Enjoying Endless Summer

What's so great about a nice long Indian summer?  The fact that you can enjoy the summer foods for just a little bit longer.  My absolute favourite summer meal... Pasta salad.  The simplest meal that tastes even better the next day.  I have had many pasta salads in my time but I always come back to my sisters take on it.  Her secret to success?  Pickle juice.  That's it that's all just plain and simple pickle juice mixed into ranch dressing.  First you make your pasta we prefer bow ties (farfalle) or shells (conchiglie) so that they have lots of texture and edges to trap the dressing and smaller pieces of vegetables.  Then we put a whole bunch of cut up vegetables in a bowl, make sure they are cut smaller so there's no complaints from the peanut gallery.  Usually our list includes but is not exclusive to grated carrots, cucumber, onions, pickles (the most important part), tomatoes if you're eating it all the same day otherwise they get watery for the next day, snap peas and anything else that looks delicious in your fridge or may be going bad soon.  Then put the cooked, drained, rinsed pasta in the bowl and mix in your dressing of ranch with pickle juice over top.  The dressing is about the consistency of homemade coleslaw dressing for the right proportion.  This is about halfway between the the consistency of the dressing and water somewhere in there.  Place it in the fridge to chill.  Then the best part! Eating it.  If I am going to eat this salad the next day I always make a little bit extra dressing so i pour some over it right before I eat it and it is ahmazhing!

                             -My most recent pasta baby-

I'm Thankful for Pumpkin

Every year never fail at Christmas and Thanksgiving you can be guaranteed this pie will accompany our spread.  It may possibly be the easiest pie you will ever make requiring nothing more than a blender and a pie plate to make it.  If you are weird like me and don't like crust you get the added bonus of a pie that is crustless.  For all those bakers out there can you guess yet what recipe I am referring to?  Yes it is the Bisquick Impossible Pumpkin Pie recipe.  Now that I've talked it up so much I hope it lives up to expectation.

Bisquick Impossible Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

3/4 C          Granulated Sugar

1/2 C          Bisquick

1 (13oz)  Can  Evaporated Milk

2              Eggs

1 (16oz) Can   Pumpkin

1/2 tsp        Nutmeg

1 tsp          Cinnamon

2 tsp          Vanilla

1/4 tsp        Cloves

1/4 tsp        Ginger

2 Tbsp         Butter

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine all ingredients in blender and blend for one minute until smooth.  If you don't have  blender combine all the ingredients and beat with a hand mixer for two minutes until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

*if you don't have nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger you can replace it with pumpkin pie spice.

Tis the Season to be Canning

Ok, not the canning per se of peaches, pears and raspberry jam but just as delicious.  This is a marinade that is fantastic on chicken and other meats.  The tartness of the lemon is balanced by the cinnamon and adds a certain oomph that isn't found in your typical lemon juice marinade.  The only setback to the recipe is it has to season for a month before you can use it so they may not be ready for this barbeque season this year.  Trust me though the wait is scrumptiously worth it. 

Spiced preserved lemons

Ingredients:

6     Lemons, washed

4     Tbsp kosher salt

2     Cinnamon sticks

1/2   Tsp coriander seeds

1/2   Tsp black peppercorns

2     Bay leaves

1     Tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

1. Quarter two lemons, but not all the way through – they should look like open flowers.
2. Sprinkle insides of cut lemons with kosher salt and place in a ceramic or glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.
3. Put a weight over lemons (like a can of tomatoes sitting in a bowl), and leave on counter for two days.
4. Pack lemons tightly into jar and add remaining salt, spices and bay leaves. Juice remaining lemons, pour into jar and top with olive oil. Make sure lemon juice totally covers lemons. Refrigerate for at least one month before using to allow flavours to develop. Then store in the fridge and use within one year.

-Enjoy-

WHAT! A Healthy Cake!

Hello hello hello. I know a lot has changed since I last updated you on my recipe repertoire, I've been given cookbooks and won cookbooks so I truly have no excuse for not sharing delicious recipes with you.  Before all this happened though i made a promise to post a recipe and now I am going to follow through on that promise.  Sorry it took so long to get to you Sarah but here is the vegetable cake recipe i promised.

Vegetable Cake

The original recipe:

Ingredients:

Base:
2 Tbsp oil (plus extra for brushing)
4 Large waxy potatoes, sliced


Topping:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Leek chopped
1 Red pepper diced
1 Green pepper diced
1 Carrot grated
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
8 oz full fat soft cheese
4 Tbsp grated mature cheese
2 eggs beaten

Preparation:

- Brush an 8 inch springform with oil
- For the base heat the oil in a frying pan cook the potato slices until softened and browned. Layer in the bottom of the springform
- For the topping heat the oil in a frying pan add the leeks and cook until softened ~ 3-4 minutes.  Add the carrot, peppers and parsley cook until soft ~ 5-7 minutes.
- Beat the eggs and cheese together in a bowl add the cooked vegetable mixture and season with some salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture over the potato layer and cook at 375 for 20-25 minutes until the cake has set.

My not so original version:

I removed the whole bottom layer of potatoes because I don't like the taste of fried potatoes.  I took out the peppers and added other vegetables like beets and celery and onions because in my eyes they add more flavour to the dish.  I also took out the soft cheese just because it isn't something i generally have on hand and replaced it with old white cheddar in my opinion it ends up being the same a bit dryer but that's ok.  I also added chilli flakes and hot sauce and some other spices that I can't remember right now.  In my eyes this dish is all about your own personal taste buds so whatever tickles your fancy just experiment and make this your own 

                           -Slice and Enjoy-

Chicken of the Sea

Hello, hello, hello. I have heard through the grape vine that you guys are getting bored of looking at my fennel blog.  I decided that finally I should update you on the food that I have been eating as of recent.  To begin this story at the beginning you should know that I really don't like fish.  Amazingly enough I actually somewhat enjoyed this recipe all things considered.  If you are interested you can find this recipe on the bon appetit website. Without further ado I bring the recipe to you.

Spice Encrusted Salmon With Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets with skin
• Lime wedges
• 
  

Preparation

• Mix yogurt, cilantro, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon oil, ginger, and garlic in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Place fennel seeds and coriander seeds in heavy-duty plastic bag. Using mallet, crush seeds. Sprinkle fillets with salt, pepper, and seeds.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fillets, seed side down. Cook until brown, about 3 minutes. Turn over. Cook until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons lime juice. Place fillets on plates. Top with sauce; serve with lime wedges.

I am so sorry i forgot to take a picture of this dish as it wasn't my intent to put this recipe up. I will try for next time. :)

Uno Problemo

Ok, here is my problem.  I bought this fennel/anise bulb at superstore today and I'm not sure what to do with it.  In case you're wondering superstore calls this anise and bonappetit calls this fennel, who is right we are not sure.  My real problem is not that I don't know what to make with this, it is that I went into a grocery store without a clearly defined list.  When I do that I always make impulse buys on things that we don't actually need but I think look cool or might taste good.  I went in to superstore to get one thing, evaporated milk for pumpkin pie and came out with swiss chard and a fennel bulb.  The swiss chard was because it tastes fantastic and the fennel because I have never used it in cooking before but I think it should taste good.  Anyways, I have three recipes that I have to decide between for the fate of this fennel bulb they are; braised fennel, fennel and green beans or pork marinated in fennel.  If you want you please leave a comment on what I should do below.  

An Interesting Taste to a Traditional Accompaniment

Hello again world.  I got buns on my brain, actually it's more like bread but when I read that line from a Stephanie Plum book today I knew I had to incorporate it into my post.  I am so sorry Janet Evanovich, I give you full credit for that line, it suits Lula to a t by the way.  I should probably carry on and quit holding you back from today's recipe... I know the suspense is probably killing you.  This recipe only came into my repertoire because of the best social teacher I ever had in grade 10.  He assigned a project to make a cookbook of the common social studies terms and explain the recipes and certain procedures that would make that recipe describe that word.  Anyways the end result of this long and probably boring story to you guys is that I couldn't find a recipe that would fit the word, melting pot.  That being said I hit the high road and went to the favourite homework hub of an average teenager, google and found this recipe.  Today I give it to you because I think it would accent the curry carrot soup of the previous blog quite nicely.  Without further adieu I give you, curried wheat bread.

Curried Wheat Bread

Ingredients

- 1 Tbsp                   Active dry yeast

- 2 1/2 Tsp               Curry Powder
- Pinch                     Tumeric
- 1/2 cup                  Warm water
- 3/4 cup                  Warm whole milk
- 1 Tbsp                   Honey


- 2 Tbsp                  Vegetable oil
- 2 tsp                      Salt
- 1 cup                    Whole wheat flour
- 2 - 2 1/4 cups        Bread flour

Preparation

In a large bowl combine the yeast, curry, tumeric, water, milk and honey.  Let stand for five minutes, until the mixture is foamy to ensure the yeast is active.  Stir in the vegetable oil, salt, whole wheat and bread flour, enough until it pulls nicely away from the sides.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until elastic.  Cover and let stand until double its size approx. an hour and a half.   Knock the dough back and shape into an oblong loaf.  Dust with flour and bake in a 375 degree F oven for 30-35 minutes, or when you knock on the top of the loaf and it sounds hollow.