Monthly Archives: February 2018

Nut Milks

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Pecan Milk

  • 3/4 cup pecans
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
  1. Soak pecans in bowl with water overnight.
  2. After soaking, pour off the water and rinse pecans well
  3. Blender with 4 cups of hot water for 3 minutes or until completely creamy
  4. Strain through cheesecloth
  5. Store in fridge

For flour, spread pecan pulp onto a tray and cook in open oven (door open) at 170 for 2-3 hours until dry.  Blend the pulp into flour.

 

Almond Milk

  • 1 cup almonds, covered in cold water and soaked overnight
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
  1. Add 3 cups of water and drained almonds to blender.
  2. Blend for 1 minute
  3. Store in fridge

 

Cashew Milk

  • 2 cups cashews, covered in cold water and soaked overnight
  • 2 cups water (include soaking water)
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  1. Blender ingredients in order listed above for 40 seconds
  2. Store in fridge

Aloo Gobi

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1/4 cup (60 mL) of butter
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of whole cumin seeds
2 onions, diced
2 tablespoons (30 mL) curry powder
2 teaspoons (10 mL) of ground cinnamon
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
a sprinkle or two sea salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) of water
1 cup (250 mL) of frozen peas
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems chopped

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and gently fry them for a minute or two to heat them through, remove any shelf staleness and brighten their flavour.

Add the onions and sauté until they soften. Add the curry powder and cinnamon and stir well for another minute or so. The direct heat of the sauté dramatically brightens the flavours of the spices.

Add the sweet potato chunks and cauliflower florets and stir or toss well to coat them with the spices.

Season with salt, add a splash or two of water, cover with a tight-fitting lid and lower the heat. Continue cooking until the sweet potatoes are tender, another 20 minutes or so.

Just before serving, stir in the peas and cilantro, quickly heating them through.

Red Cabbage with Apple

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a splash or two vegetable oil
1 or 2 onions, peeled and sliced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 or 3 your favourite apples, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
a few splashes cider vinegar
a few splashes cider, apple juice or water
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Splash the vegetable oil into a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they’re golden brown. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute or so. Add the cabbage, apples, honey, cider vinegar and the cider (or apple juice or water). Season with salt and pepper.

Bring everything to a simmer and then lower the heat just enough to maintain the simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and continue cooking until the cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes.

Baked Beans (Maple)

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2 cups dried navy or white beans, soaked in lots of cold water overnight
2 cups water
1 cup maple syrup
6 slices thick-cut fried bacon, diced, fat reserved
1 or 2 large onions, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons any mustard
a dash or two Worcestershire sauce
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon any vinegar

Cover the beans in water and soak over night. Strain the beans out of their soaking water and give them a good rinse. No nutrients are lost in the soaking and rinsing; instead, the beans rehydrate, which will speed up their cooking time.

Toss the beans into a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the beans are tender, about an hour or so.

Drain the beans and place them in a 4-quart ovenproof baking dish with a tight-fitting lid. Add the water, maple syrup, bacon, onions, ginger, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Add as much or as little of the reserved bacon fat as you care to.

Cover and place in the oven at 250 degrees and bake until the beans have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, about 3 hours or so. Feel free to add a bit more water if the beans seem dry.

Stir in the vinegar just before serving.

Tomato Basil Bread

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  • 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp instant or bread machine yeast
  • 1/2 Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 Tbsp dried basil
  • 1.5 cups warm water
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 oz. mozzarella, shredded (optional)

  1. Chop the sun dried tomatoes into smaller pieces. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, dried basil, and chopped tomatoes. Stir until they are evenly combined. Stir the shredded mozzarella into the flour mixture.

  2. Dissolve the tomato paste into the warm water. Pour the tomato and water mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until a sticky ball of dough forms. You may need to add slightly more or less water to achieve the correct consistency. The dough should be fairly wet and sticky, but not so wet that it’s glossy or slimy. There should be no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl.

  3. Cover the bowl with the dough loosely, and let it rise for one hour, or until it is double in size.

  4. Once risen, sprinkle the dough liberally with flour and scrape it off the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and fold it over on itself 5-6 times, or just until the dough looks smooth.

  5. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and allow it to rise for another half hour. While the dough is rising, place your Dutch oven in the oven and set it to preheat to 425ºF.

  6. After 30 minutes, very carefully remove the Dutch oven from your oven, and remove its lid. Lift your risen dough by picking up the parchment paper and then place it in the hot Dutch oven, paper and all. Place the lid back on the Dutch oven and return it to the hot oven.

  7. Let the bread bake with the lid on the Dutch oven for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the lid and let it bake for another 15-20 minutes, without the lid, to allow the crust to brown.

  8. Once baked, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven, lift the bread out using the parchment, and allow it to cool before slicing and serving.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

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A splash of vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
A small knob frozen ginger
1 teaspoon (5 mL) of Thai curry paste
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
One 19 ounce (540 mL) can of chickpeas
One 14 ounce (398 mL) can of coconut milk
1 cup (250 mL) of orange juice
1/2 cup (125 mL) of peanut butter or any other nut butter
A sprinkle sea salt
1 cup (250 mL) or so of frozen green peas
Several handfuls baby spinach
A bunch chopped cilantro

Add a splash or two of vegetable oil to a stockpot over medium-high heat. Toss in the onion and garlic and sauté them until they’re lightly browned, about 5 minutes or so.

Grate the frozen ginger into the pan with a Microplane grater or standard box grater and add the Thai curry paste. Continue cooking until the spices are heated through and fragrant, another few minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, orange juice and peanut butter and salt. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and continue simmering until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the peas, spinach and cilantro.

Baked Ham

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1 4 lb ham
2 cups any liquid, fruit juice, wine or meat broth
2 heaping spoonfuls of you favourite condiment; mustard, horseradish, marmalade, jam, jelly, chutney, etc.
1 tablespoon any fresh herb, or 1 teaspoon any spice
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 or 2 sprinkles freshly ground pepper

Place the ham in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add your choice of liquid, condiment and herb or spice and, uncovered, bring to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and continue simmering for 90 minutes or so. The ham is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160 °F (71 °C). At this point you may serve the ham as is, with the broth, or glaze it, bake it in the oven and serve it with a sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 °F (190 °C).

Remove the ham from the simmering liquid and place it in a roasting pan or large saucepan on top of the stove. Pour 1 cup of the broth into another smaller saucepan. Bring it to a boil and continue cooking, reducing it over high heat until it is the consistency of syrup. Brush the glaze all over the ham and then roast it in the oven for 30 minutes, basting once or twice with more glaze.

For the sauce, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Heat the remaining ham broth to a simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Stir until thickened. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Once the ham is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving with the sauce.

 

Sesame Spinach Salad

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1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 lemon, zest and juice
4 handfuls baby spinach leaves
1 handful bean sprouts
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
a few sheets nori seaweed, thinly sliced

In the bottom of a festive salad bowl whisk together the sesame oil, tahini, soy sauce and lemon zest and juice. Toss with the spinach leaves, bean sprouts, red onion, sesame seeds, and the sliced nori.

 

Roasted Potato Bacon Salad

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  • 4 or 5 thick slices of bacon
  • 20 baby red potatoes
  • sea salt and pepper
  • flat leaf parsley
  • pickles
  • 1 tbsp. grainy mustard
  • 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
  • splash of red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut bacon into small pieces and saute until cooked.  Take out the bacon.  Toss the potatoes (cut in half) in bacon fat, salt and pepper and roast them until they’re golden brown, about 40 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.  Toss the potatoes with the bacon pieces, parsley, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and vinegar.

Fennel Salad

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  • 1 fennel bulb
  • zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 few splashes of olive oil
  • sea salt and ground pepper

Slice fennel bulb as thinly as possible.  Whisk together the lemon zest and juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss the dressing with the fennel.

 

OR

  • 2 large fennel bulbs
  • 1 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp. red wine vinegar