Eating In with Friends

It was so nice to have Diana and Meghan over for dinner last night. I need to give them HUGE kudos for hanging in there ... Diana had the privilege of entertaining Jack for a full hour so that I could be in the kitchen and get dinner prepared. Meghan had numerous hurdles to leap over in order to get here and she did it!
And Jay ... he was my true knight in shining armour ... picking up last minute ingredients for the meal on his way home from work. The meal would NOT have turned out without his efforts!

On the menu:
We had vegan Caesar salad,
Grilled Vegetable Paninnis,
A side plate of shrimp and
Zucchini chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

The Caesar salad and cupcakes were from the Rebar cookbook ... the paninni and shrimp recipes were compliments of Giada de Laurentis from the Food Network.

Everything took so long to prepare because it was all made FROM SCRATCH. From the salad croutons to all the dipping sauces to the roasted garlic and roasted peppers. Was it worth it???

Warm Vegetable Salad

Well ... hopefully I will become more versatile SOON with my meal pics, otherwise I will need to change the name of this blog to "Just Salads". Tonight I chose yet another salad variety from the Rebar cookbook. I wonder if I do this subconsciously, thinking it will be 1. Easy to make and 2. Quick.
Tonight's salad included baby spinach topped with a variety of steamed vegetables garnished with toasted cashews and the dressing ... Oh the dressing ... this feature in the Rebar cookbook is what keeps me returning to the salad section in my meal planning. I can fool myself into believing I'm being healthy while still enjoying the most succulent flavors.
I liked this one but Jay was a little more quiet than usual while eating his meal. Maybe he's sick of salads??

Left Overs Deserves Dessert

Tonight was a repeat of last night ... I need to learn to cut these recipes in half if I want something other than left-overs the following day. So ... as a treat to polishing off last night's meal, I opened Rebar to the dessert section. Chocolate Chip Cookies. What could be better? So comforting and yummy.

Shout Out!

I would just like to send a shout out to my friends Steve and Alanna. They had us over for dinner on Friday and Alanna never never never fails to impress. She has the midas touch ... her meal was golden. Though not vegetarian. But it was our night out so we were allowed.

She created something as close to a Famosos night at home as I believe anyone without a real fire oven could ever come.
Pizza, homemade bread with cheese and herbs, caprese salad, and radicchio rolls ... YUM.

Rebar Sampling #1: Szechuan Noodle Salad with soba, avocado and cashews

I have not had Soba noodles since my time spent in Japan. This hearty, buckwheat noodle is both filling and refreshing and makes for an excellent base to this noodle salad dish. It's easy to make (7 mins in a pot of boiling water), rinsed, a dash of sesame oil to coat, and set aside for later use.

I don't know how fair it would be to disclose all the recipes from this adorable little cookbook ... but to kick off the start of this Rebar adventure, I think I will share the dressing ingredients ... if this doesn't inspire to get the book yourself, I don't know what will.

Szechuan Dressing - yields 2 cups
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 1\2 tsp chile oil (didn't have this, so just used regular olive oil)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1\2 tsp red chile flakes
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (didn't have, so used red wine vinegar)
1\2 cup soy sauce
1 cup water (sounds like a lot, doesn't it?!! I was skeptical, but it all makes sense once you add the cornstarch powder)
1\4 cup honey
1 tsp cornstarch
juice of 2 limes (I used 1.5 limes and thought even this was a bit too much)
2 Tbsp minced cilantro

1. Heat oils in a pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic and chiles and saute briefly, being very careful not to let them burn. Stir in vinegar, soy sauce and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add honey and stir to dissolve. Mix cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water in a bowl and whisk into the simmering liquid. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes. When the sauce has thickened slightly, remove it from heat and let cool. Stir in lime juice and minced cilantro. Pour over noodle salad.

**This recipe for szechuan sauce was incredible. It's the closest thing I've ever come to experiencing restaurant-grade sauce at home. It's super versatile - the cookbook recommends a few other uses for this sauce, including using it as dipping sauce for salad rolls.

REBAR!

Hello, hello!

This past week's growing frustration in the kitchen finally made a head and came to a crashing halt when two separate people, both having excellent taste (one being a vegetarian, the other person not - so a well-balanced recommendation, I'd say), guided me to this vegetarian cookbook "Rebar" which stems directly from the kitchen of the actual cafe Rebar based out of Victoria, BC. Check it out here: http://www.rebarmodernfood.com/cookbook.html
I found the cookbook at Chapters (wish I could have flown to Victoria for the weekend to visit this hip joint in person as they do apparently sell the cookbook there too ... imagine having a tasty meal at this funky little bistro then on your way out the door you see their cookbook for sale ... I would be an instant gonner).

So my recipe finding frustrations are over! Thanks Diana and Serena! I will need to have you both over for celebratory tastings ... see if my kitchen concoctions resemble anything you've tasted directly from Rebar.

Thursday Medley

Tonight I did something a little differently. Instead of scourging the internet for that "perfect" recipe to then attempt to re-create, tonight I looked in our fridge to see what we had in there and then found recipes to accommodate ... here's the outcome:

1. Garlicky Green Beans
2. Braised Cabbage in Red Wine
3. Baked Sweet Potato Fries ... a favorite!
4. For Dessert ... Apple Galette in Butter Puff Pastry

Let me share this golden nugget of a recipe with you (my adaptation from the Food Network recipe):
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
1 Sweet Potato, peeled and sliced into 1\4" long and wide strips
Olive oil, for tossing
1 Tbsp Tex Mex
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Line sheet pan with tinfoil (dull side facing up) - heat pan while oven is heating up - this helps the fries to crisp up a little better
3. In large bowl, toss potatoes with oil to coat. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over and toss
4. Spread on pan in single layer
5. Bake for about 20mins, turning occasionally. Potatoes should be golden brown (I ended up broiling at the very end, just to get some extra crispiness happening)

Tuesday and Wednesday's Meal

Tuesday, we had a lovely visitor come to dinner ... my friend Meghan. What a delight! In my excitement of seeing her, I completely forgot about taking photos of the meal but this is what we had:

1. Leftover pizza re-heated ... loooove pizza left-overs ... the crust has that extra crispy CRUNCH and the flavors have had time to co-mingle and become better acquainted.
2. Greek Caponata - which essentially is roasted vegetables over a layer of crushed tomatoes.
3. Greek Salad... YUM. Got this recipe off the Food Network, which I will pass along below:

Greek Salad - serves 6
Ingredients:
Cucumber
1 Red Bell Pepper, large diced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, large diced
1 Pint Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved
1\2 Red Onion, sliced in rounds and halved
1\2lb. feta, 1\2" diced
1\2 cup kalamata olives, pitted

Vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1\2 tsp. dijon mustard
1\4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1\2 cup olive oil

1. Place ingredients (minus the feta and olives) in large bowl
2. For vinaigrette, whisk together garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Slowly add olive oil while continuing to whisk to make an emulsion.
3. Pour vinaigrette over the vegetable mixture. Add feta and olives and toss. Set aside for 30mins. Serve at room temperature.

p.s. the sad photos above are of our left-overs on Wednesday ... not as glorious looking as the first night. Isn't that always the case? Doesn't look as impressive but somehow always tastes a little better?

PIZZA

Hello, friends ... I'm back!
It sure didn't take too long before this little challenge for myself has become somewhat overwhelming. Sticking to one theme per week should be easy! But it's not! It's the hunting down recipes that ends up taking sooo long. We finally have internet (not just wireless), so the hunt has become a little quicker ... but still. I must find a new approach. Until then ... may I present my Semi-Mediterranean week:

Monday we had Pizza. Classic comfort food. Used my mom's tried and true recipe for pizza dough. Used toppings that added an earthiness and Zing -these two flavors played back and forth between the artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, bocconcini mozzarella, goat cheese mozzarella ... J and I both had smiles on our faces and spotless plates once this meal was happily gurgling in our bellies.

Pizza Dough Recipe:
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup + 1\4 cup heated water
Sugar

1. Add 1\4 cup heated water to 1 Tbsp yeast (I add a sprinkling of sugar to this mixture to encourage the yeast to activate).
Allow yeast to rise (when it bubbles and foams - it's ready!)
2. Add flour to medium sized bowl and add 1 cup of warm water to flour (add more if dough is too dry). Add yeast.
3. Work water into flour ... dough should form a ball and work it's way off the bowl.
4. Drizzle oil over dough to coat; make a ball. Cover bowl with a towel and leave in a warm place for 30mins.
~ PREHEAT OVEN TO 400F ~
5. Once dough has risen (dough should be doubled in size), punch it down!
6. Cut into 3 sections
7. Knead each ball separately, roll out, and place on a floured sheet pan.
8. Bake for 5-10mins (dough should still be white but firm)

Mediterranean

This week will be a Mediterranean-inspired food week ... let the recipe finding begin!
p.s. If anyone out there is reading this and has a good recipe or two, please feel free to share! So far I've gotten as far as thinking about Greek Salad and Spanakopita.

Salad Rolls - Recipe

Salad Rolls ... serves 8 or ... make as many as you'd like!

1 (80z.) pkg. vermicelli noodles
8oz. shrimp, cooked, peeled, cut in 1\2
8 rice wrappers (6.5" diameter) - these are found in the dry goods section at T&T ... they come in a round disc-like package
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup shredded lettuce
1\4 cup shopped basil
1\2 cup hoisin sauce (we used a spicy peanut sauce instead)
**I added chopped mint as well ... this added a nice freshness

1. In a medium saucepan bring water to boil. Remove from heat. Add vermicelli noodles. Soak 3-5mins. Drain and rinse.
2. Fill large bowl with hot water. Dip one rice paper into hot water for 1sec. to soften. Lay flat and pat dry. Add noodles, shrimp, carrot, lettuce, basil and mint in center.
Roll the edges of the wrapper slightly inward. Beginning at the bottom edge of the wrapper, tightly wrap the ingredients. Repeat.
3. In a small bowl, mix hoisin sauce with water. Heat in microwave.
4. Serve with warm dipping sauce.

Lettuce Wraps - Recipe

Lettuce Wraps - serves 2-4 (depending on whether this is an appetizer or served as an entree)

1 head iceburg lettuce (we used butter leaf lettuce instead ... yum!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece of ginger (thumb-sized) grated
1 red chili pepper, de-seeded and finely sliced (USE GLOVES when handling chili pepper ... it will leave a warmth on your fingers for the rest of the night otherwise)
2 shallots, finely sliced
1\2 cup firm tofu, cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, grated
4-5 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (I like the *idea* of shitake mushrooms, but the flavoring is pretty ... well, pungent is the best word I can think of to describe this mushroom ... don't think I'd use 'em next time).
1\2 cup shredded cabbage
3 spring onions
2 cups bean sprouts (HARD TO FIND at this time of year ... maybe I should have tried shopping at Lucky 97)
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 cup basil, roughly chopped
1\2 cup peanuts, chopped

1. Drizzle oil onto wok. Add garlic, ginger, chili, shallots. Add tofu, carrot, mushroom, cabbage, onions.
Add lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce. Add bean sprouts. Mix
2. Cut off stem of lettuce.
3. Assemble wraps. Set out basil and peanuts for garnish.

This particular dish went over REALLY WELL with J. He thought it was orgasmically good. For me ... well ... despite all the flavorful ingredients, the final flavor just didn't seem fully balanced. Maybe it's because I have a sweet tooth and would have liked a teriyake-esque flavoring. This was all about the flavor of the ingredients coming through. Again ... would not use shitake mushrooms next time. Am I being too hard on this recipe??

Meal #7

This nights meal was FUN to make: Salad Rolls and Braised Veggies.
1. I have never worked with rice paper wrapping and let me just say ... after a few tries, it becomes easy and fun to work with!
You fill a large bowl with hot water, dip the dried rice paper in until it softens. Pat dry and fill it with your ingredients. Sounds simple, right? I guess it is, however, I admit to there being a few "casualties". We still ate them. It was odd ... the recipe didn't include a recipe for dipping sauce. We just used a spicy peanut sauce that also goes great with dipping grilled veggies in.
2. For the Braised Veggies it called for Corn Starch to thicken the sauce. I could not believe how well this worked! I want to use it all the time now!! (Or ... at least more often. It tastes great on the first night but for left overs be prepared to deal with a gelatinous substance before it's heated again. If textures bug you - make only enough for one meal).

Meal #6

This meal was all about lettuce wraps and ... MORE green papaya salad! 1. I love the taste. 2. That recipe makes a solid amount!
But let me reassure you, this is the last of it.

Spicy Thai Green Papaya Salad - Recipe

Hi folks!

Life with sketchily working internet is soon at a close ... until then, lets hope this goes through!

Here is a majoryly YUMMY recipe for Spicy Thai Green Papaya Salad. Takes a bit of prep work, but it's something you can REALLY sink your teeth into. Serves 6.

1\2 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp +1Tsp fish sauce
1\4 cup minced shallot
3 serrano chilies, seeded and finely chopped (or 1 red chili pepper - CAUTION ... you will feel a burn if you touch it directly. Use gloves if you have some on hand!)
3Tbsp palm sugar (I just used brown sugar with a splash of maple syrup)
1 1\2 Tsp minced garlic
2 med-large green papayas, peeled, seeded, shredded (I used one large papaya - made plenty! p.s. if you can find shredded papaya, the time saver is worth the extra cost. I am still wishing I found some!)
2 carrots, shredded
2 Tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 Tbsp cilantro leaves and 1\3 cup for garnish
1\2 cup finely chopped peanuts, garnish

1. In a blender, combine lime juice, fish sauce, shallot, chilies, sugar and garlic. Blend until smooth. Set aside 15mins.
2. In a medium bowl, combine papaya, carrots, mint, chopped cilantro. Add dressing and toss. Garnish with remaining cilantro and peanuts.

Happy Eating!

Meal #5

Thank goodness for the "one pot" miracle that is curry and rice. At the end of today I could barely lift my feet, let alone attempt to tackle another new recipe. Tonight's meal is no more difficult than making some KD (albeit, a deluxe version). May I introduce my version of coconut red curry with shrimp!

Meal #4 Update

OOPS!
Just realized I had forgotten to name those dishes from last night. They were Pad Thai and Spicy Green Papaya Salad. I will include the Green Papaya salad recipe in a new post ... way too yummy not to share! But for now I must try to return to the land of slumber and catch a few more zzzzz's. Sweet Dreams.

Meal #4

Whew! What a day! I've been pondering what the best way to organize my meals would be, by a weekly basis ... grocery shopping for a million different things to accomodate whatever I decided to make that night on a whim just seemed well ... a bit wasteful.
So I've decided this week will be Asian inspired. Namely, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
I spent a good half of my afternoon at T&T at West Edmonton Mall ... may I just say ... What a place!!! I've dipped in here and there at different times, but it usually only involved picking up some pre-made shrimp salad rolls ... they are delish! But today. A completely different experience. I was shopping for produce, for noodles, for sauces, for frozen ... I was all over the place in there and came out fairly successful! Admittedly, there were a few ingredients that didn't make it to my cart, but I hope that won't affect the weeks' meals too much.

On another note ... I have discovered how unfamiliarity with ingredients can affect the cooking time ... what probably should have taken only 30mins ended up taking 2 HOURS! And that only turned out two dishes! Sigh ... one word for you, folks: PRE-shredded green papaya. I think standing there shredding the papaya alone was the major time killer.

But here we are ... it was a fun day exploring the unfamiliar aisles of T&T ... fun to cook up something new for me and my hubby ... and now with a full belly and a satisfying tingle in my fingers (from touching the HOT CHILI PEPPER) ... not to mention tingle on my cheek from my hubby in cat-like bliss snuggling up to me ... I think it's been a successful start to Asian cuisine week.

Meal #3

Phewf ... tonight's meal somewhat redeems last night's food blunder(s).

1. I learned a lesson on how to balance out tomato sauce when it tastes too "tangy" ... believe it or not, add a pinch of brown sugar! The disastrous garden sloppy joe reared its ugly head and made a re-appearance tonight, but instead of being shunned, was welcomed with open mouths. The sugar really helped!

2. I made savory scones ... I don't mean to toot my own horn, but this is the first time I've made scones as savory delectibles. They weren't bad! Think: Minced garlic, cheddar cheese, fresh basil ... all wrapped into doughy goodness. That best sums it up.

3. An old favorite .. Taco Salad.
I like this salad SO much, I will leave you the recipe below. What I'm leaving is an adaptation from the "Chicken Taco Salad" out of "Bikini Bootcamp" book. I admit to buying this book on a whim, but now I use several of the recipes over and Over ... they've become staples. Here's a link if you'd like to check this book out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767925904

Taco Salad - 1 serving
1.5 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1\2 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tomato, cubed
1\4 avocado, cubed
handful of tortilla chips crumbled
a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Salsa Mexicana (recipe below)

1. Combine the lettuce, beans, tomato, avocado and toss in a bowl. Toss with the oil and season to tate with salt and pepper.
2. Add crumbled taco chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and salsa to taste and serve

Salsa Mexicana - 4 servings
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1\2 large onion, chopped
1\4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1\2 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced (OPTIONAL)
Salt and pepper

1. Combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and chile in a medium bowl and mix well.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep chilled.

*Tip - It's best not to keep fresh salsa for more than a day or two because the tomatoes become acidic.

Bon Appetite!

Meal #2

Well ... meal #2 was not as big a hit as #1. We ended up having left overs from meal #1 (more soup and potato wedges), with the addition of something called "garden sloppy joes". Sounds good but I didn't have any buns on hand so I used couscous instead. This probably would have been okay, but the couscous was well ... old tasting. No expiry date on the box so I had no idea ahead of time. Like troopers, we went ahead and dove into our meal. Lets just say I hope tonight's meal tastes better.

Anyone want my garden sloppy joe left overs?? I'm only half-kidding ... the recipe made 8 servings and we are a family of 2 + infant ....

Meal #1

My belly is still full from tonight's meal.It began with a Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with goat cheese and avocado, followed by oven roasted potato wedges with minced garlic and shaved goat cheese, rounded out with a bowl of butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish.

The Challenge

I am not a vegetarian but have decided to take on this challenge (and, my husband has graciously accepted the challenge, too!) to make and eat purely vegetable based meals in 2010.

It will be interesting to see what changes may take place in our lives due to this dietary change.

Will we save money, not buying meat? Or will our food intake increase in order to feel full, thus rounding out the bill?

I admit that we do buy a lot of fresh produce as it is, shopping regularly at our local farmers market. I have a feeling that our bill won't change much, but we'll see.

Anyway. Finance isn't the main goal of this challenge. It is to see what delights await us in what still appears to be the "under-dog" of lifestyle choices. Atmittedly, restaurants are becoming much more "vegetarian" friendly, sporting vegetarian meal choices on the menu. But these choices do not outweigh their meatier counterparts.

Tonight will be my first dinner post, displaying photos of our first vegetarian meal of 2010. Stay tuned!