Category: cooking

The Cooking Chronicles: Braised Tilapia with Leeks and Tomatoes

One of my favourite cooking blogs of late is The Wednesday Chef. Beyond the recipes, it’s Luisa’s stories behind the food that sets her posts apart. Take, for example, her recipe for braised tilapia with leeks and tomatoes. What led her to create such a dish? Why, love of course.

Even though they are no longer together, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the recipe. Mack and I picked up all of the necessary ingredients at the City Centre Market (cherry tomatoes from Gull Valley Greenhouses, leeks from Sundog Organics, and Honduran tilapia from Ocean Odyssey Inland), and used some white wine we had kicking around.

The dish was fantastic – this was our first time cooking with leeks, and it won’t be our last. We were a bit afraid our “glug” (Luisa’s measurement) would overwhelm everything, but between the sweetness of the leeks and burst tomatoes, we welcomed the additional sauce. Be careful not to overcook the fish as we did – we left the pot with the lid on as we waited for the rice to finish cooking. As a whole, this dish was leaps and bounds above the other one-pot meal we had tried a few days earlier – Mack enthusiastically put this recipe in the “keep” pile.

Braised Tilapia with Leeks and Tomatoes, served with rice

Thanks Luisa for the recipe, and keep up the great work!

The Cooking Chronicles: Basa with Greens and Lemon Pepper Oil

You’d think I would know by now to research potential substitutions online before employing them, but the mealtime scramble always seems to win out over logic.

Though I wanted to recreate a Food Network recipe for tilapia with escarole and lemon pepper oil, I ended up substituting both of the main ingredients. Basa stepped in for tilapia, and romaine lettuce for escarole. I found out later that escarole is in the chicory family, greens that are heartier and stand up to cooking better than others. As a result, the romaine came out limp and way overcooked. Thankfully, the brown and crispy potatoes and perfectly steamed fish redeemed the dish as a whole. We found the lemon pepper oil a tad too strong for our taste (even after cutting down the quantity of lemon), and borderline unnecessary.

Basa with Greens and Lemon Pepper Oil

We loved the one-pot nature of this recipe, and now that I’ve learned what not to substitute, perhaps we will make this again in the future with the proper ingredients.

The Cooking Chronicles: Pizza Stone Attempt #1

Have you ever been wooed at the store by a kitchen gadget only to bring it home and allow it to gather dust? A pizza stone I had picked up at Winners last year fell into that category, even though I had the best of intentions when I bought it, with visions of crunchy, thin-crust pizzas overtaken by the reality of time and effort. Well, I hoped to reignite some of those visions and made it a point to finally make use of it.

The stone itself came with a serving rack, but Mack and I weren’t sure if the rack itself was meant to be put in the oven. We decided it would be safer to avoid potential melting and put the stone directly into the oven. The instructions directed us to preheat it for 40 minutes in a 450 degree oven.

We assembled the pizza using a tried and true recipe (Giada de Laurentiis’ dough base, though I wish I could toss dough like Chris instead). As instructed, we sprinkled some corn meal on the hot stone, lay our rolled pizza dough on top, and assembled our favourite assortment of toppings, including prosciutto, roma tomatoes, mushrooms and fresh basil. And into the oven it went, for about 15 minutes.

Out of the oven, the pizza was looking good – the crisp brown edges were just beginning to curl. When we dug in though, we found the crust to have an odd consistency. While crunchy on the bottom, the centre of the crust was chewy, almost undercooked. We weren’t sure if this was attributed to our mangling of the dough recipe, or perhaps a mistake of our first pizza stone try, but we were disappointed the pizza didn’t quite taste as good as it looked.

Pizza stone + pizza

We weren’t disheartened though – we will be making use of the stone again (with a different dough recipe), optimistic for better results!

The Cooking Chronicles: Curried Chicken, Potato and Rice Soup

Though Saturday started out scorching hot, the night hosted one of the city’s most intense thunderstorms in quite some time, and it turned out to be a perfect occasion for a comforting bowl of chicken soup.

A recipe for a curried chicken and rice soup in Food Network Magazine had caught my eye – the thought of fragrant dill simmering with chicken stock was all it took. And though it wasn’t quite a one-pot wonder (two, in fact), the work required was minimal. I threw in some halved baby red potatoes from Greens, Eggs and Ham that we had in the fridge for additional heartiness, but besides that, kept to the ingredients specified. I also couldn’t be bothered to puree the rice.

The result was a lustrous yellow broth filled with tender onions, moist chicken and perfectly soft carrots and potatoes. Mack would have liked a little more rice, but other than that, had no complaints.

Curried Chicken, Potato and Rice Soup

We had enough leftover for lunch the next day, served with fresh-from-oven dill-icious cheddar and dill scones (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). The soup is great recipe that would work well with leftover rice, chicken and vegetables and we’ll be keeping it in mind in the future.

The Cooking Chronicles: Udon with Tofu and Spinach

The second recipe I had my eye on that employed the tofu and spinach leftover from our salad the night previous can be found in the June/July issue of Food Network Magazine. Having never cooked with udon noodles before, the dish of udon with tofu and Asian greens caught my eye.

I wanted a broth more substantial than fortified cooking water, so heated up about three-quarters of a cup of chicken soup for each of us to serve as a base. Other than that, I followed the instructions fairly closely. I had forgotten how fragrant simmering sesame oil could be (as I seared the slices of tofu), and as it perfumed the kitchen, it set up a wonderful anticipation for the meal.

Udon with Tofu and Asian Greens

Mack much preferred the tofu in this dish, though as a whole, most warm meals would win his vote over cold salads any day. He especially liked the wilted spinach greens, and the spicy kick from the chili flakes. I was happy with how easy the meal was to prepare, and though we copped out with pre-cooked udon this time, I wouldn’t hesitate to take the extra effort for uncooked udon noodles next time.

This recipe is definitely a keeper in our kitchen!

The Cooking Chronicles: Warm Spinach and Mushroom Salad

Mack hates tofu. I love tofu. This tends to put our meal planning a little at odds, particularly when I am craving tofu.

While Mack has been amenable to the deep fried cubes of tofu typically included in an Asian hot pot spread, my personal favourite variety are the firm yet silky squares of fresh tofu. We have a wonderful local producer of tofu – Ying Fat in Chinatown (which Brulee Blog wrote a great post about), and really, any easy-to-prepare alternative to meat protein is always a welcome addition to my kitchen.

I earmarked two recipes to experiment with in order to test the tofu waters, so to speak, with Mack. The first was a warm spinach salad recipe from Company’s Coming Cooking at Home.

I tossed some Edgar Farms spinach with sautéed brown mushrooms, a light vinaigrette, and cubes of tofu that had been marinated in the same vinaigrette for an hour. I had thrown the tofu into the skillet containing the mushrooms to warm it gently just before serving, which suited the dish as a whole better, in my opinion.

Warm Spinach and Mushroom Salad

The marinade didn’t seem to penetrate the tofu at all however, and I could have done without that step. I really enjoyed the vinaigrette though (made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, grainy mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper), and can see myself using it as a base for other salads. Lastly, some freshly grated parmesan would have provided a needed savoury aspect. Mack’s opinion: after his hesitant first bite, he said the texture was still a bit off for him. He did finish his plate though!

A light summer meal, this salad has a quick turnaround time, but is hearty enough to satisfy warm-weather hunger pangs.

The Cooking Chronicles: Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp

A stir-fry with vegetables and chicken or shrimp is one of my weekday staples, for ease of fridge and freezer stocking. On a day when I thought I would again rely on that meal, I remembered a recipe I had seen on The Wednesday Chef for roasted broccoli with shrimp.

As directed, I tossed florets of broccoli with olive oil, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper, then spread them on a baking sheet to roast in the oven. The shrimp came next, flavoured with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and soon joined the broccoli in the oven. Finished with some fresh lemon juice and served with brown rice, it was an easy meal (we took Luisa’s suggestion and ate it straight out of the pan). I loved the crunch of the broccoli and cumin kick, though I was a little heavy-handed with the lemon juice.

Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp

An easy and tasty weekday meal, I will be making this again.

Edmonton Foodie Meetup 2: Recap

Environment Canada had pegged the chance of rain at 40% for tonight, so I was crossing my fingers looking up at the sky, which had been oscillating dangerously between overcast and sunny all day. While the rain held out for our second Edmonton Foodie Meetup, it was definitely more brisk than it should have been for an outdoor picnic – we were all chilled to the bone by the end of the night.

Local foodies

In spite of the weather, a dozen people showed up for the planned potluck, and as Kevin predicted, the mix of food was perfect: Chris brought several of his trademark loaves of bread; Hanne and Carlo provided two salads; Kevin, Maki, Grace and Brooke made savoury dishes; and Courtney, Béné, Chris and I supplied desserts. (Unfortunately, we didn’t get a good photo of Grace’s chicken curry dish.)

Chris’s loaves of bread

Hanne and Carlo’s Smoked Paprika Potato Salad

Hanne and Carlo’s Green (from their garden) Salad

Maki’s Black Bean Crostini

Kevin’s Calf Moose

Brooke’s Meatballs

Courtney’s Peanut Butter and Butterscotch Marshmallow Squares

Béné and Chris’s Macarons

My (very run of the mill) Panna Cotta

It still amazes me how great the local food blogging/eating community is, though it shouldn’t surprise me – food brings people together.

Potluck mix

We all agreed that we would have a third meetup – watch for details on the wiki. Thanks everyone for a great night!

The Cooking Chronicles: Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa-Spice Rub and Mushroom Risotto

Similar to our Mother’s Day dinner in May, I corralled my sisters into assisting with our Father’s Day dinner this past weekend by assigning them each a dish. Amanda helped out by making a salad, and Felicia cheated a little by providing a store-bought cake (albeit my Dad’s favourite – Black Forest).

For the main course I decided to make a Michael Chiarello recipe for a seared pork tenderloin with cocoa-spice rub. It seemed easy enough, as the majority of the work was simply creating the rub itself. Mack, my tireless sous chef, trimmed the tenderloin while I measured out the spice ingredients, and once the meat was in the oven, we were able to focus all of our attention on preparing the side.

I’d been a little afraid of attempting a risotto recipe, but Trish Magwood’s straightforward instructions in Dish Entertains calmed me somewhat. We didn’t make it to the market on Saturday, so ended up with mushroom instead of asparagus flavouring. The true secret (if there is one) really is to add the simmering stock in half-cup increments, allowing the rice to slowly absorb the liquid. The entire process us about 25 minutes (Mack, the official risotto stirrer, thinks it may have been longer), and resulted in plump and tender grains and a creaminess that could not be achieved in any other way. Of course, the finish with a generous amount of butter and parmesan couldn’t hurt either.

Mushroom Risotto

The fragrant rub turned out really well, and the pork was juicy and flavourful. My cold was frustrating my ability to taste the rub, but I was told it was quite good. The leftovers worked great as an addition to a pita sandwich!

Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa-Spice Rub

It was a nice sit down meal with family – something we don’t take the time to do often enough.

The Cooking Chronicles: Chickpea Patties with Salad

I’m just about finished with Mark Bittman’s Food Matters, and I have to say, I’ve never been more inspired to cook with lentils and beans. Food Matters implores readers to reduce their overall meat intake, citing health benefits, the unacceptable conditions of industrial meat production, and the impossibility of the world to support the growing demand for meat. I respect Bittman’s philosophy primarily because he does not call for a radical shift – instead, he advocates for a gradual change, and a diet that can accommodate meat and other guilty pleasures – just in smaller and occasional quantities. It is an approachable method that doesn’t seek to alienate the public (or worse, be easily dismissed as “elitist”), and of course, it helps that the book contains both practical advice and actual recipes to follow.

I didn’t think I would be attracted to recipes without any photos, but I immediately bookmarked a handful of them, primarily the ones featuring chickpeas, which are my current ingredient-of-the-moment. Bittman’s recipes are also great because he lists dozens of substitutions – that knowledge is often assumed in cookbooks, and I appreciate that he spells it out for readers who need it like me.

I had printed off a recipe from Real Simple a few months ago, and didn’t get to it until this week. It coincidentally features, – you guessed it – chickpeas!

The chickpea patties were to be pureed in a food processor with garlic and seasonings, but as we are without a blender or a processor, we used Mack’s Magic Bullet instead. It worked all right, though for the consistency we were looking for, it was uneven (some too mushy, others left whole). We also ended up incorporating the additives by hand in a bowl, which seemed to work out fine. Our difficulty with the recipe, however, was actually forming the patties – they were on the dry side, and the flour dusting didn’t help. We imagined the patties would cook up crispy on the outside, pan-fried in olive oil, but the reality was that they were simply browned, and warmed through.

Chickpea patties with salad

Served with a fresh salad dressed in just olive oil and lemon, it was a light but filling supper. We are open to suggestions on how to improve the recipe though! Best of all, our supper also meant we were allowed to indulge in chocolate covered bacon without guilt, heh.