze that I prepared from the garden harvest in the summer. This pasta was truly delicious.

KAMUT PASTA with Cauliflower,  Smoked Salmon and Spinach

1 lb Norbert's fresh organic kamut pasta

2 Tbsp organic butter

1 large organic onion, chopped

4 cloves organic garlic, minced

1/2 cup organic vodka

2 tsp organic lemon zest

1 tsp sea salt

black organic pepper

1 1/2 cups organic cream

125 g organic smoked salmon, sliced thinly

2 Tbsp capers

3 cups organic spinach, chopped

1/2 head organic cauliflower

fresh romano cheese, grated

1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Method:  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  When it comes to a boil, add the cauliflower and boil for 3 minutes.  Then add the pasta and cook for about 3 minutes.  As you do this, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion until softened, then add the garlic and stir.  Add the vodka, zest, salt and pepper and simmer for 2 minutes.  Add the cream and simmer until it thickens a bit.  Stir in the spinach and cook until spinach wilts and the sauce evaporates a bit.  Stir in the smoked salmon, capers.  Season to taste.  Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce.  Serve, with the grated cheese and chopped dill.

Salmon Heaven

What an exciting discovery at the fish counter at Superstore.  Fresh organic atlantic salmon! Once again this fish is farmed in Ireland, but this one is good.....so very, very good.  And not cheap.  $19.99 a pound which for 3 fillets was $25.  But so worth it.

ROASTED SALMON with Spicy Cauliflower

I adapted this one right outta Martha Stewart's Everyday Food mag.  

4 organic garlic cloves

2-4 anchovy fillets

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

sea salt and pepper

2 Tbsp e.v olive oil

2 Tbsp anchovy oil (from the can) or olive oil

1 head organic cauliflower, cored and cut into large florets

2 organic atlantic salmon fillets

Method:  Preheat oven to 450*.  In a mortar and pestle, smush the garlic, anchovies and red pepper.  Then generously season with salt.  In a large bowl toss the paste, and oils with the cauliflower to coat.  Spread in a large cast iron skillet and roast until the cauliflower starts to soften, about 15 minutes.  

     Season salmon with salt and pepper.  Remove cauliflower from oven, pushing the florets to one side and place fillets in the centre.  Return to oven and bake until fish is opaque, about 15 minutes.  

GOLDEN RICE with Raisins, Cashews and Clove

This rice is unbelievably fantastic.

1 Tbsp organic butter

1 organic onion, chopped

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp organic turmeric

1 organic bay leaf

2 organic cloves

2 cups water

1/3 cup organic raisins

1 handful organic cashews 

Method:  Saute onion and cloves in butter until the onion is soft.  Add the turmeric, salt, bay leaf and water.  Bring to a boil, then cover pan with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.  Add raisins, cover again and cook another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit 5 minutes, stir in cashews and serve.