Pasta with Sausage and Fried Peppers

I love it that pasta tastes so good, and it's quick to make.  My mother has a famous saying that basically says when we want "fast food" we make food, fast.  So when you're in a rush, go for the pasta.

PASTA with Miso Hemp Seed Pesto, Sausage and Fried Peppers

1 pound organic pasta (I like wide ribbons)

1 pound organic sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 organic onion, cut into 8 slivers

1 cup sliced organic mushrooms

1/2 organic red pepper, sliced thin

1/2 organic yellow pepper, sliced thin

2 cups thinly sliced organic chard leaves

3 cloves garlic, mashed and chopped

3-4 Tbsp e.v olive oil

3 Tbsp miso hemp seed pesto (see recipe from an earlier post)

sea salt and pepper

grated fresh roman cheese

Method:  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  As you wait, heat a cast iron skillet over high-med heat.  When hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, then the sausage, onion, peppers and mushrooms.   Saute, stirring for about 3 minutes.  Then add the garlic, keep sauteing until the peppers begin to soften and the sausage is cooked through.  Remove from heat.  By this time the water should be boiling.  Add the pasta to the water along with the chard.  Cook until the pasta is al dente, strain and then toss the cooked pasta into the skillet with the sauteed goods, along with the pesto and a the rest of the olive oil.  Toss and serve with fresh grated romano cheese.

Indian Dal and Mango Chutney Coleslaw

Dal is a very easy Indian dish to make, and in fact the first Indian meal I mastered.  I usually serve it with white basmati (shh don't tell the fibre police) because I love it so much, but tonight I thought I'd be all healthy and go with quinoa.  The Mango Chutney salad was an impromptu creation using up a virtually empty jar of organic mango chutney I found in the fridge.  I normally buy Patak's Mango Chutney, until one day I found an organic version at Planet Organic.  It is very different from Patak's, a much runnier chutney, but tasty nonetheless.  I added some apple cider vinegar and sesame oil to the jar, shook it up, and presto!  instant mango dressing for our salad.

INDIAN DAL

For last night's dinner I added some chopped kale to this near the end of cooking just to add some more vegetables to our life, but I usually don't.

1 1/2 cups organic yellow split peas, rinsed

1 tsp organic turmeric powder

1 large clove organic garlic, smashed and chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

2 tsp organic coriander powder

2 tsp organic cumin seed powder

1 organic onion, chopped

1/4 tsp hing (asofetida) powder

1-3 tsp sea salt

2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

Method:  In a medium saucepan, combine the peas and enough water to amply cover them and the turmeric.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hour or until the peas are soft and mushy.

     Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat and then fry the onion until soft.  Then add the spices and garlic and cook another minute.  Stir into the peas when they are 3/4 of the way cooked.  When the peas are cooked, season with salt to taste.

MANGO CHUTNEY COLESLAW

2 cups, thinly sliced and chopped organic cabbage

1 large organic carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped organic cilantro

handful organic cashews

1/4 organic red onion, chopped

1/4 organic red pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp organic mango chutney

1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 Tbsp organic raw sesame oil

Method:  Toss all ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Fish and Gratin

Our menus around here are dependent upon many factors - what is seasonally available, what the weather is like, what needs to be used up in the fridge and on and on and on.  This weekend I forgot to bring my cooler and ice when I went urban foraging, so the frozen hook and line haddock I bought defrosted by the time I got home.  Sooo, we had fish for supper tonight.

P.S- both dishes in this post are very yummy but I highly recommend making them separately as they didn't really go well togethere.  I would have liked to eat a nice raw coleslaw with the fish and maybe baked fish with the gratin or something light like a tofu dish.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED HADDOCK with Cucumber Pickle Tartar Sauce

Every summer I pickle and can produce for the winter.  One of my favorite recipes is for a Cucumber Relish.  I love to make a quick and yummy tartar sauce with it when we eat fried fish.

1 pound hook and line haddock, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup organic cornmeal

1/4 cup organic unbleached white flour

sea salt and pepper

organic butter

Method:  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Combine the cornmeal, flour, sea salt and pepper in a bowl and toss the fish pieces in the mix.  Melt some butter in the pan and cook each side of the fish until golden brown.  Serve with tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

CUCUMBER RELISH

7 cups organic cucumbers, washed, and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic green peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic red peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

2 cups organic celery, chopped

1 cup organic onion, chopped

1/2 cup coarse sea salt

2 cups local honey

3 cups organic apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp organic celery seed

3 Tbsp organic white mustard seed

Method:  Combine cucumbers, peppers, celery, onions and salt in a large stainless steel bowl. Cover and let stand 4 hours.

     Fill boiling water canner with water.  Place 7 500 ml canning jars in canner over high heat.

     Rinse vegetables well in a colander and press out excess moisture.

     Combine honey, vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Add vegetables, return to a boil and boil gently for 10 minutes.  

     Place snap lids in boiling water, boil 5 minutes.

     Ladle relish into a hot jar to within 1 cm of top rim.  Remove air bubbles and wipe rim.  Place lid and screw cap.  Place in canner and repeat.  Process all the jars in a boiling canner for 10 minutes.  Cool.

TARTAR SAUCE

3 Tbsp organic mayonaise

3 Tbsp cucumber relish

Method:  Combine the two ingredients and serve.

SWISS CHARD AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN

Ever since I started a food blog, I've been interested in other food blogs.  One I really like is Smitten Kitchen, who inspired this adaptation of a yummy gratin.

1 organic onion, chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

1 bunch of organic swiss chard, chopped into 2 cm pieces

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

2 cups organic whole milk

2 cloves organic garlic, minced

2 Tbsp organic flour

3 medium organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices

some fresh or dried organic thyme and parsley

sea salt

pepper

1 1/4 cups organic swiss cheese

Method:  In a large pot, pour in enough water to cover bottom of pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, add chard, cover and cook until chard wilts.  Drain in a colander over the sink, pressing out excess water.  Set aside.

     Saute the onion in some butter until soft.  Set aside.

     Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour.  Cook, whisking, and then add the milk and garlic, whisking over heat for one minute.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

     Preheat oven to 400*.  Butter a large cast iron skillet or baking dish.  Spread half of the potatoes, sprinkle with the onion and some salt and pepper, thyme and parsley, and 1/2 of the cheese.  Distribute all of the chard, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, some more herbs and half of the sauce.  Layer the rest of the sweet potato, followed with some salt and pepper, the rest of the sauce and end with the rest of the cheese.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Flu Season Soup

I have been hovering on the edge of full blown cold or flu symptoms for days now and part of my stay healthy regime has been this delicious, easy miso soup every morning for breakfast.  

FLU SEASON MISO SOUP

(makes one large bowl)

1/4 small organic onion, minced

1 clove organic garlic, minced

1/2 Tbsp organic ginger, peeled and grated

1 heaping Tbsp organic white miso 

a wee ripped off piece of wakame sea vegetable

pinch organic cayenner pepper

Method:  Bring the onion, garlic, ginger, wakame and cayenne to boil in about 2 cups water.  Then simmer for 5 minutes.  In your soup bowl, dilute the miso paste with some warm water.  Then pour the hot garlicky water into the bowl and stir.  Enjoy first thing in the morning.  

BLACK BEAN SOUP AND CORNBREAD

I just finished eating my soup and cornbread by the fire on this gorgeous autumn evening.  What a blessing to live where we do, healthy and safe.  

     I used up my last egg last night making a giant chocolate chip cookie - 12 inches of cookie!  So rather than making cornbread the way I usually do, I had to come up with a no egg version.  I really liked it even though it was a bit crumblier than the regular one.  The crumbs were kind of nice the way they crumbled into the soup, making it nice and thick.  

BLACK BEAN SOUP with Red Pepper and Cilantro

2 cups dry organic black beans, soaked at least 6 hours and cooked until soft

6 cups organic vegetable or chicken stock

2 Tbsp e.v olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 stalks organic celery, chopped

1 organic red pepper, chopped

4 cloves organic garlic, chopped

1 organic jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 can organic tomatoes

2 Tbsp ground organic cumin

2 tsp organic ground coriander

1 Tbsp organic dry oregano

1 organic bay leaf

3-4 tsp sea salt or to taste

pepper

2 Tbsp organic molasses

2 Tbsp maple syrup

fresh organic cilantro

organic sour cream

Method:  Saute the onion and celery in the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until they soften.  Add the jalapeno, red pepper, garlic and spices and saute another minute or so. Add the tomatoes, stock, beans, salt, molasses, maple syrup and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour.  At this point, puree some or all of the soup.  Check consistency, you want the soup to be thickened but not too thick.  If still to watery, simmer until it reaches desired consistency.  Blend half of the soup with a stick blender and check for saltiness and adjust accordingly.  Serve with some fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

APPLE CIDER CORNBREAD

1 3/4 cup organic cornmeal (if using Speerville Mills cornmeal, grind in a coffee grinder for a bit to make it finer)

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

6 Tbsp organic butter, melted

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup organic whole milk

3/4 cup organic apple cider

1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:  Preheat oven to 350*.  Oil a large cast iron skillet.  Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Combine all of the wet ingredients except the butter in another bowl.  Add the wet to the dry and then stir in the melted butter.  Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Deep Fryer Heaven

Seeing as I had all kinds of deep fryer oil leftover from last night's fried bananas, I decided to make some doughnuts!  Also a great way to use up that sour cream that was in our fridge before it went bad.  So these are very addictive when hot out of the fryer.  They remind me of going to the Markham Fair and buying those delicious mini doughnuts they make right in front of you.  I lost count of how many I ate.

CINNAMON DOUGHNUTS

1 cup organic sour cream

3 organic eggs, beaten

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp baking soda

3-4 cups organic flour ( I mix both whole wheat and white)

1/2 organic sugar

2-3 tsp organic cinnamon

organic palm oil for deep frying

Method:  Heat the oil in a deep fryer at 375*.  Combine the sour cream, eggs, maple syrup in a bowl.  Add the salt, cream of tartar, baking soda and enough flour to make a soft dough.  Roll 3/4 of an inch thick on a floured board and cut with a biscuit cutter.  Fry until brown on both sides and then toss in a bowl of cinnamon and sugar.  You can also just omit the cinnamon sugar and drizzle with more maple syrup and serve.

Sunday Night Dinner Party

We invited our neighbours Terry and Serena over for dinner tonight.  I had some wild shrimp from the Farmer's Market and thought they'd be great in some Pad Thai noodles.  I still haven't perfected my pad thai recipe so I am not going to post it yet, but my Thai Salad Rolls are pretty awesome, as was the dessert of Thai Fried Bananas.  There were lots of laughs and a good time was had by all.

THAI SALAD ROLLS with Peanut Chili Dipping Sauce

Rice papers

Organic lettuce

Organic cilantro leaves

Organic carrot, very finely sliced in matchsticks

Organic green onion, thinly sliced

Organic tofu

Organic tamari

Organic sesame oil

Method:  Cut the tofu into long chunks, toss with a bit of tamari and sesame oil and broil in an oven until they start to brown.  Remove and cool.

     Fill a bowl with warm tap water.  Take one of the rice papers and soak in the water for a couple of minutes, or when they just start to soften.  Lay it on a flat surface and fill with a bit of each of the veggies and tofu.  Roll like a burrito and place in an airtight container until ready to eat.  These are best made not too long before they will be consumed, as the papers dry out easily.

PEANUT CHILI DIPPING SAUCE

3/4 cup organic peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp organic tamari

1/4 cup sweet thai chili sauce (the kind for dipping)

1/4 cup warm water

2 tsp thai hot chili sauce ( i think it's called saracha chili sauce)

Method:  Mix all ingredients together and serve with the Salad Rolls.

FRIED BANANAS with Coconut Ice Cream and Crystalized Ginger

4 organic banans, cut in half and then into four pieces

1 cup rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp organic sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut

1 cup water

1 organic egg, lightly beaten

organic palm oil for frying

4 pieces crystalized ginger, cut into tiny pieces

So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Ice Cream

Method:  Heat the palm oil in a deep fryer to 375*.  Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Slowly add the water and then the egg.  Dip 4 pieces of banana into the batter and deep fry until the bananas are golden.  Serve with some of the ice cream and sprinkle with the ginger.  Repeat.