Favourite (and Healthy!) Muffins

I tend to make this in a BIG batch (24 at least!) and package and freeze them in "grab-and-go" bundles which are easy to throw in a lunch bag or purse.  They make the house smell great when they're baking, and they reheat nicely in the microwave for 10 secs.

2 cups 12-grain flour
1 T. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup molasses
2 eggs, beaten
4 T. oil or melted butter
4 cups any bran cereal
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 T. cinnamon
2 chopped apples, peeled if desired
1 t. vanilla
3 cups of dried fruit (I like cranberries, chopped dates, orange peel, in a mixture, but use what you like)
1 cup chopped walnuts or other preferred nuts
1 cup sesame seeds, untoasted
Optional: ground flax seed, or fibre granules, quantities as desired

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Line two 12-muffin tins with muffin papers
Whisk dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, fibre or flaxseed if using) together.
Beat eggs in large bowl and whisk in milk, oil, molasses, vanilla until well mixed.
Chop apples and dried fruit (if necessary) and mix in another bowl with walnuts,sesame seeds and cereal.

When oven and pans are ready, combine all three bowls together, mixing only as much as required to ensure that everything is evenly mixed (no dry spots!), but it will be lumpy and thick. Use a disher or large spoon to evenly distribute batter over 24 muffin cups.  These don't rise a lot, so feel free to fill the cup to the top.

Place pans in oven for 15 minutes, turn them and check with a cake tester.  Depending on the moisture levels of the fruit you used, they may take from 15 - 25 minutes to bake.  Cool on a rack, then wrap in plastic wrap in bundles of two.  A very fulfilling breakfast with yogurt.

Enjoy!

Indian Dinner Party Menu and Recipes

I always wanted to have a reason to wear this!

Appetizers -
cold peel and eat shrimp, cocktail sauce
vegie sticks and Rosemary's Curry Dip

Entree -
BBQ'd tandoori chicken thighs
Raita
pappadums
basmati rice
red curried kale and chickpeas

Dessert -
vanilla ice cream
mango fruit salad
apple crisp

This menu served 12 people with lots of leftovers...

Curry Dip

3 T. mayo
3 T. plain yogurt
3 T. ketchup
3 T. liquid honey
1 T. curry (more if you like)
1 T. grated onion, optional

Mix all ingredients together and let meld in the fridge for at least 2 hours, overnight is better.

Tandoori Chicken Thighs

750 ml plain yogurt - not non-fat
3 T. curry powder
1 teas. chili flakes (optional)
1 T. chili powder
1 teas. salt

Marinate boneless skinless chicken thighs in yogurt mixture for 2 to 4 hours (no longer).
BBQ on a very hot grill until blackened and cooked through, serve warm. Can be frozen after cooked for a quick meal.

Raita

250 ml plain yogurt - not non-fat
1/2 large cucumber
3 T. chopped fresh mint
1/2 teas. salt

Grate cucumber, skin and all, and squeeze as much liquid as possible from it.  Mix with the other ingredients, let chill minimum 1 hour.

Red Curried Kale and Chickpeas

1 T. olive oil
2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 T. Red curry paste, hot
1 large onion, sliced
2 bunches kale, tough ribs and ends trimmed off, cut into bite size pieces, rinsed

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add in onions and red curry paste, saute until onions are translucent and lightly coloured.  Add in chick peas and saute until pan is dry.  Add in the rinsed and still wet kale, stirfry until wilted but still brightly coloured.

Newfoundlander Pea Soup

Following a wonderful smoked picnic shoulder which we slow-cooked, Ron and I made the following soup, in memory of www.woodyi.com, where we first had it.  

In the past, I've never been a big fan of pea soup, my only experience been the "Habitant" brand, which is salty, thick and glutinous.

We took the bone from the picnic shoulder and pressure cooked it in water for about 45 minutes at 15 lbs psi.  We added the leftover meat from the shoulder and all the drippings, stock from the slow cooker.  We ended up with 9 cups of ham stock.

1/2 small turnip, diced

5 carrots, chopped

2 cups split yellow peas

pepper (no salt though, the ham provides enough!)

two stalks celery, chopped

We simmered it for about 45 minutes, until the peas were soft and falling apart, but not too much.  When tasty it, we found it a bit too salty, so added six thick slices of raw potato for 30 minutes to desaline it a bit.

And that's it.  It's filling, savoury, and warming, delicious with fresh bread and butter.  I'm planning on taking mine for my lunch at work, should give me enough energy and heart to finish the day.

We would make that again!

Ratatouille - not the movie, and no rats involved!

One of my favourite fall recipes is this - so delicious with fresh produce, and keeps well, although not frozen.  Can be eaten warm or at room temperature, great to pack in lunches, and very healthy, although it tastes rich and exotic.

 2 large onions, chopped

1/2 garlic blossom (maybe 6-8 cloves)

2 stalks celery

1 red bell pepper, chopped

three small zucchini, chopped

four small eggplant, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaf

1/4 - 1/2 teas. ground cinnamon

can of really good tomatoes

1 pint fresh cherry tomatoes

1 can chick peas, rinsed

olive oil

hot pepper flakes (optional)

Brown the onions in olive oil, until lightly coloured.  Add the celery, pepper, zucchini and garlic.  Continue to brown and colour slightly.  Add the chopped eggplant, bay leaf, tomatoes, hot pepper flakes and cinnamon. Stir well,  If not enough liquid, add in about 1/2 can of water.  Cover and let simmer for 1 hour.

Add the chick peas and let rest for 1/2 hour.  Taste for salt and pepper.

Will keep, well covered and refridgerated, for four or five days.  Great as a side dish, or as a starting base for a cassarole including lamb, chicken or fish.

Duplicating Newfoundland Chowder

When Ron and I were in Newfoundland for almost 10 days, we had a bowl of chowder almost everyday at some restaurant or another.  We loved all of them to varying degrees, and selected the best elements of each of them to concoct our chowder.

First we made fish stock out of lobster shells, shrimp shells, lemon, onion, bay leaf, thyme, garlic. Alternatively, you could buy trimmings from the fish counter, or use fish boullion.  The stock we made turned out to be enough for four batches of soup.  We also had a jar of clam juice on standby, in case it wasn't "fishy" enough, but we didn't need it.

Brown chopped onion, celery, carrots, garlic in proportions you like in a bit of butter or olive oil. I used one large onion, 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 as much carrot and one garlic clove minced.  It's important to get some colour on the onion, in particular, to add to the depth of flavour.

Add in one diced potato.  I like to use a baking potato (like a russet) as they tend not to be waxy or slimy. We left the skin on, but you could peel it if you like.

Add in about 4 cups of your fish stock.  Simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Add in a portion of chopped lobster meat (we used frozen lobster meat, mostly claws, about 1 1/2 cups of  minced meat.  Taste for salt and pepper. Take off the burner, and add in two portions of salmon fillets.  Cover and let poach while you prepare the other ingredients.

To ensure that shrimp and scallops are not overcooked, we seared them separately, and placed them in the bowls to pour the rest of the soup on top.  Nothing worse than overcooked scallops!  We had four shrimp and two scallop each.

The final thing to do is make the chowder creamy and slightly thickened.  We used 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of table cream, mixed up with 2 tbsp of cornstarch.  We stirred this into the fish stock/salmon/lobster mixture and put it back on to simmer.  It's important not to boil it too hard, or the cream will split, but you want to make sure the cornstarch gets cooked.  Test again for salt and pepper.

It won't be THIIIICCCCKKK, but slightly thickened and creamy smooth.  Ladle over the scallops and shrimp in the bowls and enjoy.

The next day we had to chowder for lunch, without the scallops and shrimp, and it was still AWESOME!

Sweet Red Pepper Mama Sauce

Inspired from an episode of "Fresh" with Anna Olsen, where she braised chicken thighs in a pureed red pepper sauce.

Basic Recipe:

olive oil
two onions, rough chop (will be purreed later)
1 celery stalk, rough chop
two red peppers, roasted. rough chop
two cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme
salt and pepper
2 tbsp cold butter

1. In a wide saucepan like a dutch oven, heat the olive oil and sautee the onions and celery. Don't have the heat too high, you're looking for a sweat, not a browning.  
2. When close to translucent, add the peppers and garlic, chicken stock, bay leaves and thyme.  
3. Simmer for 1/2 hour, covered.  
4. When done remove the bay leaves and thyme and use an immersion blender (boat  motor) to puree the sauce very very smooth.  
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper.  
6. Add the cold butter and stir constantly until incorporated - this will make it glossy and a bit thicker.

So, what can you do with it?

Idea 1: Braised Chicken Thighs

Similar to our original inspiration, brown boneless chicken legs in olive oil (dredge in flour first).  Add it to the sauce at Step 3 (simmering).  Simmer until the chicken is done (30-45 minutes  depending on size of pieces).  Remove the chicken to a platter at step 4, before  pureeing the sauce.  Add the chicken pieces back in to the sauce after incorporating the butter (Step 6).

Idea 2: As a sauce with fish fillets, either seared or baked

Idea 3: As a sauce over steamed mussels

Flavour variations

Make it Curry: Adding 1 tbsp curry powder at Step 1 to make a light and healthy curry sauce.

Make it Spicy: Add 1 chili pepper (use your own judgement here...) to the sauce at Step 2.