Baking treats

After a busy Sunday afternoon of kite flying at the park and running around a splash-pad with Jacob (okay, Meredith sat down on a blanket an knitted), it was time for an evening dessert. Meredith and Jacob hadn't made cookies together in quite a while, so this was a big treat for Jacob. His job is to start, stop, and add ingredients to the mixer.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the in-process work (maybe next time).

I'm very glad Jacob is being taught about kitchen safety while he's young. He knows that he's not supposed to put his fingers in the bowl unless it's not attached to the mixer, and to stay away from the oven when it's on. I hope he enjoys cooking when he's older.

Recipe: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

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Fried Pork with Cashews

• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (check label for gluten-free)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 pound pork (tenderloin, shoulder, or boneless ribs), cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 cup roasted unsalted cashews - half coarsely chopped, half whole
• 1/4 cup fresh whole cilantro leaves

1. Combine the hoisin sauce, water, soy sauce, and pepper flakes in 1 liquid measuring cup.
2. Heat a few teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick (or cast iron) pan over medium-high heat.
3. Brown the pork and push it to the edge of the pan when done.
4. Add the remaining oil, garlic and ginger. Fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds (until fragrant).
5. Push the pork back to the middle of the pan and add the cashews and hoisin mixture.
6. Cook until the sauce has thickened.
7. Mix in cilantro and serve on a bed of fried noodles.

Recipe mostly from What's Cookin, Chicago?

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Hearth 'n' Soul: Chicken Curry

Today's posting is for the Hearth n' soul blog hop hosted by Girlchef where we revisit previously posted recipes at the Haggis and the Herring.

Read more: Chicken Curry

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When I was learning to cook

I remember when I was 12 or 13 and my friend was "teaching me how to cook." This consisted of opening a can of mushrooms, chopping up half an onion and frying it all up with soy sauce. It was quite yummy at the time when a gourmet lunch was opening up a can of Campbell's Chunky Soup.

Until I was in university, I made lots of stir frys. I had access to an unlimited number of sauces from the local Asian grocer so I experimented with some different flavours. I eventually learned that I could use fresh ingredients too, like broccoli and chicken. Wow, what a difference that made from the can of salty mushrooms!

When I saw a cashew pork recipe on What's Cookin, Chicago?, it really brought me back. The cashews sounded yummy and I looked at the calendar to figure out when I could try the recipe out. When we sat down to eat it, wow. What flavour! It was just the right mixture of sweet, salty and spicy.

Recipe: Fried Pork with Cashews

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Cold snap in the UK spikes haggis sales

I've worked in the media before and generally, it's a big no-no to to cut-and-paste press releases as a substitute for news. I'm not going to do that (completely).

Earlier this week, Meredith and I received a personal email from Mr. Thomas Knorpp of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd in the UK with an attached press release about a correlation in a change in weather, upcoming Halloween celebrations, and haggis sales. They also stock not one, but five different varieties. Interesting indeed.

If I wasn't in such a fog with the new baby, wrapping up work, and other related house work, I'd probably give Mr. Knorpp a ring hello thanking him for the email (thank you Vonage and your free calls to the UK), get a few extra tidbits of information for this article and hit him up for some product for my favourite chefs across the pond, Lee and Uncle Chris (since, I imagine, Royal Mail would refuse to send haggis from Sainsbury's to me, in Canada).

Sadly, I need to go to bed instead. So here's the bulk of the article from Mr. Knorpp. Enjoy!

Frosty snap drives spike in Haggis sales as Sainsbury's hits record

October 21, 2010

A lovely plate of haggis and what I imagine is mashed swede or potatoes.
Gosh, I miss the UK! --Dan

This week Sainsbury's announces a record increase in sales of Haggis as figures mark a 168% increase year on year following the drop in temperatures.

Seen as the traditional dish of Scotland, Haggis is historically consumed around Burn's night served with neeps and tatties. But this week, Sainsbury's has sold around 7,000 haggis', largely due to people stocking up on the traditional dish due to the cold weather and family feasts like Halloween.

Temperatures sit 5 degrees lower than this time last year and this immediately affects consumers eating habits. Unlike other retailers, Sainsbury's sells five types of Haggis all year round in its Scottish stores and has helped drive further sales.

This year Sainsbury's expects total Halloween sales across costumes, party accessories and themed food to exceed £10 million, after increasing its range by 100% in the past three years.

Steve Wallace, Sainsbury's Scottish buyer, said: "Haggis is versatile and a great source of protein, whilst providing a warming dish as autumn starts to kick in.

"We suspect that its popularity is due to the temperature snap, it is 5 degrees colder this week, than the same week last year.

"In the run up to Halloween - we know people are holding more big parties and are obviously laying on a traditional feast for their friends and family."

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Meatball (Kefta) Tajine

meatballs

• 1/2 kilo ground lamb and/or chicken
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 can tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch saffron, steeped in 1 oz hot water
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt

1. Combine the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and roll into1-inch balls.
2. In a dutch oven (or tajine), heat 2 tbsp oil on medium, brown the meatballs in batches and set aside (reserve oil).
3. Add onion, garlic and green pepper and saute until onion is translucent (about 10 minutes).
4. Reduce to medium-low. Add parsley, tomatoes, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes for the sauce to thicken.
5. Add cilantro and meatballs and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Serve on saffron-infused cous-cous or rice (for gluten-free).

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This ain't my grandmother's meatballs

My Moroccan grandmother was an excellent baker, but I didn't realize until I was older that the dinners she prepared were quite basic, but tasty nonetheless. Cooking a lunch for 20-25 people on Shabbat was a big job, and she still managed to put together several different choices. In additon to a few tapas (carrots, peppers, and the mandatory challah), she prepared: salad with lemon juice and olive oil dressing; meatballs and potatoes (we soaked up the broth/oil with challah); chicken in a brown sauce, and; cous-cous with chickpeas that we ate with cinnamon and sugar.

It wasn't until after my grandmother passed away that I ventured into a Moroccan restaurant and learned more about how those flavours can mix together. It was a Boujadi that I first tried a meatball tajine and I was blown away. There were familiar flavours and much more. Unfortunately, Boujadi no longer exists, but I'll always remember my first taste of Moroccan food that wasn't my grandmother's.

Recipe: Meatball (Kefta) Tajine

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New at the Haggis and the Herring: Jeremy Nathan Saraga

Jeremy Nathan Saraga was born on October 13 at 12:39 a.m.

Extra special thanks to the excellent nurses and doctors in the labour and delivery, neonatal intensive care and mother and baby units at North York General Hospital in Toronto. There are too many names to mention, but we thank them with all our hearts.

Needless to say, I might be offline for a while in terms of catching up on my favourite food blogs and I hope I have the time to at least post to Meatless Mondays and Hearth and Soul Tuesdays. But don't despair! I've prepared posts ahead of time so you'll still get your regular Sunday and Wednesday posts from us.

As a present for my readers, I've saved up this bonus post that I wrote about six hours before Meredith's water broke:

During Thanksgiving weekend, we stopped by a small Scottish shop in Burlington. It was time to put my money where my mouth is and buy some haggis.

Now for the Jewish contingent, a haggis is kinda like a kishka - intestines or stomach stuffed with oatmeal, ground organ meat (liver, kidney, maybe heart), onions and pepper. It tastes fantastic.

We picked up two smaller haggis made at the But 'N' Ben Butchers in Scarborough - fairly close to home. It was a long way for a haggis to travel.

On the Monday after Thanksgiving it was time to cook the haggis. Without any instructions, all I knew was that the haggis needed to be boiled. I also knew that since it wasn't huge, it probably didn't need to cook for hours.

I decided to serve the haggis with boiled potato, peas and (I couldn't resist) a side of pickled herring. I boiled the potato and haggis together for about 45 minutes before serving.

Recipe: Haggis and Herring


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Haggis and Herring

• 2 small haggis
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 cup peas
• 6-8 pieces of pickled herring

1. Place potatoes and haggis in a pot and fill pot to about 1/2 inch above with boiling water.
2. Simmer on medium-low for about 45 minutes and then drain.
3. Cook peas according to package directions.
4. Place herring in a small bowl.
5. Serve potatoes and peas with butter or margarine.

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Grilled Chicken Cheeseburgers

Note: This isn't one of my typical recipes. I usually don't publish recipes using prepared or partially prepared foods, however, this sandwich can be prepared using fresh ingredients if you choose. The version pictured below uses the prepared ingredients listed.

For each burger:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 President's Choice thick & juicy chicken burger
• 2 slices Country Harvest Oat & Honey bread
• margarine
• 4 slices old Cheddar cheese

1. In a cast-iron pan, fry burgers according to directions (6 minutes on each side on medium-low) so they're crispy and cooked through.
2. Apply margarine lightly to one side of each slice. With the first slice margarine-side-down, put two slices of cheese, burger, 2 slices of cheese, bread (margarine-side up).
3. Fry sandwich on low for 2-3 minutes on each side.
4. Serve with a spinach salad to balance out all the greasy goodness.

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Canadian Thanksgiving.

This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and we were fortunate enough to have our good friends Christopher and Matthew from Chicago join us for dinner. Usually, a visit from them includes a trip to a restaurant, but this time I insisted that I prepare dinner. It wasn't just because I needed to add a photo of my chicken and tomato tajine to the already existing recipe. That was just a bonus. We usually only get together once a year so the intimacy of our dining room was much more conducive to good conversation, and we had so much to catch up on!

Christopher, Meredith and Matthew

Christopher isn't fond of spicy foods and Matthew avoids mushrooms and dark poultry, so I made the tajine exclusively with chicken breasts and opted to not serve jalapeno pickled mushroom as a side dish.

Recipe: Chicken Tajine with Honeyed Tomatoes and Chickpeas

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Taking the easy way out with a good idea

When I saw Brenda Desousa's Grilled Cheeseburger recipe, my mouth started to water. Of course, Brenda did it with homemade burgers and a homemade buttermilk bread.

It didn't take long for my opportunity to appear and I made my own, less-fresh-ingredients version. I couldn't afford the luxury of freshly baked bread and freshly ground meat this particular Thursday evening. Instead, I used frozen meat patties (that turned out quite yummy, thanks President's choice), and store-bought bread (Country Harvest). At least I didn't use Wonderbread :-)

I must say that the result was very tasty despite not having hand-made burgers, and the Country Harvest bread holds up very well in the pan absorbing the flavours well and frying up nicely.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Cheeseburgers

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Spinach and Cheese Dip

• 1 300g package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 block (250g) light cream cheese, cut into 1" cubes
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can (227ml) water chestnuts, drained and sliced
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a food process and run on high until a smooth paste is formed.
2. Serve with chunks of pumpernickel bread.

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Hearth n' soul: Hummus

Today's posting is for the Hearth n' soul blog hop hosted by Girlichef where we revisit previously posted recipes at the Haggis and the Herring.

Recipe: Hummus

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The last of the pumpernickel

After making the bruschetta, I still had a big chunk of pumpernickel bread left over. The following day, with Friday night dinner only a few hours away, I realized that with Meredith's recent aversion to raw onions, she wouldn't want our traditional beans and onions as an appetizer.

Again looking for a cheesy alternative, I remembered the bread and a dip my mom's cousin used to make - not your regular spinach dip with sour cream and Knorr Vegetable Soup mix, but a more robust dip with cream cheese and cheddar. It was served inside a hollowed-out round pumpernickel with chunks of the innards and another bread for dipping.

I lost the recipe years ago, but decided to give it a try anyway. It might not be exactly like hers, but it tasted pretty darn good.

Recipe: Spinach and Cheese Dip



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