Roast Beast Sannies

Was craving same, so seared off a heavily seasoned medium sized top round roast, deglazed the pan with red wine and dijon mustard, placed all in slow cooker - come back 5 hrs later - and tada!  Wrap and cool in fridge overnight.

We have loads of peppery lettuce that reseeded from last year (wow - didn't know lettuce did that!), so made 6 large multigrain bunwiches, slathered with equal amounts of horseradish, grainy dijon and mayo (4 into the freezer), the remaining two loaded up with lettuce.  OMG yum!

Lentil Salad

I had to use ‘common’ green lentils for this recipe, much to my chagrin, as it calls for Puy lentils, which sadly, I cannot find. Oh well, will try to cope. Was quite tasty, something different. Had with some Thai sausages from Nester’s for leftovers, nice combo! Oh, I also doubled the recipe below.

I small onion
2 whole cloves
1 ½ cups puy lentils
1 large strip lemon zest (I used way more)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped mint (I used more)
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Stud the onion w/ the cloves, and place in a saucepan with the lentils, zest, garlic, bay leaf, 1 tsp of the cumin, and 3 ½ cups water. Bring to boil, then simmer gently over med heat for 25-30 mins, or until lentils are tender. Drain off any excess liquid – discard the onion, zest and bay leaf. Reserve the garlic, and finely chop.

Whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, garlic and remaining cumin. Stir the dressing through the lentils, along with the mint and green onion. Season well, the leave for 30 mins for allow flavours to develop. Serve at room temperature.

Tabbouleh Salad

You know its summer in the Okanagan when I break out the tabbouleh! Our fave go-to salad. Great for picnics, and quick lunches. I add feta for extra protein, but it is not required. Makes, like, a LOT of salad.

3/4 cup fine bulgur
1 1/2 cup boiling water
4 bunches finely chopped fresh parsley (I do this in the food processor)
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
One bunch green onions, chopped
Combo of chopped tomatoes, cucumber & carrots (these are all optional, but I love veggies in this salad)
Some chopped feta cheese
Some olive oil
Juice and zest from 2 limes
s & p to taste

Stir together bulgur & boiling water, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand 20 mins. Drain in a sieve, pressing on bulgur to remove any excess liquid.

Combine bulgur and all remaining ingredients. Keeps really well in the fridge, tastes better each day. Top up with more lime juice and olive oil throughout the week.

Falafel Wraps

I totally forgot about these! It was glorious last weekend (seems like forever ago), so I made some humous and some tsatsiki, and the next day, threw together some wraps, which we brought to Thornhaven winery, and ate same, and drank some yummy wine on their sun-drenched deck!

Box falafel mix. Its actually quite good - have used on several occasions. Use half the box, form patties, cook in a little oil, cool slightly.
Humous, tsatsiki
Chopped cucumber, tomatoes, shallots
Multigrain wraps

Spread some humous on wrap, place some falafel patties on top, add chopped veggies, top with tsatsiki – roll. They are quite messy – fork & knife required! 

What ISN’T in this soup, Beef Soup

Another slow cooker mash up. Hey – its still cold and yucky here – when you can’t get a hug from mom, you need your soup.

1 lb of stewing beef
4 cups water, and some liquid beef bovril
A can of chopped tomatoes
A small can of V-8 juice
A small hunk of tomato paste
Chopped onion, celery, carrots, peppers
½ cup pearl barley
A bunch of sliced brown mushrooms
A bag of chopped spinach
Some leftover cooked brown rice
Seasoning, incl fresh rosemary

This is supper tonight - yay!

Chicken and Veggie Thai Curry

Okay, its been embarrassingly long since I posted.  

This was totally throw together, 'everything but the kitchen sink curry', but oh so tasty. Loads of leftovers too – which rocks.

A bunch of chicken – srsly, I think I used 6-8 breasts – large chunks
Veggies – lots of mushrooms, cauliflower, peppers, onions, carrots, spinach, and even a bit of wimpy broccoli (am I forgetting anything?)
Thai curry
light coconut milk
bunch of chopped cilantro and sliced limes, after cooking

Combine all in slower cooker. Walk away. Come back later, ladle into bowls, add cilantro and lime – enjoy.

Its pretty bad when your sister, on vacay in Spain, updates her blog more than I!  I've been cooking, just not anything noteworthy, or rather; I've been repeating recipes I adore - nothing wrong with that action. Spring is so slow in coming, that I've been resisting trying new recipes - and have reverted back to old comfort food standbys. My bad - no excuses. Hopefully the next few weeks will warm up, and I'll get inspired culinarily speaking, and at least spark up the bbq. Here's to that!

Italian Meatball Soup Rapido

Addendum:  I make this ALL THE TIME NOW!  

Rapido you say? I'm there! Recipe from Gourmet Magazine. I've tried the President's Choice 'Blue Menu' Italian Meatballs - and they rock! Plus, this is so easy, and the spinach and beans boost the vitamin factor, and its tasty galore, particularly for lunch the next day. 

Chop: 1 medium onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 celery rib, 2 carrots, some chopped peppers. Saute in 2 tbsp olive oil.

Stir in:  6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to boil, simmer.

Meanwhile, cook approx 30 meatballs in oven.  (should take approx 16 mins).

Add meatballs to soup along with 2 cans of beans (I used one white, and one romano) and briskly simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and meatballs are heated through. Stir in bag of chopped spinach (have also substituted rapini and kale!), some parm, s & p, and simmer uncovered, until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Chopped flat leaf parsley on top is a nice addition as well.

Bueno appetito!

Pasta with White Beans and Rapini

My fondest memory of rapini, would be springtime, Saturday mornings at the Santa Barbara Market, avec Jennifer, and seeing all the old Italian men buying heaps of rapini like it was going out of style. We'd ask the men how their wives would prepare it - they'd respond, very simply, sauteed in olive oil with garlic and red chili flakes; or blanched, with pasta. Unfortunately, I never did go down the rapini road when I lived in Vancouver - as I thought their bitter greens would be inedible (silly me), but the rapini gods are smiling at Save-On Foods in Penticton, so I was inspired! And thank goddess. This was so amazing - very Jaime Oliver in Italy - rustic, comfort, peasant food at its finest. Jaime - can I join you on your next Euro adventure? (Even if it doesn't involve cooking?)

1 big bunch rapini 
375 g package whole wheat penne 
extra-virgin olive oil 
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs 
4 cloves garlic, minced 
sea salt, large pinch hot pepper flakes 
1 large can white beans, drained and rinsed
Grated parm 

Trim base of rapini stalks; then roughly chop into 1" pieces. In large pot of boiling salted water, blanch rapini until tender, 1-2 mins. With slotted spoon, transfer to colander to drain; set aside.

In same pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until tender but firm, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid (I needed same!).  Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat some oilive oil over medium heat; fry bread crumbs and 1/4 of the garlic, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.

In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat; fry remaining garlic and hot pepper flakes, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Stir in rapini and beans; heat through, about 3 minutes. Add to pasta and toss to coat, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if desired, and some parm. Serve sprinkled with bread crumb mixture, and bit more parm.

Whole Grain Maple Oatmeal Scones

Makes 8 yummy scones.  

I'm a lousy baker - I really am. But these were easy to make (much to my delight), and even easier to consume!  Bring on the goodness ...

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (I used 9 grain)
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup milk *
1/3 cup yogurt * (preferably Greek or whole-milk)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

*Note: you can substitute 2/3 buttermilk for the milk + yogurt – which I did!

For brushing and sprinkling on top of the scones: 1 tbsp milk; 1 tbsp maple syrup; 2 tbsp oats (I substituted Red River cereal!)

Preheat oven to 400.

Whisk together flour, baking powder & soda, brown sugar, salt & cinnamon in a large bowl, then transfer that mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Add the oats & pulse in short bursts (1 sec each) about 15 times. Drop in the pieces of cold butter and pulse again in short bursts until coarse meal forms, about another 15 pulses.

Transfer this mixture back into the large bowl. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, yogurt and maple syrup. Pour the liquid into the flour/oat/butter mixture, and stir gently with a fork until it’s moistened and starts to come together. Using your hand, gather the dough into a ball right in the bowl and knead it a few times against the side of the bowl to bring the dough together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Using a sharp knife, cut like a pie into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Whisk together 1 tbsp milk and 1 tbsp maple syrup in a little bowl. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp oats across the tops of the scones.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Cool on a rack.