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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Honey Garlic Meatballs and Spaetzle

Honey Garlic Meatballs and Spaetzle

ingredients:

1-1.5 pounds of ground beef
handful of bread crumbs
1 egg
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cayenne
1/4 chopped onion
ground pepper
salt
1 red, orange, and green bell peppers

store bought honey garlic sauce
or
soy sauce
honey
garlic

directions:

1. In a large bowl, put your ground beef in and mix it up and break it up with a fork. Crack one egg into it, as well as sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, but you could omit it if you don't like heat. Also, dice up a little bit of onion and put it into the ground beef. Crush 2-3 garlic cloves and also put them into the bowl. Mix it around. Sprinkle in some bread crumbs. Just enough so that it isn't completely wet. It will just make it easier to form them into balls.

2. After you are done mixing, form the mixture into balls. About the size of a golf ball. Put the meatballs on a baking tray. You could fry the meatballs in a pan. But I've found doing them in an oven on a baking tray is much easier. As it doesn't require any flipping around and they cook more evenly. Put the tray in an oven at 400 degrees for maybe 20 minutes. You'll know they are done when the fat has oozed out and is surrounding the balls at the bottom of the tray.

3. Cut up some colourful bell peppers. Whatever colours you can find. And toss them in a frying pan to cooking them through. Once cooked, put in your meatballs which you have taken off your tray. Stir in some store bought garlic sauce, or diana sauce. OR make your own sauce in a small pot with honey, soy sauce, and some crushed garlic.

4. Serve on top of spaetzle, or rice.


Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

After Halloween, I had a big pumpkin that I wanted to breakdown into pieces that I could consume. It was a very fun and rewarding experience. And it was shocking home much pumpkin you got from just one little pumpkin! If you are looking for cost savings meals in the fall, definitely consider buying pumpkins. The pumpkin was also a great ingredient for a coconut curry. You could also use sweet potato as well.

ingredients:

2 cups+ raw fresh pumpkin cubed
red pepper
chicken breast
onion
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp curry powder
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper
garlic
1-2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
handful of cilantro
lime
chicken stock

directions:

1. Dice up some onions, and put them in a medium size to large pot in some oil or butter. Start to cooking the onions down until they become caramelized. While the onions are cooking, prep your other ingredients. Make sure you have your pumpkin in cubes, maybe 1 inch wide. Also some red pepper. If you haven't done so already, you could cook the chicken breast in the oven before hand and cut that up. Or you could cut the chicken and put it in the curry at the same time as the pumpkin.

2. After the onions are done cooking, you can add your spices, and garlic to them. Heating the spices will help reinvigorate them. After a few minutes, add your coconut milk. If the coconut milk doesn't look like enough, you can also add a little chicken stock to stretch it out. But don't add too much or you'll lose the coconut goodness.

3. Toss in your pumpkin, chicken, and red pepper at this time. And turn down to medium heat. Let it simmer and cook the pumpkin through. Maybe 15-20 minutes.

4. Once the pumpkin has cooked through taste the curry. Is it salty enough? Is it sweet enough? Is it spicy enough? There is a good chance you might want to add some salt, brown sugar, or cayenne pepper just to get it right.

5. Once the curry is done. Spoon it into bowls. You could eat it with rice. But definitely eat it with a squeeze of lime for some freshness and acidity. Also, some chopped cilantro.

Brined Pork Chops with Apple Compote, Glazed Carrots, Roasted Potatoes

Brined Pork Chops with Apple Compote, Glazed Carrots, Roasted Potatoes

After trying to brine pork chops, I have decided that I would never make pork chops again without brining them first. It is the most bullet proof way of cooking pork chops, and not overcooking them and drying them out. The brine injects so much moisture and flavour. I also did the most simple brine possible.

ingredients:

4 pork chops, bone or no bone

2-3 cups water
1/2-1 cup salt
handful of peppcorns
2 bayleaf

1 apple
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
directions:

1. In a pot, heat 2-3 cups of water. Basically enough that you could full submerge the pork chops in. Put in 1/2-1 cup of salt. Don't skimp on the salt. It may seem like a lot, but you want the brine to tasty pretty salty. The salt it what will open up the cells of the pork chop and inject the flavour and moisture. Put in a handful of whole peppercorns into the water, as well as a bay leaf.

2. Let the brine cool over many hours. Or you could put it in the fridge to speed up the process. Once the brine has cooled and is room temperature, you can submerge the pork chops. Ideally you could brine them over night, or for a full day. But I assume you'd want to do it for at least 4-6 hours, but I'd recommend over night.

3. The next day, you can grill the pork chops on the grill. Or fry them in a pan. Or do like me and use a grill pan. Maybe 6 minutes each side.

4. These brined pork chops as a tad salty because of the brine, so it's great to pair it with something sweet like apple sauce. I just chopped up some apples into cubes, and put them in a pan. Added a little brown sugar, white wine vinegar. But you could also just use some apple sauce from a jar if you want.

5. For the carrots, I just tossed some cooked carrots in some honey and butter. And for the potatoes, I cubed them and tossed them in oil, salt, pepper, and some herbs. And then put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Classic Creamy Caesar Salad

Classic Creamy Caesar Salad

ingredients:

1/2 cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 white anchovies
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups canola oil

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups loosely torn country bread (about 3/4-inch pieces)
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley

directions:

1. In a food processor, combine parmigiano-reggiano, ancovices, egg yolk (no whites), 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 2 cloves of roasted garlic. Blend.

2. Slowly drizzle in canola oil into the food processor as it is blending. The oil will emulsify with the egg yolk, and the dijon mustard will help it emulsify as well. Pour in around 1-1/4 cups. Check the consistency as you go. Stop when it looks creamy and saucy.

3. To make croutons. Cut a day old, stale piece of bread into cubes. Fry them into a pan with oil and toss them so that each side is cooked evenly. Fry them until they are a golden brown, and then pull off the stove and rest them on some paper towel.

4. Season the croutons with salt, pepper, and parmigiano-reggiano cheese. You can also use some fresh parsley chopped up if you have it, but it's not really needed.

5. Layer dressing and croutons on top of some chopped up romaine lettuce.

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

I found a recipe for this soup on a Jamie Oliver recipe. I changed it a little, like I didn't add the egg for example. I just thought I'd make the recipe a little easier from things from my fridge and pantry. It was a nice spicy soup, good for the winter time.

ingredients:

half a link of chorizo
1 can of chickpeas
1 carrot
1/2 onion
handful of kale
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 container of chicken stock (or veggie)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Dice one onion, and put it in a large pot with some oil or butter. Chop up about half a link of store bought chorizo, and toss that into that pot after the onions get translucent or caramelized. At this point you can also toss in one carrot cut into tiny pieces. Put in 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and mix. Next, put in about 2 cloves of garlic crushed. And cook for 1-2 minutes.

2. Then add your can of diced tomatoes, and about 1/2 container of chicken stock. Put in about as much as you'd like. After that, you can put in one can of whole chickpeas. Put the pot at about medium heat, and cooking for 15-20 minutes.

3. Let the pot cook, so that the carrots and chcikeaps are all cooked through. Then add in a handful of chopped kale into the pot. Cook for a few more minutes.

4. Taste the soup. Is it spicy enough? Salty enough? Add more cayenne pepper or chili flakes for spice. If you'd like the soup to be a little redder you could also add some paprika.

Lobster Cobb Salad

Lobster Cobb Salad

Want to make a fun twist on a classic Cobb Salad, instead of chicken, use lobster! As Mark McEwan would say, "A cobb salad is a meal in a bowl".

ingredients:

1-2 lobster tail and/or claws
4 bacon slices
1/2 tomatoes
1 avocado
1 egg
6 cucumber slices
handful of romaine lettuce
olive oil
vinegar
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Cook claws or tails from fresh, or frozen. If from frozen and it's already cooked (if it's red), than just let it thaw in the fridge and it will be ready to use for the salad. If you need to cook it, just boil it in hot water for maybe 5 minutes. If it's a tail, you'll know it's done when the tail is red and has curled. If you do cook it, make sure you let it cool off before you add it to your salad.

2. Hard boil some eggs. In a post, cover your eggs with water and bring to a boil with the lid on. Once the pot is boiling. Kill the heat. And let it sit for 20 minutes. This will help ensure you don't overcook the egg.

3. Fry some bacon in a pan, and once its done remove to a cutting board and chop into bit size pieces. Set aside and let it cool.

4. Chop tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, and lettuce all into bite sized salad pieces. Make a vinaigrette (3 parts oil, one part vinegar) with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. And maybe dijon mustard if you want to help it bind even further.

5. Take your vegetables for your salad and arrange them on a plate, along with the hard boiled egg. Then top with your chunks of lobster and bacon. Drizzle dressing over top. 

Reuben Sandwich with Pomegranate, Sunflower Seed, Kale Salad

Reuben Sandwich with Cranberry, Sunflower Seed, Kale Salad

A deli classic, and one of the best sandwiches you can make with meats from your local deli counter.

ingredients:

100-200 grams shaved corned beef
sauerkraut
thousand island dressing
mozzarella or swiss cheese
rye bread (or your favourite bread)

kale
pomegranates
sunflower seeds
oil
white wine vinegar
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Take some shaved corned beef that you can get shaved at your grocery deli. Don't use the packaged stuff, as it isn't thin enough and definitely won't be as nice. Put a pile on a baking tray for each sandwich you need. On top of the corned beef, place some shredded mozzarella or swiss cheese on top. Put in the oven at 400 degree for 5 or so minutes until the cheese melts.

2. Toast the bread if you'd like it toasted, or just use a nice plain rye bread, and lift the corned beef off the baking tray with a spatula and place it on top of the bread. Top with thousand island dressing, which will give it a tangy zip and help cut through the fat of the cheese and corned beef. And then top with sauerkraut. Top with another piece of bread to complete the sandwich.

3. Serve with a side salad, or a pickle.

Ricotta, Spinach and Egg Battered Tilapia - Gluten-Free

Ricotta, Spinach and Egg Battered Tilapia - Gluten-Free

When I was younger my mom sometimes covered chicken with egg and fried it. We often had it with chinese food, so I always assumed it was an asian thing. So the one day, after being tired of breaded fish, and having some ricotta in the fridge, I thought of covering fish in egg and doing the same thing. I turned out pretty well.

ingredients:

tilapia
egg
ricotta
spinach
salt
pepper

directions:

1. In a bowl, mix two eggs, a handful of chopped spinach, and about 1/4 cup ricotta cheese. Beat together with a folk until smooth. And season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip fresh, or defrosted tilapia, into the egg mixture. After dipping, put fish into a frying pan. And cook both sides until egg is a golden brown. The fish will probably be cooked through at that point. If you want the egg mixture to adhere better, dip the fish in flour first, and than the egg. But it won't be gluten free at that point.

3. Eat with maybe some rice, and a greek salad, like the picture above.

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

A great winter soup that is filling, but is also a little different. Tired of beef stew or chicken noodle soup? Give this soup a try! The turkey sausage is a refreshing change of pace compared to boring chunks of chicken breast. Also this soup is spicy, which also makes it great for the winter months or if you have a cold.

ingredients:

2 spicy or mild turkey sausages. You can substitute with pork as well, turkey is just healthier
2 white or yellow potatoes, skins on, sliced of cubed
handful of kale
garlic
salt
pepper
chili flakes, or cayenne pepper
1-2 containers chicken stock, or veggie stock
1 onion
butter
flour
cream or milk (optional)

directions:

1. Dice up your onion, and put it in a large pot with some butter or oil. Let it simmer and start to caramelize. When it's starts to become translucent put in your turkey sausage. If they are in casings, cut the casing of the turkey and squeeze out the meat inside. Season the onions and meat with salt, pepper, chili flakes (cayenne), and crushed garlic.

2. After you have cooked the meat for a while in the onions and spices, add your stock. At this point add your potatoes well.

3. In a sauce pan, add some butter. Melt it down, then slowly start to add flour. Make a rue which you will use to thicken your soup. If you don't want to make a rue, or you want your soup to be creamy add some cream or milk instead. Or you could add both.

4. Cook the soup on low to medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through. Once the potatoes are almost cooked, put in some chopped up kale and let it cooked for at least a few more minutes.

5. Taste test your soup. Is it spicy or salty enough for you? I find I like mine a little spicy, so I might add some more chili flakes at this point if I want.

S'mores Cookies

S'mores Cookies

A great twist to a classic cookie, by combining it with the flavours of a classic camping treat.

ingredients:

2.5 cups flour
11 tbsp butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
crushed graham crackers
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 salt

directions:

1. In a bowl mix your dry ingredients together: flour, salt, baking soda, and set aside. In another bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined.

2. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine on low speed.

3. Once everything is mixed together, roll dough into balls. About the size of little meatballs.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. And place balls of the cookies dough out on a tray. About 1-2 inches apart depending on how big your balls are.

5. Cook for 5 minutes, and remove from oven. Then press marshmallows and chocolate chunks into the top of the cookies. Then bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Tacos Al Pastor with Homemade Small Tortillas

Tacos Al Pastor with Homemade Small Tortillas

So I was watching the Sandwich King show one day, and Jeff Mauro made some tacos al pastor, which I believe is one or the most popular tacos in Mexico. Pork and pineapple, how could you go wrong? I also made the corn tortillas at home which were fairly easy. I wanted to have tiny ones, and you just can't buy those in the store from what I've seen. I also didn't have a tortilla press, so I was pressing balls of dough with a plate.

ingredients:

pork - any cheap cut of pork will do, as you'll be cutting it up into smaller pieces
pineapple (or pineapple juice)
red onion
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or cayenne)
cumin
garlic
salt
lime
cilantro

masa flour
water
salt

directions:

1. If you are going to make your own tortillas, you'll want to make them ahead of time. The number of ingredients really isn't a lot, and they aren't too complicated to make. Though maybe hard to master, and make them perfect. If you have a tortilla press, great! If not, like me, just press them with a plate.

2. On the back of your masa flour (corn flour) there are probably directions. Basically combine masa flour with water and salt. Then form them into little balls. Press them with a plate wrapped in saran wrap so that they won't stick. While you are working, you might want to cover the tortillas or dough with a wet paper towel to keep them from drying out.

3. In a frying pan, or cast iron pan, cook the tortillas. About 1-2 minutes each side. They will bubble and turn brown a little bit. That's when you know they are done.

4. To make the pork. Cut your pork into small pieces. If you can, marinate the pork overnight for optimal flavour. While your pork is marinating, you can dice up some red onions, and chop some cilantro to top on your tacos.

5. Grilled or fry some sliced pineapple, or use pine apple juice. Put it in a food processor with some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or use cayenne pepper if you don't have any), garlic, cumin, salt and blend. Mix the sauce with the pork, and put in a freezer bag to marinate. Set some pineapple aside if possible, and cube it to top on your tacos.

6. Pull out freezer bag, and in a cast iron pan or frying pan. Cook the pork in some oil. Turn and flip it around to make sure all sides get cooked.

7. When the pork is cooked. Spoon over your tortillas, and add some cubed grilled pineapple, diced red onions, and chopped cilantro. Put some limes on the side that you can squeeze on before eating.

Crab Cakes and Arugula, Pear and Bacon Salad

Crab Cakes and Arugula, Pear and Bacon Salad

I always thought you needed expensive fancy fresh crab meat to make crab cakes. But you can really make them with the canned crab you can find in the store. Maybe they would be better if they were all fresh and fancy, but you are gonna break it all up anyways. So I don't think it's a big deal.

ingredients:

1 can of crab meat, or lump crab however you can find it
1 egg
1/2 red pepper
1 tbsp flour
salt
ground pepper
1/4 onion (optional)

arugula
bacon
pear
olive oil
white wine vinegar
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Take your crab meat out of the can, and place it in a mix bowl. Break it up with a fork so it isn't in chunks, but nice and flaky. Then add one egg (white and yolk) into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix contents of the bowl together.

2. On a cutting board, finely dice red pepper and some onion (though the onion would be optional). Then add these to your bowl of crab. Instead of using bread crumbs to help bind our crab cakes, say like a burger, add a tbsp spoon or soon of flour. Add enough so that the mixture isn't soggy and wet.

3. Form crab mixture into balls that will be flattened into patty size. About the size of a kiwi, or maybe a little bigger. In a frying pan, heat some oil or butter on medium heat, and place your crab balls in pan. After places a ball into a pan, flatten it down a little with a spatula.

4. Cook crab cakes on both sides until you get a brown crust on both sides. To should help to ensure that the crab cake is cooked through.

5. For a side salad, mix some arugula with cut up pear, fried bacon, and an oil and vinegar dressing. You could even add some shavings of parmigiano-reggiano. Either way, arugula is a good accompaniment to the crab cakes.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Chili Cheese Dog

Chili Cheese Dog

This is the perfect game day food! Forget the nachos, chili dogs are where it is at. What's great about them is you can make the chili ahead of time and just warm it up later. You can obviously use whatever hot dog you want, but I find the all beef juicy jumbos have the most snap to them. I just love the texture and the flavour!

ingredients

schnieders all beef juicy jumbo hot dogs
hot dog buns
cheddar cheese
red onion
ground beef
onion
garlic
tomato paste
cayenne
cumin
pepper
salt

directions

1. Make chili ahead of time by frying onions in a big pot. Add ground beef to onions and season with cayenne, cumin, pepper and salt. Sear meat so it is brown and the fat has cooked out into the pot. Add tomato paste and/or canned tomatoes and simmer for 1-2 hours.

2. Dice some red onions. Shred some cheddar cheese. Warm up your chili.

3. Grill up some hot dogs and put them on your favourite hot dog bun. Then later chili, cheese and onions on top in that order.

Kale Walnut Pesto with Watermelon, Feta, Mint Salad

Kale Walnut Pesto with Watermelon, Feta, Mint Salad

ingredients

bowtie pasta (or your pasta of choice)
bunch of kale
1/3 cup walnuts
1 lemon (juice and zest)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano
salt to taste
pepper to taste

watermelon
mint
feta

directions

1. Cook or steam chopped kale slightly for 30-60 seconds just so its tender

2. Combined kale, garlic, walnuts, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, lemon zest in a food processor

3. Blend ingredients while adding olive oil, or just add the full amount and blend

4. Store in jar, or freeze in ice cube trays to make pesto cubes for later use

Tuscan Bread Salad

Tuscan Bread Salad

Bread? As a salad? Yes Yes and Yes! Who doesn't love croutons? Why not just skip over the whole green leafy part for a change and make the croutons the star of the show.

ingredients

baguette or crusty french or italian bread
grape or cherry tomatoes (or any kind of fresh tomato)
cucumbers
red onion
green onion
salt
pepper
garlic powder

dressing: olive oil, white wine vinegar or balasmic, salt, pepper, dijon mustard

directions

1. Slice bread into good size cubes, which will be the big juicy croutons of the salad.

2. Chop cucumber, tomato, red onion into bite size pieces to be mixed with bread.

3. Heat some oil in a pan, and once its hot, toast your bread cubes in it. Toss around the cubes to make sure they don't get burnt and that each side gets slightly brown.

4. While the croutons are still warm. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Mix bread with diced up vegetables.

6. Add in your salad dressing made from oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, dijon mustard. Or whatever salad dressing you want but preferably oil and vinegar.

Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding

Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding

I was gifted some ramekins for my birthday, so then I was able to make some individual sized bread puddings like how I always dreamed. I had some old hot dog buns from a camping trip I used, which surprisingly worked great, but you can use any bread product. The lemon zest complimented with the blueberries is what really makes it special.

ingredients:

old bread or hot dog buns
1 pint blueberries
2 eggs
2 cup almond milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest

directions:

1. Cut bread or left over buns into chunks. About 1-2 inches wide. And then set aside.

2. Add 2 eggs, 2 cups of almond milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1 cup sugar, and mix.

3. Fold in your blueberries, and your bread pieces until the bread is completely wet and is soaking up the mixture. Let the bread soak for 30 minutes.

4. Fill mixture into greased ramekins, and put in the oven at 350 F derees for 30 minutes, or until it feels firm in the centre.

Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

This pizza is at least a little out of the ordinary from the typical fare you can get at pizza places. This photo I took won a Food Network Cooking Club Challenge for a month based on this pizza that was on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here.


ingredients:

dough
chicken
red pepper
pineapple
mozzarella cheese
red onion
green onion
tomato sauce

directions:

pizza dough:

1. Fill a mixing bowl with 1-1 and 1/4 cups of warm water in a bowl.

2. Add 1 tbsp of active dry yeast. Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar, or white sugar if you feel the yeast is old. It will help activate the yeast and give it something to "eat". Let stand for about 10 minutes until white frothy bubbles are on top. Add in 1 tbsp of oil (though probably optional) and 1/2-1 tsp of salt.

3. Mix in 3 cups of flour. You can add more flour if its too sticky. Kneed dough on a flat surface covered with flour. Add more flour to the surface as needed. Maybe kneed for at least 10-15 minutes. Until the dough no longer sticks together on your hand.

4. Form the dough into a ball and coat with olive oil. Put in a covered container in a warm place. Warm is key. I sometimes run the oven for a little while, and then turn the oven off and put it in a pot. Let it sit for at least one hour. Two hours works too. The Longer the better. The dough should double in size.

5. Punch the dough, and cut in half. This pizza recipe will make two pizzas.

6. Oil a pizza pan with butter or margarine. And dust it with cornmeal. The cornmeal will adhere to the grease. And then spread out the dough on the pan.

7. Layer pizza sauce (or you could take tomato paste, add some water, salt, herbs if you want). Top with mozzarella cheese. Then add diced red pepper, red onion, pineapple, and the kung pao chicken (recipe bellow)

8. Cook pizza in the oven at 400 F for 20-30 minutes. Whenever the pizza starts to get that golden brown colour.

kung pao chicken:

Take any cut of deboned chicken and marinate in something spicy (cayenne, or sriracha sauce), soy sauce, garlic, white wine or rice vinegar. About 1 tbsp each. After marinating cook chicken in a frying pan. You can add cornstarch to the sauce to think it a little and help it adhere to the chicken.

Lobster Flatbread

Lobster Flatbread

ingredients

1 lobster tail
handful of basil
1/2 red pepper
a pile of shredded mozzarella cheese
parmigiano-reggiano cheese
olive oil
salt
pepper
flatbreads (store bought) or you could make your own dough

directions

1. If your lobster tail isn't cooked, cook it, and then chop it into bit size pieces that would be appropriate on a pizza.

2. Dice some red pepper and basil to also put on the pizza.

3. Take your store bought flatbreads (which are quite the convenience) and drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

2. Top flatbread with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then your chopped lobster, red pepper, and basil. Sprinkle with parmigiano-reggiano cheese if you have it.

5. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

This coconut curry was delicious! It was the first time I added sweet potato to a curry and I think it turned out very well. By getting some of the sweetness from the onion and sweet potato, I found I had to add less sugar to the curry itself (as I like mine a little sweet pared with the coconut). The cauliflower rice was an idea I got from Jamie Oliver.

ingredients

1 can chickpeas
1 can coconut milk
1 onion
1 sweet potato
1/4-1/3 cauliflower
A handful of kale
1 tbsp of curry powder of paste
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/2 coriander
1/2 brown sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt

directions

1. Start by prepping all your ingredients by chopping the sweet potato into chunks, dicing the onion, slicing the kale into thing strips, and opening your cans of chickpeas and coconut.

2. Begin cooking by frying your onions in some kind of flavourless oil until they are translucent. You can then add in your spices and garlic. Cook them for a 1-2 minutes to reinvigorate them.

3. Toss in your sweet potato, chickpeas and cauliflower as they will take longer to cook than the kale. Then add in your coconut milk (including most of the liquid if you want it a little soupy, if not try to use most of just the creamy parts) and any spices you haven't already added.

4. At this point things will need to cook for a while. Maybe 10-15 minutes. But this is the most important part because you need to taste the sauce of your curry. You want to find a nice balance. It needs enough salt, sweetness, and heat to really work.

5. After the sauce is tasting good and it has cooked down a bit and your vegetables are cooked through. Add in your kale. This should cook through in a few minutes.

6. Serve with rice or quinoa. Or you can blend some cauliflower in a food process until its the shape of rice. Steam it. And perhaps lightly salt it with a fine salt.

Sweet Potato, Kale and Chorizo Hash With Fried Eggs

Sweet Potato, Kale and Chorizo Hash

This hash has the perfect combination of salty, sweet and smokiness. It works for a breakfast, lunch or dinner. The plus is it's easy to make, and the hash is also good as leftovers. My girlfriend has made me a hash like this without chorizo, so I decided to kick it up a notch. But if you don't have chorizo or want to make it vegetarian, omit it.

ingredients:

1/2 a chorizo cut into cubes
A handful of kale sliced/chopped thinly
1 sweet potato cubed
1/2 onion diced
1/4 tsp of cayenne
pepper
salt
garlic or garlic powder (optional)

directions:

1. Fry onions in a frying pan on low until they get translucent, or slightly yellow in colour.

2. Add in your chopped chorizo, and mix it with the onions, and let it cook and play for a few minutes

3. Stir in your sweet potato to the mix, and add your spices (cayenne, salt, pepper)

4. Occasionally turn and move around the whole works with a wooden spoon or spatula. You want to try to get a little bit of brown and crispyness on your sweet potato.

5. Once the potatoes are cooked through and have a bit of colour to them. Toss in your kale to cook for the last 1-2 minutes. It won't take long.

6. Eat with fried eggs if you have them!

Friday, January 17, 2014

The Nut Job

Today 'The Nut Job' comes out! This blog will usually be about food, but I thought I'd share this release as I've worked on it for 1.5 years. I was responsible for some of the surfacing and texturing. (the colours and surface qualities) I hope people out there, especially the kids, enjoy it! Please go see it if you have the time.