Month: November 2017

Fire Alarm Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin

Fire Alarm Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin

Disclaimer: None of what happened is Kevin’s fault in any way. Here’s what happened. I had a pork tenderloin that needed using, and I saw this recipe for Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin from Keviniscooking.com. First, let me say the tenderloin and the sauce were indeed, 

Adventures with Graavilohi aka Gravlax aka cured salmon

Adventures with Graavilohi aka Gravlax aka cured salmon

As part of a project on international holiday traditions, being orchestrated by Jeanette Kathryn Schramm of Apartmenteats.com (coming soon), I agreed to contribute some Scandinavian recipes. My Mom is Finnish and my Dad is Scottish, so they both like salmon. Together they have made a 

Auntie Leila’s Ceasar Salad Dressing…All Hail the Queen of Finland

Auntie Leila’s Ceasar Salad Dressing…All Hail the Queen of Finland

My Auntie Leila’s nickname is the Queen of Finland. She always looks amazing, her home is spotless (it’s either Finnish elves or she’s got servants she’s not telling us about) and she can cook like nobody’s business.

This salad dressing is fit for a Queen (and her minions)…thank you for sharing Your Royal Highness – I luff you.

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic crushed (use a garlic press if you have one or mince the hell out of it)
1 egg
2/3 C vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground sea salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
7 dashes Worchestershire sauce
2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 head romaine, washed and torn into bite sized pieces.

Mix all the ingredients (except the romaine) in a blender. Toss with lettuce and serve with croutons.

 

Rye Crackers – Tweaked Version of Bob’s Red Mill Rye Crackers

Rye Crackers – Tweaked Version of Bob’s Red Mill Rye Crackers

Rye crackers are a great addition to any cheese board and this recipe, a tweaked version of the recipe on the back of the Bob’s Red Mill organic rye flour bag, is both easy and seriously good. The original recipe doesn’t seem to be on 

Limppuleipä – My Mummu Raihala’s Recipe

Limppuleipä – My Mummu Raihala’s Recipe

Limppuleipä is a sweet rye bread that is flavoured with orange zest, anise, fennel and caraway seeds. It is the perfect base for Finnish gravlax (or any other cured or smoked fish come to think of it). This was the other bread I learned to 

Rosemary Pecan Raisin Crackers

Rosemary Pecan Raisin Crackers

Rosemary, pecans, raisins balanced with a hearty brown bread base, double baked into a light crispy cracker. You can’t go wrong. These are truly delicious. Culinary pioneer Lesley Stowe created a hit with her Raincoast Crackers, but they are expensive. The first copycat recipe I saw for these came from one of the moms at the elementary school my kids attended (thanks, Liz C.). I’ve always meant to try them out, but never got around to it. That was 10 years ago. Since then the web has produced many more versions including the version most cited for inspiration from the delightful Julie Van Rosendaal (dinnerwithjulie.com). Julie is a cookbook author, food editor, Best of Bridge the Next Generation and has great stuff on her blog, go look.

In my version, I’ve added Rye flour to the mix (because I had some and wanted to see what would happen). I also added apricots.

Ingredients

  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 C rye flour (or just use all-purpose)
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
  • 2 C buttermilk
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C honey
  • 1 C raisins
  • 12 chopped apricots (had some left over from the Triple Ginger Scones with Apricots I made the other day).
  • 1/2 C toasted chopped pecans*
  • 1/2 C roasted pumpkin seeds** (optional – I opted for)
  • 1/4 C sesame seeds
  • 1/4 C flax seed, ground (I just bought whole flax seed and whizzed them through a coffee grinder)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (other recipes called for 1 Tbsp, but I saw somewhere that one person said they would have upped the amount, so I did, and they were right)
*To toast pecans, spread on a cookie sheet and pop into an oven preheated to 350° F for about 5 minutes (watch them so they don’t scorch – that would be sad).
**To roast raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) spread them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in at 350° F for about 7 minutes. If you start to hear them “pop” turn the heat down to 325° F.

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, salt and brown sugar.
  3. Add the buttermilk and honey and stir a few strokes.
  4. Add the raisins, apricots, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until combined. The batter will be quite wet (that’s ok!).
  5. Spoon the batter into 4 greased mini loaf pans 3 x 5.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
  7. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.
  8. When completely cooled, wrap the loaves in tin foil and put into the freezer for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t want to bake them up all at once, then wrap the loaves in parchment paper and then tinfoil, so they don’t get freezer burn.
  9. Once frozen, using a sharp, serrated knife, turn the loaf upside down and slice the loaves as thin as you can (it’s easier to eyeball a thin slice from a flat bottom).
  10. Place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  11. Reduce the oven heat to 300° F and bake them for 10-12 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until crisp and deep golden brown – check at 10 minutes to make sure they aren’t burning.

Here’s how the look out of the oven the first time:

Rosemary, pecan, raisin and apricot crackers

Here’s the finished product after double baking:

crackers

Notes: Each loaf makes about 20 crackers depending on how thinly you are able to slice them.

Chicken Bone Broth Vegetable Soup

Chicken Bone Broth Vegetable Soup

It got cold today, and it snowed, in Kitsilano, something is very wrong. Luckily, I had started making chicken bone broth yesterday, so I was prepared. I also had some veggies in the fridge that were looking a little sad, so I decided to make 

Triple Ginger Scones with Apricots – #Yasss

Triple Ginger Scones with Apricots – #Yasss

If you don’t like ginger, don’t make these scones. Back in the day, I had the pleasure of managing Urban Yarn’s first location in Point Grey. One of the perks of the job (besides a dangerous yarn discount) was that the shop was just down 

Dill Pickle Rye Bread  à la Paul Pettersen

Dill Pickle Rye Bread à la Paul Pettersen

I got this recipe courtesy of Paul Pettersen, a member of The Cooks Community Forum on Facebook, and a fan of Chicago’s ethnic bakeries. You can’t beat this group for inspiration, and camaraderie. I thank you and my stomach thanks you. Continue reading Dill Pickle Rye Bread à la Paul Pettersen