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.

Meatloaf w/ Loads of Veggies

Stop right there, I gotta know right now ... before we go any further ... Meatloaf.  Sorry, I'm dating myself with the '70s Meatloaf reference ... but this one is killer.  Great texture, non-greasy, loads of veggies added - but lots of meaty flavours.  Thanks so much J for the best meatloaf recipe, ever!

1 medium onion, or a leek (both green and white parts), or shallots
1 carrot
1 parsnip
1 medium beet
4 inches celery heart
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Heinz chili sauce
Basil, oregano, handful Italian parsley,
4 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
700 g extra lean ground beef
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c fresh bread crumbs

Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and process until the texture resembles minced veggies. Saute the mixture in some olive oil for several mins (along w/ the minced garlic), then add the sauces, basil, oregano, and some s & p. Saute for another couple of mins, then remove from heat & stir in the parsley; set aside to cool. Once it's cooled a bit, combine the sauteed veggies w/ the sausages, ground beef, eggs & bread crumbs. Place the mixture in the loaf tins, spoon some more chili sauce on top, and place in a 350 oven for 1 hour or so.

This yielded 2 largish loaf tins - used leftovers for sannies; then when I was tired of them, turned the last 2/3 of a tin into a pasta sauce!

Farmhouse Butternut Squash Soup

I know what you're thinking - oh great, baby food! Ahh, but its healthy, so I've got to eat it, right? Well stop that nonsense - this was freaking amazing! Serves 2 - so next time, I'll double the recipe for lunch for next day.

From Gourmet Magazine - may I present, like, the best soup ever?

4 bacon slices (I used 3, pre-cooked!)
4 large garlic cloves, chopped 
2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped (2 small butternut squashes!)
1/2 lb carrots, chopped 
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 thyme sprigs 
2 bay leaves
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 
2 cups water 
1 to 1 1/2 tsps cider vinegar (I chickened out, and used a 1 tbsp sherry!)

Cook bacon in a 4-6-qt heavy pot over med. heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add garlic to fat in pot & cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, about 1 min. Add squash, carrots, apple, thyme, bay leaves, broth, water, ¾ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper and boil, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 15-20 mins. Discard thyme stalks & bay leaves. Purée in a blender, in 2 batches, until smooth . Return to pot and add vinegar (or sherry!). Serve topped w/ crumbled bacon. Delish!

Pork Fried Rice

Leftover pork tenderloin from last weekend (which I froze), was the protein for tonight's fried rice. Just happened to have a bag of brown rice in the freezer (J's wonderful idea), so will simply thaw some frozen peas, scramble a couple of eggs, saute some mushrooms, perhaps use a bit of sliced gailan stalks, chop some green onions, and season all w/ tamari.  Love the easy Sunday night dinners! 

Salmon Cakes

What's not to love about salmon cakes? Easy, healthy, satisfying. I had some leftover smashed potatoes, and my 'secret' ingredient to coat before frying was some crushed crispy fried onions, which my brother B uses on salads!

Drain 2 cans of salmon (save the juice in a freezer bag!), add about a cup of so of smashed potatoes, some finely chopped green onion and red pepper, and parsley, and the juice of half a lemon, add an egg to bind, and some crushed bread crumbs if desired - season w/ s & p.  Make patties, and press into crushed crispy fried onions. (Instead of the fried onions, press patties into cornmeal - which also creates a really nice crust). I sprayed the pan w/ 'Pam', rather than using oil so good times. Served with roasted broccoli w/ red pepper and garlic (recipe below). Wow. Just wow.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Adapted from Anne Lindsay recipe.

I'm the first to admit I'm not a great baker, nor do I aspire to be. That said, I do like successful outings, and this recipe is easy, and super tasty. I'm lazy in the mornings, don't feel like fussing during the week, so these are perfect, along with a smoothy and a piece of fruit. 

Combine 1 cup rolled oats (I used 9 grain) and 1 cup buttermilk, let stand 10 minutes.

In separate bowl, combine 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tbsp. bran, 1 tsp cinnamon (plus I added some cloves and nutmeg), 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, approx ½ cup raisins (plus I added a few dried cranberries).

In separate bowl, combine ½ cup grapeseed oil, just over ¼ cup brown sugar, and 1 egg.

Add all to rolled oats mixture, spoon into muffin cups (plus I topped each muffin with a pecan!), bake at 375 for about 22 minutes – makes 12 muffins. Yummy!

Not Quite Epic Fail ...

I had such high hopes for the Linguine with Brussels Sprouts Barigoule, and um, it just didn't measure up. It was highly seasoned, or so I thought, with lots of veggies (leeks, savoy cabbage), wine, fresh herbs (thyme, parsley) etc. Leftovers were okay, but nothing to write (blog) home about. So no posted recipe forthcoming.  

I will eventually post a fantastic lentil soup recipe however, as have made it twice now, to gleeful results!

Also made Spicy Garlicky Black-Pepper Shrimp and Black-Eyed Peas (which I couldn't find, so used pinto beans instead - are they the same thing?) and was also just allright. Not mind-blowing, but semi-satisfying. Having those leftovers tonight, so while sweet I don't have to cook, I anxiously await the next ta-da attempt.

Tomorrow however, I'm going to make salmon cakes. Have leftover smashed potatoes from the other night, and am going to attempt a secret ingredient coating (of my choosing!), which, if successful, will blow my mind and will post with extra smug! Oh yeah.