Beets and freestyle cooking.

I used to cook like I was doing a science experiment, down to the exact detail. One day I realized that I don't really know how to cook cook and lacked any improvisation at all. I envy those who are able to whip up something delicious based on leftovers and whatever they find in the fridge. So here I am trying to freestyle cook. It's not like I don't go with recipes anymore but I've now allowed myself to be a bit free-er and spontaneous so to speak. There have been successes and oh there have been failures. Like big ones. Ones that resulted in ordering out for pizza. I suppose it's still important like a learning experience. Freestyle cooking has been especially useful when we started subscribing to a CSA. I just didn't feel like filtering through recipes that had the most of the veggies I had on hand, then realizing that I needed to go to the store to pick up the rest.  

It's beet season and I was able to pick up gorgeous Chiogga and red beets this past weekend. Normally I don't buy beets but there were so many I figured I could try to add them to my regular menu. Here is what I came up with, it's not original nor fancy but tasty anyways. 

Roasted beet salad

2 bunches of small beets, washed and trimmed

juice from half an orange

splash of white wine vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

chevre

orange zest

Wrap beets in tin foil and roasted them at 400F until fork tender, ~45-60 minutes. 

Allow to cool.

Cut in wedges or slices and place into a bowl.

Add orange juice and white wine vinegar to the beets. Taste and season. 

Add olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat the beets.

Top with chevre and orange zest.

The salad would probably look even prettier with chopped parsley too but I didn't have any in the fridge!

mmmm chocolate chip cookies...

About a year ago I discovered the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. The only downside to it is that it requires 2 different kinds of flour and 24 hours chilling time before you can bake and eat it. Indeed it makes a very good, chewy, not-too-sweet dark chocolatey chip cookie. But it is very rare that I have the patience to allow the dough to chill and to always have cake flour and bread flour on hand. I am an unbleached all-purpose flour gal. I have yet to be the hard-core baker that can taste the differences among the different types of flour or keep 3 or more different flours in the pantry. I've been tinkering around with the recipe to simplify it a bit and adjust the sweetness. I thought I had it but tried the new version and was underwhelmed to say the least. Fail! I'm not sure what happened but I think I did not let the butter come up to room temperature for proper creaming resulting in a curdled dough before I added the dry mix. The actual cookie ended up being very crumbly and not chewy at all. Back to the drawing board. Until then make the New York Times one, you won't regret it!

Green garlic pasta

I picked up some wonderful looking green garlic from the farmers market this afternoon. I've never cooked with it before but thought I'd give it a go. I tried a very basic recipe - garlicky pasta. I like to keep the recipe really simple when I use an ingredient for the first time, this way its true taste can come through. So this picture doesn't do the dish justice. It's not just an ode to the flying spaghetti monster. The pasta was flavourful with a hint of richness and mild garlic. I should've added a bit more stock though, the pasta absorbed a lot of it by the time we were seated at the table. My 4 yo loved it even though she claims she doesn't like garlic or anything green. I served it with some sauteed rainbow chard and breaded herbed tilapia fillets.

Green garlic pasta

pasta of your choice (enough for 2 servings)

3-4 stalks green garlic, white and light green parts sliced thinly

1 cup stock (chicken or veg)

several tbsp of unsalted butter

shredded parmesan

Cook pasta according to directions

Saute garlic in 1 tbsp butter until translucent 

Add 1/4 c warm stock and continue cooking a few minutes

Whisk in several tbsp of butter and stir until slightly thickened

Toss in pasta, add more stock to loosen it up

Top with parmesan cheese

Farmers Market season

Just got back from the Tuesday Farmers Market. I'm such a newbie here and got caught in a downpour. Note to self, never leave the house without an umbrella. On the bright side, I actually ran into an acquaintance and had a lovely chat huddling under a big umbrella. This was kind of nice since I still feel like a newcomer in the city. Despite the sogginess, baby and I got a great haul of produce from our CSA farm. Chiogga beets, baby carrots, green garlic, basil, mesclun greens, red russian fingerling potatoes and 2 honey sticks (for my older daughter) and a slice of rhubarb coffee cake all for $20. I'm really looking forward to the CSA season which starts in about 3 weeks. Too bad we miss our first box since we'll be in Canada! Lucky for our friends who share our subscription, they will get the entire box. Now the fun begins, what to make...

Thai inspired dressing

So I'm still on the simplify everything phase so here's my latest speedy dinner. The dressing turned out pretty tasty, it was inspired by a food sample I tasted from the Saturday Market. Dinner was ready in 20 minutes!

Peanut dressing

2 tbsp coconut milk (unsweetened)

2 tbsp lime juice (or lemon)

1 tbsp peanut butter

a splash of soy sauce (or until desired tastiness)

1 tbsp water

tiny drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Mix it all together and just keep tasting and adding components until delicious.

It went perfectly with grilled shrimp on a bed of greens and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Happy birthday mini-muffins!

I used to miss the days where I could spend loads of time preparing a meal with lots of finicky details. I have now accepted that I don't necessarily need to do that and still have a great meal time. Now I'm switching gears and learning to bake and cook with my daughters. And it's been brilliant. She loves to help and the end result is so satisfying and delicious.

I'm gearing up for my daughter's 4th birthday this weekend so we've been baking up a storm. Here's a little peek at the blueberry mini-muffins we made for her preschool class tomorrow.

Blueberry muffins (Cook's Illustrated, May/June 2009)

2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 1/8 c sugar

2 1/2 c flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 c vegetable oil

1 c buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 425F.

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl.

Whisk sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and well mixed.

Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined then whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.

Fold egg mixture and blueberries into flour mixture until moistened.

Do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups and sprinkle with streusel topping (see below for recipe).

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, about 17-19 minutes. 

Check doneness with toothpick.

Cool muffins and serve.

Streusel topping

Combine 3 tbsp of sugar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, pinch of salt, 1/2c plus 3 tbsp of flour in a small bowl. Mix in 5 tbsp of melted butter until large chunks form.

Cut out cookies for preschoolers

So a few weeks ago I was surprised at how tricky cutting out butter cookies can be. Chilling the dough and cutting them was much more effort than I thought it should be. After some searching, my 4 yo daughter and I found the best cookie recipe that is essentially foolproof especially under preschooler conditions. I mixed the dough and then she took over as the leader. It's not too sweet, rolls out perfectly, no chilling required, easy schmeasy. Best of all, it even tastes good to both kids and adults.

Roll out cookies (based on a recipe found on the back of a cookie cutter packaging)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 1 tbsp white sugar (I decreased the amount of sugar by almost a 1/2 cup)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts. Mix rest of ingredients in another bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. No need to chill dough. Divide dough in half and shape into a ball. Roll each ball to 1/8" thick, flouring board and rolling pin as necessary. Cut out cookies and bake until lightly browned (~ 10 minutes).

Cookie Glaze

1 tbsp cream cheese

3/4 cup icing sugar

enough milk to reach desired consistency. I start with 1 tbsp and see how it looks.

food colouring

Mix all ingredients and frost cookies with whichever tool you like. 

Simplicity

Making dinner can get pretty monotonous and I feel like I need to make something fancy. Other times I relish in letting the food speak for itself. Like last nights dinner - a simple grilled wild salmon fillet drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and garnished with dill and lemon zest. Full of flavour, super satisfying and quick so I can do other important things like relax. 

Let's hear it for simple foods.