Japanese Squash Curry

The original recipe called for Kuri squash which is not available in my location.  I used a butternut squash which worked well.  This is a nice veg dish if served over some Jasmine rice.  Based on Food and Drink Holiday 2016.

1 Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cutes
6 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp Japanese Curry powder
1 cup diced onion
1 cup unpeeled coarsely grated apple
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cups chopped kale or baby spinach
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

• Preheat oven to 450F.
• Toss cubed squash with 4 tbsp oil.  Season with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp Japanese curry powder.  Placed on oiled baking sheet and roast for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once or until squash is fork tender and tinged with gold.
• Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion to skillet and sauté for 2 minutes or until softened.  Add half the grated apple, remaining curry powder, ginger and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes or until fragrant.  If mixture is too dry, add 1 to 2 tbsp more oil.
• Stir in stock a little at a time until well combined.  Bring to boil, stirring.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.  Add remaining apple and cook 1 minute more.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Add squash to skillet and cook in sauce for 5 minutes or until squash has absorbed flavour.  Stir in kale and cook for 1 minute or until wilted.  Garnish with cilantro just before serving.  Serve with rice.

Zucchini, Tomatoes and Herbs

A quick, healthy and delicious side dish!  I don’t find you need to add the salt for this but I included it from the original recipe from Food and Drink Spring 2015.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion sliced
4 medium zucchini cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
24 cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup lightly packed chopped dill
1/4 cup lightly packed mint leaves, sliced

• Heat oil in a large high sided skilled (love using my cast iron) over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, or until translucent.  Stir in zucchini, sea on generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes or until tender crisp.
• Pour vinegar over, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated about 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes to pan, toss to combine, cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until zucchini are tender and tomatoes have just burst.
• Remove from heat, stir in dill and turn out onto a platter or shallow serving bowl; sprinkle with mint.

Serves 10

Bradford Vegetable Soup

My kids will like this one!  I used to make this for the holidays as a starter to the turkey/ham…it has always been a favourite.  I will give you the original recipe but will say that I have changed it now by not adding the cream to the pot.  I got a small 5% cream and just put a dash of it in the individual serving bowl.  I also added some Parmesan Cheese on the top.

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks white and light green parts
3 cups chopped celery
3 cups diced carrots
10 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup long grain rice
freshly ground pepper
2 cups light cream
1/2 finely chopped green onion tops or chives
2 tbsp butter


In large saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter over medium low heat.  Add onions, leeks, celery and carrots and cook stirring frequently about 8 to 10 min.

Pour in stock and rice.  Bring to a boil and season with pepper.  Reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender and rice is cooked 20 - 30 min.

Add cream, heat through and taste for seasoning.  Just before serving stir in green onions and swirl in remaining butter.

Quick Vegetable Curry

Really simple and yummy!  This can be served warm or cold and is nice with the naan bread.  From Canadian Living 2013.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
 2 tsp curry powder ( switched this with Indian Masala)
3/4 cup diced red onion
Half sweet red pepper, diced
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrot
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup rinsed drained canned chickpeas
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup diced cucumber
2 tbsp 2% plain Greek yogurt

In nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat; cook garlic and curry powder, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add onion; cook, stirring often, until softened slightly about 3 minutes.

Add red pepper, carrot, 3 tbsp water, salt and pepper; cook, stirring often, until carrot is softened slightly, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water; cook, stirring, just until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.

Serve with cucumber and yogurt.

Spicy Collards and Kale

I wasn't able to find collards at my little grocery store but I did find Swiss Chard and substituted it.  It worked out really well.  I haven't had a chance to try collards but will give it a try when I get a chance.  This is a great spicy dish with lots of flavour and texture.  I also didn't have Nando's Peri-Peri sauce but used good old Tabasco sauce instead.  From Fresh Juice Magazine 2013.

3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 bunch kale, washed and centre stems removed
1 bunch collard greens, washed and centre stems removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce

1. On chopping board using back of knife or with mortar and pestle, mash garlic and salt until coarse paste; set aside.
2. Stack kale and collards in bunches, roll tightly lengthwise, like a cigar, and slice thinly crosswise; set aside.
3. In large skillet over medium, heat oil.  Add onion and garlic paste; stir until soft and starting to become golden, about 2 minutes.  Add red pepper; stir for about 45 seconds. Add kale and collards; cook for about 1 minute, using tongs to separate ribbons of greens and fold in with onion mixture.  Add hot sauce; toss to combine.  Cook until greens are slightly wilted and vibrant green, 3 minutes.  Remove from and adjust seasoning to taste, if desired.  Serve warm.

Quinoa Risotto

There are several varieties of Quinoa out there now and a bit of colour in this dish works well.  We eat a lot of quinoa in our house so this was a nice recipe to try.  From Food and Drink Autumn 2010.

1 cup water
1/2 cup quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup carnaloni rice
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups hot vegetable, chicken stock or water
2 cups roasted diced squash ***
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp white truffle oil, optional

Garnish
1/4 cup Parmesan shavings

1. Place water in a small pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Add quinoa, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.  Remove from burner and set aside to steam, still covered while preparing rice.
2. Heat oil in a wide heavy bottom soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add rice and saute until rice is becoming whiter and feels very hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.  Add onion and saute another 2 minutes or until softened.
3. Add vegetable stock, bring to boil, cover pan and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 12 to 14 minutes or until rice is al dente.
4. Add squash and quinoa along with another splash of stock if mixture seems dry.  Stir until they are fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in Parmesan cheese, butter and parsley.  Serve hot with a small drizzle of white truffle oil.  Garnish with shaved Parmesan.

***To roast squash, toss diced squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, place on a baking sheet and roast at 400F for 15 to 18 minutes or until tender and golden, tossing once halfway through cooking.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto

I really love brussels sprouts…which is funny because when I was younger I wouldn't have touched them.  The original recipe for this asked for pine nuts which are not a favourite in my house so I have omitted them…If you wanted to add them just put 3/4 cup pine nuts into the skillet at the end.

1 1/2 lbs (750 g) brussels sprouts
1/4 cup olive oil
6 slices prosciutto, chopped (bacon would also work well)
Salt and freshly ground pepper (I also didn't use salt…the prosciutto has lots)

1. Remove root end and core from brussels sprouts, cut in half and thinly slice.
2. Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat.  Add Prosciutto.  Saute until beginning to crisp.  Add sprouts and saute for 3 minutes.  Cover pan and cook 2 minutes longer or until sprouts are crisp tender.  Season with salt and pepper.

Green Beans Gremolata

This recipe also works well with new potatoes, carrots, baby zucchini and broccoli.

500 g Green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

In saucepan of lightly salted boiling water, cook green beans for 5 minutes or until tender crisp; drain well.

Combine parsley, lemon rind and garlic; toss with beans along with oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Tarts

This is a really rich accompaniment to dinner, but a very nice treat.  The pastry is very rich and if 1 tbsp is added, can be used for butter or fruit tarts.  If mushrooms are not your thing, substitute onions or your favourite roasted vegetable.  From Food and Drink 2003.

PASTRY
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter, diced
1 cup cream cheese, diced

FILLING
2 tbsp butter
250 g fresh mushrooms, chopped
250 g wild mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place flour and salt in food processor.  Scatter over butter and cream cheese.  With on-off motion, pulse together.  Remove from processor and form into ball.  Chill for 30 minutes.  (I don't have a food processor so I use the old method of a pastry cutter and cut the butter and cream cheese into the dough by hand, you can also use two knives to do it.)
2. Pinch 1 inch balls from pastry and pat into small tart or muffin tins.  Chill until needed.
3. Preheat oven to 400F.
4. Heat butter in skillet, add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes until juices disappear.  Add garlic and cream, bring to boil, add lemon juice, green onion and parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon into pastry cases.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is edged with gold and mushroom filling is hot.  Turn out of tins and cool 10 minutes.  These may be frozen on cookie sheets, placed in frozen state at 350F for 15 minutes or until filling is hot. 

Makes about 30 tarts.

Vegetable Crudite with Tarragon Mustard Dip

Choose the best vegetable you can get and try to vary the colour.  You can also use this dip for shrimp and chicken.  From Food and Drink 2011

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon

Vegetables can include: radishes (trimmed and halved) blanched snap peas, sweet bell pepper strips, small carrots and asparagus spears

1. In a bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, mustard, salt, pepper and tarragon.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 2 days.
2. To serve, spoon a scant 1/4 cup into a small stemless Martini glass.  Stand glass on a plate and arrange fresh vegetables around plate.

Green Bean and Cashew Jumble

500 g Green Beans (1lb)
1 sweet red pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp bottled black bean and garlic sauce
3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock, divided
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted unroasted cashews

Trim ends off green beans and slice each in half crosswise.  Slice red pepper into strips.

In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients for the sauce: Cornstarch, black bean sauce and 1/2 cup stock.

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan.  Add green beans and peppers and stir fry for 1 minute or until the pan gets dry.  Add 1 tbsp of the stock, stir to mix and cover; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more stock when pan gets dry.  Pour in sauce and cashews, and stir until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Grilled Zucchini Pepper Wraps with Lemon Grass Aioli

These are great as appetizers or as a side dish.  For maximum flavour make the Aioli ahead of time.  If you have a hard time finding Lemon Grass, substitute for your favourite herb.  I used Basil and it came out just fine. This recipe came from the Food & Drink Summer 2011.

I absolutely love grilled vegetables and this is a nice switch to the usual that I make.

Aioli

2 stalks lemon grass
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Wraps

4 medium zucchini, each about 7 x 1 3/4 inches
3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt (I left this out)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
36 thin strips each sweet orange and yellow pepper (2 peppers cut up)

• For the aioli, cut lemon grass stalks in half lengthwise.  Trim out tender inner hearts and the tenderest inner layers.  Reserve remaining lemon grass for another use.  Finely mince hearts and enough of the tender layers to make about 2 tbsp.
• In a small skillet, heat oil over medium low heat.  Saute minced lemon grass (if using fresh herbs instead add at the end) and garlic for about 3 minutes or until softened but not browned.  Transfer to a heat proof bowl and let cool.  Whisk in mayonnaise until blended.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to blend the flavours or for up to 2 days.
• For the wraps, heat barbecue to medium.
• Trim ends from zucchini.  Cut lengthwise into thin slices, about 1/3 inch thick, until you have 36 slices.  In a shallow dish, combine oil, coriander, salt and cayenne.  Add zucchini and rub or brush to coat evenly with spices.  Grill, turning once for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until grill marked and tender (do not let crisp).  Return to shallow dish and let cool to room temperature.
• To assemble hold 1 strip orange pepper and 1 strip yellow pepper together.  Wrap 1 slice of zucchini horizontally around peppers, with peppers sticking above the top edge of zucchini.  Secure with a toothpick and place on a platter; gently separate pepper strips so they point inopposite directions.  Repeat to make about 36 wraps.  (Platter can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 4 hours; let wraps warm to room temperature before serving).  
• To serve, place bowl of aioli on platter along with a small spoon to dollop on top of wraps.

Singapore Noodles with Burnished Barbecue Chicken

Vegetables, noodles and chicken you can't go wrong with this one!  The flavour will vary with the amount and type of curry you use.  I used a Japanese Curry powder that I had made for a previous recipe, but use what you enjoy.  Make sure you prep by chopping all vegetables prior to cooking.  This would also work well with a chow mein noodle.  Got this from the Food and Drink Summer 2011 book.

Chicken
1/3 cup (80 ml) reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 tsp (10 ml) pureed ginger root
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each about 8 oz (250 g)
1/4 cup (60 ml) honey

Noodles
12 oz (375 g) rice  vermicelli
hot water
3 tbsp (45 ml) vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
6 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet red peppers, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) minced ginger root
1/3 cup (80 ml) Indian yellow curry paste
2 tbsp (30 ml) reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) Asian hot chili sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

1. For the chicken, combine soy sauce, oil and ginger in a shallow dish or sealable plastic bag.  Add chicken and turn to coat.  Cover or seal bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or for up to 1 day.
2. Preheat barbecue to medium.
3. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any excess.  Grill, covered and turning once, 5 to 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink inside.  Brush 1 side with honey, turn and grill for 1 minute.  Brush remaining side with honey, turn and grill for 1 minute or until well glazed.  Transfer to a bowl or cutting board and let cool slightly. Shred chicken into large pieces or slice thinly.  Keep warm.
4. Soak rice vermicelli in a large bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes until softened or according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
5. Heat 1 tbsp (15 ml) of the oil over high heat in a large wok and swirl to coat.  Pour in eggs and fry without stirring until almost set.  Stir to break up eggs slightly and fry until just set, then transfer to a plate.  Add half of remaining oil to wok.  In 2 batches, stir-fry carrots, celery and onions for 3 to 4 minutes or until onions are softened.  Transfer to a bowl.  Add remaining oil between batches.  Add garlic, red peppers, ginger and curry paste to wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until peppers are tender.
6. Return carrot mixture to wok and add noodles, soy sauce and chili sauce.  Fry, stirring gently, but thoroughly, with 2 large spatulas, until noodles are well coated in spices and steaming hot.  Add eggs and stir just to combine.  Arrange noodles on a platter and add chicken.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.  Serve extra chili sauce on the side.

Serves 10 to 12

Hearty Vegetable Soup

3 tbsp vegetable oil 45 ml
1 leek, white and light green part only, washed and cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 1/12 cups chopped cabbage, about 3 large cabbage leaves 375 ml
1 jar (700 ml) Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce
2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock 625 ml
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas 375 ml
Salt and freshly ground pepper

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add leek, onion, carrot, celery and cabbage.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened, about 12 minutes.
• Stir in pasta sauce and stock. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.  Add chickpeas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.