Date night at my house

I understand it takes a foodie to enjoy the cooking process for a home cooked date, but I've got myself convinced this could be fun for all. Imagine sipping on a beautiful glass of wine, favourite music creating a cozy atmosphere... you chop some veggies, cut herbs from your garden, smelling them with a deep breath before adding to a stock pot... People, it's rejuvenating and satisfying on a whole new level. (Don't forget to send the kids to Grama's though!)

Poached salmon is not visually stunning. It's rather pale and has no caramelization, but cook it perfectly, and you'll have yourself outrageously moist and tender salmon, through and through. (And bonus! Get ready for the most amazing broth for a comforting winter soup the next day.)

Add fresh chopped herbs to organic mashed potatoes (ever get stumped at which potato to use for a perfect mash? Always go yellow!)... it's a Salmon and Potato match made in heaven.
The poaching veggies are super yummy, but you may want to save them for your next day soup endeavours, and instead serve blanched, young asparagus. Either way, it's sure to be tasty!

White Wine Poached Salmon Steak

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 leek, whites and tender greens sliced
2 stalks celery, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 springs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
about 5 fresh parsley sprigs
1 cup white wine
1 tbsp cider vinegar
fresh ground pepper and salt

2 - 4 salmon steaks

Place everything but the salmon in a large stock pot. Fill the pot half way with cold water, more if needed. Bring to a boil.
Add the salmon steaks, bring it back to a boil then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and cook 5 more minutes in the residual heat.
Drain the fish (save the stock!), and serve the fish with the veggies and potato mash.

Use leftover salmon and potatoes for delicious fishcakes the next day to go along side the before-mentioned soup, so be sure to make extra!

Simple satisfaction

There is certain beauty in perfectly sculptured cakes, in cotton candy and foods made to look like another. Stunning in a much grander way, I often think, is nature put on a plate, with all it's colors and textures. It makes my mouth water and my tummy growl... roasting veggies either in the oven, or if you are much smarter than I this time of year, on the barbecue. I love getting a veggie craving, as it is easily satisfied, not only to the palate, but also to the eye.





Allow me to bring my kids into this once again - subject: Brussel Sprouts.

In a somewhat odd way I enjoyed the comments they were giving me at the grocery store as I picked out a few handfuls of what should be cute to most girls, as Brussel Sprouts are mini cabbages, after all. "Noooo, mom, you can't buy those!" (They have figured out that whatever lands in the cart, will also be a must try on their plates.) "Gross! Yuck!" It's a mystery to me why most of us shudder at the thought of these cute little green guys. That's me included: in 10 years of marriage, I've only cooked them twice. Not very often for a dedicated veggie lover. It's the color that draws me in, as it brings balance to my other red, brown and purple veggies. Yes, I do pick my veg according to color. It's a thing of beauty, one we can all achieve even if we're not talented cake designers.

If you love your slow cooker, you're going to love this: Veggies and sausage roast at the same temperature, for the same amount of time. And dinner is ready in 30 minutes, not 4 - 8 hours.





Start with 5 - 7 different vegetables, including mini potatoes, chopping each individual kind into 20-minute-cook-sizes. That's 1.5 cm thickness for potatoes, quarters for mushrooms, and chunky slivers of red onion. You get the idea. Grab some trusty olive oil, drizzle to lightly coat. Kosher salt, fresh black pepper. You can't beat flavour like this. Spread in a glass baking dish, bake at 425 F for 20 - 25 minutes, along side a baking dish with sausage in single file (uncovered). After roasting, drizzle the medley with just a little more olive oil. Yup, that's right, it's amazing! I do love to add a little coarse salt here, too, as it brings out especially the potato just that little bit more.

Now before I get any of this in motion, I always run out to my herb garden, to do a little snipping and chopping. Parsley can be super underrated, but I love adding it right at the end of cooking, as parsley adds a layer freshness like none other. I also love my chives, as you know, onions are near and dear to my heart. I save some of these herbs to stir into the roasted vegetables, but most of them I use for this yummy accompaniment:

1/4 cup real mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp horseradish
salt & pepper
few tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs

There's just more love on the plate with a sauce like this.


PS: The children ate all of the Brussel Sprouts, um, may I add, with no complaints (ok, not until after much convincing the first bite). You just never know until you try. My biggest surprise, was, my enjoyment of them... as roasting them with other vegetables creates a rather lovely Sprout.

Paperless cooking. It's not over-rated!

There's just something about it: cooking without a recipe. Cooking because you know what you want. And delivering that. I've been tinkering with roasted potatoes for some time, and have many recipes that I love. Being the simple dinner lady that I am, I am often happy with a plate of potatoes and something fresh and crispy to fill my plate. Lately my roast potatoes have been very Greek - olive oil, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano and s&p. For me, something was missing. So this is what happens when I cook according to me - my very own Garlic Roast potatoes. (I am so sorry if someone else out there makes theirs the same, I truly, honestly am not copying you. Let's just say great minds think alike!)

And since cooking without a recipe, is well, by feel, I'll include general measurements. Use more or less according to your liking. Make it your own! To my liking, roast potatoes should: 1) be moist yet crisp, 2) have a nice golden colour, 3) marry perfectly with herbs and other seasonings while not losing the potato itself.

By the way, I hardly ever use up an entire bundle of herbs before they go bad. So I tried freezing them for future cooking - it works! I wouldn't recommend doing this for use in salads, or any other uncooked herb needs, but sauces, roasts, and so forth love frozen herbs. In other words, never ever deny yourself fresh at the grocery store!

One last roasting tip: after washing the potatoes, dry them thoroughly - otherwise you will oven steam, not roast!

Moni's Smashed Garlic Roast Potatoes
Serves maybe 4, or two if you make them really, really yummy!

Roughly 6 - 8 small or medium yellow fleshed potatoes, unpeeled, 2cm dice
About 4 - 6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
Olive oil ... you know I love a lot of it! (For more accurate measuring, count to 3 while pouring!)
A few sprigs fresh oregano, picked
Around 1 tsp smoked paprika - basically enough to give the potatoes a red hue
Fresh ground pepper
Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Combine everything in one or two glass casserole dishes. I like to keep them single file.
Roast in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring once half way through.
Remove from the oven, search for the garlic cloves. Using the tines of a fork, smash them and stir back into the potatoes.