Chinese New Year

  by  fab4chiky 

I have a near lifelong friend with whom I share my passion for food and food culture.  Before we had kids we spent a lot of time exploring Chinatown in Toronto, and the Pacific Mall in Markham.  We were told off by an old Chinese man for daring to ask what a Dragonfruit was.  We marveled at the array of amazing edibles in boxes along busy sidewalks, and old grandmothers sitting quietly with bunches of fresh garlic at their feet, waiting to sell to whomever needed garlic right there.  We stood, dazed by the choices for lunch in the food court of the largest indoor Chinese mall in North America.  We also discovered that if you're going to need a washroom and are afraid of creepy basement corridors with bare bulbs hanging between dusty pipes, go before heading to Chinatown along Spadina Avenue.

Over the years we've celebrated our love of Chinese food (and Asian food in general) in many ways, including a few Chinese New Year inspired feasts that we've both shared with friends and had the pleasure of catering for others.  Now that we have children, we're passing along our passion for these flavours to them.

Yesterday I spent a good part of the afternoon prepping a relatively simple meal of Char Siu (Chinese barbecue pork - in this case tenderloin), Chow Mein (stir fried noodles and veggies), and scallion pancakes.  Not authentic, but as Chef Michael Smith once said (paraphrase alert), "When playing culinary tourist, my goal isn't to be authentic.  My goal is to make dinner."  So while we didn't enjoy any whole steamed fish or lotus bean tarts, we enjoyed some new flavours and dishes.  Okay, so the pancakes weren't as good as I remember, and the kids didn't care for them either, but the pork was a hit, and the noodles were so good that hubby found our son eating leftovers off of Dad's plate after we'd all finished.

And that was the goal for me.  To find some new foods and flavours that we can incorporate into our menu.  Hoisin sauce isn't some weird, foreign flavour now.  Noodles can replace rice (without calls for pasta sauce on them).  "Chinese food" doesn't sound strange.

I think I'd like to continue this through the year, as more culinary festivities come up around the world.  This means I get to research food traditions and play culinary tourist, the kids get to learn about the world around them through food, I get to recreate global dishes using local ingredients whenever possible, and hubby... he gets to enjoy it all.  LOL  Though I think I may skip the Haggis for Robbie Burns day on Wednesday.  Perhaps a nice bowl of Cock-a-Leekie soup instead?

I love vinegar

I am a sour freak.  I love sour things.  Always have.  When I was pregnant with my kids, one of my cravings was for sour things.  Especially gummy candy doused in citric acid.  As a kid I loved those 5 cent sour soothers (or sour keys as we called them) and their penny candy cousins (they're probably all a quarter each at least now).  Don't give me "Sour Patch Kids."  They aren't sour enough.  When I want sour, I don't want to mess around with sweetness that takes over after a few moments.  I want face puckering, tongue twitching sourness that may even bring a tear to the eye.

So it's no surprise that I love vinegar.  And a few years ago I happened upon a lovely couple who would rock my world.  I was at a Thanksgiving craft show, perusing the gourmet food tent.  There were so many vendors with so many lovely things to try.  Spreads and jams and sauces and chocolate and cookies and... vinegar.  Not your average flavour enhanced vinegars that are everywhere (shouldn't raspberry vinegar actually be made from raspberries?).  This was the real deal.  Small batch, home made, properly fermented vinegar.  I was drawn to one called Ale and Rum, if I remember correctly.  It was apparently made with Smithwick's Ale, and it was like the punchiest malt vinegar you've ever tasted.  My taste buds exploded.  Wow, was it amazing!  I was hooked.  I forget what else was offered that day, as the varieties have changed and evolved over the years, but from that day nearly 10 years ago, I have been a loyal customer of Mr. Vinegar - aka Roger Lambert and his wonderful wife Joyce.

If you go to their website (mrvinegar.ca) you'll see Roger and Joyce's smiling faces first.  Then you'll read a bit about what makes their vinegar special.  Words like "small batches" and "static fermentation" share space with "premium" and "international awards."  But this isn't a huge corporation.  It's a cottage business, run by a couple with a passion for quality and innovation.  From their original offerings, they've played with ingredients and created some amazing varieties of vinegar.  Among my favourites are the "Rapture of Raspberry" and Peach Chardonnay.  The "Barley Wine," which is their malt vinegar is the best thing fish and chips ever met, and while pricey (you have to inquire about the price and availability), Roger's Maple Syrup Vinegar is a sweet/tart offering that is out of this world and worth every penny.  It is a showstopper on a salad of mixed greens, dried cherries or cranberries, toasted nuts and Feta cheese!

Why am I writing this?  Because I am passionate about food, and about local food.  And Mr. Vinegar is a local (Hamilton) producer of top quality vinegar.  It is a company that I am proud to support and promote. 

They used to be full....

Cookies and Cameras

Those of you who have read this blog for a while (or even just skimmed it and noticed the pictures) know that I have never claimed to be a photo blogger.  I don't imagine I will ever post recipes in photo by photo detail, with ingredients neatly displayed on my counter and dozens of images of each step along the way.  I don't even really enjoy reading posts like that, so it's doubtful that I'd ever adopt that style.  I'm more of a "give me the money shot and get to the recipe already" kind of person.

That said, I got thinking about my humble blog as the new year began.  I don't think I want to be a mega-blogger, with deadlines and sponsors and thousands of readers.  Not right now.  I like being a small time blogger in a big pool of talent.  It affords me the time to be inspired and learn from that inspiration.  So it is with photography.  I looked up the manual for my little Nikon 8mp camera the other day and discovered that I can do things with it.  Like use a setting called "macro" to take better close up shots.  And play with light levels so that not everything I take a picture of in natural light looks like it's glowing.

There is a lot to read, and I have much practice before I can claim that I'm doing well, but I played a bit today and I think I got an image or two hat I can say are better than they would have been before I was inspired to learn more.

And on the plus side, having cookies to photograph means that we have cookies to eat.  These were inspired by Chef Michael Smith's chocolate chip cookies.

Marbled Cocoa Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

In a large bowl (or stand mixer) cream the butter and sugars together until smooth.  Add the corn syrup, egg, vanilla and salt and beat until totally blended. Scrape down the bowl, sprinkle over the baking powder and add the flour, mixing just until combined (yeah, I don't follow standard cookie protocol). Stir in the cocoa and chocolate chips until just marbled.  Streaks of cocoa should still be visible (it may be best to do this by hand, as I overmixed it a bit in my stand mixer).

Working with a teaspoon, scoop up some dough and roll it between your hands and flatten it lightly on a greased or or lined cookie tray. Leave space for the cookies room to expand.

Bake for 12 minutes (15 if you like them crisper), and let cool on a wire rack.

I got 2 dozen from this.

The Evolution of Dinner

I woke up this morning with no clue what tonight's dinner would be.  There's soup in the fridge, but the kids won't touch it (just because it's black bean and cabbage... what's so bad about that?).  There's pork cutlets that I browned the other day because they'd come out of the freezer and had to be cooked.  The freezer holds meatballs, various frozen appetizers that hubby and I keep on hand for in house "date nights," and some larger cuts of meat that would not freeze in enough time to enjoy tonight.

By this afternoon I was no further ahead.  I got thinking of the meatballs and the pork cutlets.  I didn't want to do pasta and tomato sauce.  What about gravy?   Ooh, there's time to caramelize some onions.  How about onion gravy?  How about onion gravy with cranberry sauce, finished with sour cream?  Yeah, that's what I want.  I love onion gravy, and my 7 year old loves meatballs with cranberry sauce in the gravy.  But... the pork cutlets need to be used up first.  So we're having those instead.

The gravy goes like this (no real recipe)...
* Caramelize some onions (4 small in this case) in some oil and butter over low heat until lovely and sticky and brown.
* Deglaze with booze.  I had a little whiskey on hand.  I let it all cook off.
* Sprinkle with flour (generously heaped dessert spoon).
* Add beef broth (a couple of cups?) and bring to a boil to thicken. 
*Add a little cranberry sauce (I made up a small batch - 1/4 C water, 1/4C sugar, 1C cranberries, simmered 10 minutes)
* Add meat and simmer for a while.
* Adjust seasonings to taste.  Add sour cream (I hope I don't forget that step).

I'd serve it over mashed potatoes, but the kids don't like them, so I'll do something more like home fries.  I'll serve it all with pickles and some cucumbers in vinegar in lieu of a salad.

So that's it.  From nothing to a spark to a craving for yummy gravy to supper.  In the middle of the afternoon.

Indian

I realize it's New Year's Eve and everyone is doing retrospective posts about the year behind, or resolving to make 2012 ______ (fill in the blank with the positive action word of your choosing).  Me?  I don't do resolutions. And I haven't really spent much time looking back on the past year.

So instead of all that, I'm going to talk about my first experience eating Indian food in a restaurant.  I've had (bad) Indian takeout, I've had good curries in the homes of friends, I've made some curries that have been quite good myself, and I had some awesome nibbles  in Toronto during Taste of the Danforth some years ago.  But I had never eaten in an authentic Indian establishment until my friend and I went to a place downtown last night.

It was one of those post-holiday craziness, last minute "I need out!" kind of nights for her, and I was only to happy to go along.  We circled around a few times before settling on the pay and display lot across the street from the restaurant.  It was raining.  We didn't want to walk far (aside - what is up with the weather? No snow of any substantial amount thus far, near double digit temps... I'm in a tank top as I type this).  Anyway, we sat in a quiet little corner by the window and had a look at the menu.  There were several dishes I was familiar with, at least by name, and several I'd never heard of.  The descriptions were very helpful (I'll try to link to as many recipes as possible, for those who, like me aren't as familiar with the cuisine as others, but I make no promises about how authentic they are).  I knew I wanted onion bhaji, and was hoping for pakora, but they don't have that.  There were so many delicious looking appetizers that we settled on a mixed platter, which included two kinds of ground meat kebabs, onion bhaji, generous samosas and chicken tikka, with raita, and two anonymous dipping sauces; one sweet, the other very hot.  We chose a white wine to accompany our meal, though they do have Indian beer as well.

While we waited for our appetizers to arrive, we were served two paper thin papadums, flavoured with whole cumin seeds.  A bit like a very light chip, it was pleasant to have something to nibble while we waited.  We also ordered the rest of our meal at that point, having taken our time with the menu.

We decided to order a meat dish and a vegetable dish each to share, plus two pieces of naan bread in lieu of rice.  My friend ordered Chicken Dupiaza, Channa Masala and a hot mango pickle. I settled on a beef dish called Bhuna Gosht, which boasted a "rich, thick sauce" and Saag Paneer, a classic dish of spinach and Indian cheese.  The dishes were smaller than I'd expected, but they ended up being just right for two to share, with some leftover for my friend to take home.  I really liked the sauces that each of the dishes had.  Perfect for dipping the bread into.  The beef was braised and quite tender.  The chicken was alright, but I found it a little bland.  I really appreciated the contrast that crispy peppers and onions in each dish provided.  The chickpeas (channa masala) were really tasty, and the cheese in the saag paneer reminded me a little of curds.  I found that the spinach was a bit strong, but it was nice when mixed with the sauce from one of the other dishes.

We didn't get dessert, but there seems to be a variety of authentic Indian sweets to choose from.  Maybe next time.  We were a bit full, and opted for a walk before heading to another place for dessert.

The service was great.  We had the manager and two servers taking care of us.  It wasn't terribly busy, and the pace of our meal was very relaxed.  I lost track of time, but I think we were nearly an hour and a half.  I grabbed a takeout menu, and I definitely will be using it in the new year.  There, I'll call that a resolution!


This review is linked to UrbanSpoon
 

Nearly ready

I'll save you the ubiquitous "wow, that went by fast," and "I can't believe Christmas is already here" comments so often seen at this point (though they are true). Instead, I'm going to focus on something that doesn't come naturally to me. Organization.  LOL  I'm not making a lot, but much of it needs to be done in the day or two immediately before Christmas.

I'm not hosting Christmas in any way this year. I never do. Our home is too small for more than maybe two extra people. Even at that, the kitchen table would be cramped. We were content to do Christmas here, with just the four of us. It's not how I grew up (we always went to a relatives, or hosted the whole big shebang), but it worked. Except the kids got a bit older and started getting restless spending the whole day at home, even with their new toys. Going to the inlaws for (an admittedly more low key than I'm used to) dinner breaks up the day and gives the kids a whole new (and much, much larger) space to play.

My mother in law likes to cook. We have different styles, mind you. To strike a balance, I've offered to bring a few things this year. I made some of Jamie Oliver's "get ahead gravy" earlier this week. Unfortunately the butcher gave us eight chicken wing pieces instead of eight whole wings. That has a dramatic effect on the end product, I can assure you. I hope the turkey produces lots of flavourful drippings. In the new year I'll make the recipe again, with the proper amount of chicken parts. It would be nice to have some gravy in the freezer for quick meals.

I've broken down the rest of what I need to do into blocks of time.  Last night I made the chocolate crust for the Candy Cane Cheesecake.  This morning I made the base for the sausage stuffing. Bulk sausage, browned with a melange of diced vegetables (onion, garlic, peppers, celery), seasoned with some traditional herbs (sage and thyme) and some which are less so (oregano and basil, in a nod to my Italian roots).  My mother often adds mushrooms to hers, and rosemary, but I'm a fan of neither.  I've added eggplant in past years to bulk things up even more, but I couldn't find any that weren't either huge or past their prime this week.  I've contemplated adding roasted chestnuts.  I still may.  Tomorrow I'll mix it all up with bread cubes and stock and pack it into a pan to cook alongside the bird on Sunday.

Later today I'll make up the cheesecake, using this recipe from Taste of Home.  I'll add extra crushed candy cane to ramp up the Christmas quotient, so I'll need to get those crushed soon.  It seems to be a tradition in our family to finish our holiday meal with a mint dessert.  I think I've done candy cane ice cream the past two years.  The mint is a very refreshing way to end a large meal.  Somehow it makes me feel less over-stuffed and a little more comfortable as I leave the table. LOL

I want to make a couple of gift foods as well, but I'll share about those later, as the recipients might actually read this before I see them.

Then there's the bacon to pre-cook for Christmas brunch and the chocolate chip muffins to bake to nibble between the stockings and the gifts.  I *think* that's everything.  Oh, and I have Christmas cards to finish making, gifts to organize and all of those last minute details (like showering and making sure the children are clean) to attend to.  Glad I wrapped hubby's gifts yesterday.

Since I will not be blogging again between now and Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.  Thanks for reading my little blog.  May the year ahead bring blessings of peace, hope and joy to you and those you love!

~Mama B~

Shortbread, part 2

It's a new day, the sun is shining, and I have a large batch of savoury shortbread cooling in the kitchen.  I tweaked and played with a few recipes that I found, wanting to incorporate certain elements into a cohesive treat.  The result is a flaky cookie, with a nice, savoury edge that will pair well with a glass of wine or cider. There is a little sweetness from the cranberries, and a bit of crunch from the walnuts. I wish I'd added a bit more salt (I've compensated in the recipe), but otherwise I'm pleased with the result.  A little cayenne or thyme or even nutmeg would work in variations, too.  So would very small bits of smoky Speck.

Cheese Walnut Cranberry Shortbread

1 Cup butter, softened
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Kosher salt (careful if you're using a salty cheese)
4 C grated flavourful cheese, at room temperature (I used a blend of old cheddar, Oka and Asiago - this is no time for mozarella and colby)
1/2 C chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 C chopped dried cranberries
2 1/2 C flour
milk, to moisten

Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, spices and salt.  Add the cheese, walnuts and cranberries and blend well.  Mix in the flour until crumbly.  Add the milk, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just barely comes together.  I may have used a tablespoon or so.

On a floured board, work with half the dough at a time.  Bring it together with your hands and roll out to 1/4" thickness.  Cut out into desired shapes, place on prepared sheets and bake for 12 minutes, until light brown.  Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 5-6 dozen, depending on size. 

(As always, I'm not a photo-blogger. My cookies did not actually come out this yellow.)