steamed eggplant and mushrooms with peanut sauce

Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms with Peanut Sauce is a recipe I'd never have wanted to try if not cooking through Everyday Food. This was my first time buying Chinese eggplant and I found myself buying MORE shiitake mushrooms for this recipe. Guess what?! I think my depletion of Fresh Co.'s supply encouraged them to realign their mushroom stash! They now offer shiitakes prepackaged (as before) but also loose in bulk. The loose bulk mushrooms were very fresh and in great shape, so I did something I really should not admit - I removed the caps from the stems in the grocery store and only took the caps! This is so frugal of me, I'm so embarrassed, but I only wanted to pay for what I use (charging $12/lb). I feel bad leaving all these stems in amongst the produce. Don't do as I did - it's bad!

Doesn't this dinner look disgu... um... unappetizing? However, it was actually pretty good! Nuno loved it and I thought it wasn't too bad. We both agreed the peanut sauce was great. What made us both really excited was that this peanut sauce seems to have cracked the recipe for our favourite Thai dinner, Panang Curry. I think if I used the base of this sauce and added Thai red curry paste we'd be set. I'm going to give it a shot sometime soon and I'll blog about how it went.

Making a dinner for Owen from this recipe wasn't easy. I ended up making a Tilapia Baba Ghanoush with the steamed eggplant, greek yogurt, lemon & garlic. Owen enjoyed it.

minestrone soup and caramelized pears

Grey rainy days call for soup! I like the way soup and baked desserts fill the house with comforting smells so I turned to Minestrone Soup and Caramelized Pears.

First off, the Minestrone Soup recipe is very quick and easy. This version includes onions, carrots, leeks, garlic, cabbage, zucchini, kidney beans and macaroni. The only herb added is fresh rosemary, that and the parmesan make this soup's flavour unique. I used a can of San Marzano tomatoes, which I think give a great Italian tomato flavour. I love it and will probably continue to make this recipe down the road. Owen had this soup for dinner as well. I left out the broth but pureed all the veggies, beans and pasta along with a portion of baked sweet potato. He loved it!

The Caramelized Pears scream 'low-budg' since there are only three ingredients: pears, sugar and water. But the final result is so sophisticated tasting! I have to admit, this wasn't really delicious and I probably won't make it again.

apple brown betty

My mother and father in-law are very passionate about home cooking and their interest inspired me years ago to start learning how to cook. When we visit, my mother-in-law is a little bit of a food pusher and sent us home with a bunch of apples they had just hand picked from a local farm. Crispin (Mutsu), Courtland and Empire.

That got me super excited about making Everyday Food's Apple Brown Betty. A brown betty is very similar to a cobbler, grunt & crisp but uses white bread crumbs. So it's the easiest, most simple and economical of the bunch. And, this recipe had 'baby dessert' written all over it! Along with toasted white bread crumbs you combine a little butter, sugar and spices baked with your choice of apples (I chose Courtland and they turned out fantastic!). It is so simple but tasted so good. Because of its simplicity you really enjoy the flavour of the spiced baked apple. Actually, this was my first time grating fresh nutmeg, and wow, is it ever nice!

Owen decided that he liked it so much he fed this dessert to himself. This was the first time he was actually somewhat successful at eating from a spoon on his own.

colaneri estate winery

Colaneri Estate Winery is one of Niagara's newest wineries having opened its doors to the public at the beginning of this month. The reason I'm so excited to blog about it is because Nuno did all the illustrations for each of the different types of wine Colaneri offers.

I paid a visit Thursday afternoon to Colaneri at their location on Concession 6 and York Road (near Chateau des Charms Winery). As you can see it is still under construction but they are open and offering tasting and sales in their boutique. 

Upon entering, there were many canvases of Nuno's artwork mounted on the walls. It was very beautiful to see a setting where his Leonardo DiVinci sketching style illustrations blended beautifully with the decor. 

The winery is already presenting in a huge and beautiful classic Italian style. It reminds me a lot of some of California's Sonoma County wineries because there is gorgeous wrought iron embellishments, burnt umber hues and, once complete, the building will be stucco. There is some foundation for beautiful stone landscaping in what is shaping up to be a breathtaking view upon arrival. Then there is the fantastic view of their vineyard in a huge open view across the back of the building. Apparently it is proposed to be either a restaurant, but more than likely a banquet facility. There really is no expense spared on this operation.  

Each of the wines are inspired and named after a member of the Colaneri family. The illustrations tell a story of the family's legacy, which is the whole idea behind the winery. Some of the wines you will find in their boutique right now include Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah, Guvertsteminer, Cabernet Sauvingon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinot Noir - all the usual suspects that Niagara is well known for. They do not offer blended types and all their wines are barrel-aged (which I tend to prefer). I haven't sampled any of their wines yet - I almost don't know where to even begin. Hopefully we will start our tasting tonight when we attend a wine and cheese party and bring along the Riesling.

Nuno's pretty humble about his work, but I'm super proud of him. This illustration job was quite a workload for him, but in the end it helped us in a big way. It helped in replacing our fridge (to a huge silver monolith which is too big to be photographed) re-aligning cabinetry and our soon-to-be-installed wall oven. Essentially, I'd like to thank Colaneri for helping this blog!

shiitake fried rice

Last night we had Shiitake Fried Rice for dinner.



I really enjoy a good fried rice for dinner. I've always made chicken fried rice and have been making it for so long that the original recipe that I began working from is only a shadow of how altered my current recipe is. So I thought it would be nice to press reset on the whole fried rice idea and make Everyday Food's version.

I feel like fried rice is like making a stir-fry in that you need to have everything prepped first before you begin. Some people believe it's a quick meal, but I can vouch that it is not. Trimming snow peas is a very tedious job that I might just pay if the grocery store sold them chopped with strings removed. Or maybe I just need a sous chef. Once complete, this recipe was good. The seasoning is great but I still prefer mine. Probably the best part of chicken fried rice is how the chicken and the egg taste together. That's pretty much the highlight of mine, so to part with that kinda took the magic away.

Actually, Owen had chicken fried rice. I felt his dinner needed more protein since I didn't want to give him the omelet part of the shiitake fried rice (babies under 1 year are to not eat egg whites). So he had a steamed chicken thigh along with his fried rice. The snow peas and carrot were a little too tough for him to chew, so I blitzed it in the processor and he absolutely loved this dinner.

curried-zucchini soup

I feel as though I'm within a stones-throw from completing the Everyday Food Fresh Flavour Fast book. I gave myself a year to complete it, and it looks like I'll have it down in 8 months.

I recently decided to pull out the first Everyday Food book, Great Food Fast and give it a look through. There were quite a few recipes that caught my eye. One of which I decided to make last night, Curried-Zucchini Soup.

Zucchini seems to be the vegetable of choice from this book. I never thought I liked it much because my only experience with it before Everyday Food was one of those wonderful over-cooked vegetable medleys that crop up at holiday dinners. The boiled zucchini falls over limp and lifeless and tastes like a waterlogged slice of cardboard. Then, through Everyday Food, I discovered that raw and grilled, zucchini is an underrated vegetable. Although the zucchini is essentially boiled to create this soup, there is a great curry flavour infused. As the recipe indicated, I used 2 teaspoons of madras curry powder which gave Nuno the sweats, but was just the right amount of heat for me. Next time we make it I'll hold back on the spice.

artichoke and salami sandwiches

I love when an Everyday Food recipe can be made in 10 minutes without the stove-top or oven!

This is an Artichoke and Salami Sandwich. I'm sure the title of this dinner would send shivers down the spine of any kid... and maybe a few adults. But for us this was one amazingly delicious flavour combination. Seriously, so good! Nice in the same way Ham and Swiss or Turkey and Ranch are together.

So a bit about what goes into this sandwich, other than the obvious. Slices of fontina cheese, baby spinach and thinly sliced Hungarian Salami from Country Corner. The dressing is a combination of artichoke hearts, mayo, fresh basil and lemon. All served on, what the recipe calls for a French country loaf, but I had to substitute for Italian loaf. The bread and cheese are from Antipasto's Di Roma and their accompanying bakery Con Gusto.

pasta with sausage, swiss chard and pine nuts

Last night we tried the Pasta with Sausage, Swiss Chard & Pine Nuts.

Months ago I made the side of Swiss Chard, Raisins & Pine Nuts and to my total surprise I discovered this is an amazing flavour combination. Then and there I decided to spread out the love and hold back on making this pasta recipe (as much as I wanted to jump into instant gratification!). Well, yesterday was the day to go ahead and enjoy!

I purchased the Italian sausage at Country Corner Market (located at Quaker Rd. & Clare Ave. in Welland/Fonthill). They are my favourite place to pick up fresh sausage and purchased just one because they are 9oz per single portion! This is a very creative take on a pasta and I can see us making this very often in the fall & winter months.

potatoes anna, winning hearts and minds chocolate cake, pumpkin pie bars

This is last night's Potatoes Anna.

We had it with a Sunday night family dinner which also included rack of lamb. This looks like a lot of work but was a very simple recipe to prepare. All dead simple due to my mother's amazing mandolin slicer. She has the Bentley of mandolins which is now on my Christmas wish list. I realize that my Starfrit finger hacker must go.
The potatoes are from Tina's Farm Stand and this dish tastes like chips - straight up homemade potato chips.

For dessert we ate my first try at Owen's birthday cake. Thank goodness for testers because this one is not even close to what I want for his birthday. Delicious cake, and although the recipe is touted as a wedding cake, it's somewhere between a pudding and cake. Layering is just not an option. I pretty much had a suspicion this wasn't our winner when there wasn't any leavening ingredients in the recipe. Time to get serious and turn to the Cake Bible for a fool-proof chocolate birthday cake.

We also taste tested Pumpkin Pie Bars. This recipe was in my grandmother's collection and I decided that if Howell's Pumpkin Farm is open, then it's not too early to make this fall treat. These are to-die-for delicious! My mother said she never remembers my grandmother making these, so I'm thinking this might have been a recipe shared from a friend. In that case I won't be spreading any 'secret family recipe' if I share it on this blog.

Pumpkin Pie Bars
1 1/3 c flour
½ c packed brown sugar
¾ c white sugar, divided
¾ c butter
1 c quick-cooking oats
½ c chopped pecans
1 pkg (250g) cream cheese softened
3 eggs
1 can (19oz, 540mL) pureed pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13" pan, line with parchment.

Mix brown sugar & ¼ c white sugar & flour in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture is course crumbs. Stir in oats & pecans. Reserve 1 c of oat mixture, press remaining into bottom of pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, remaining ½ c white sugar, eggs, pumpkin & spice with electric mixer medium speed until blended. Pour over crust, sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into 24 bars.

baked pork cutlets with sauteed spinach and shiitakes

Here is Baked Pork Cutlets with Sauteed Spinach and Shiitakes.

Making this meal was like running a three ring circus. It might have just been one of those days, but picture this: At a critical dinner making moment the dog is extra loopy, Owen is finding every little bit of trouble to lurk into, I'm trying to bread pork and my fingers are gummy and breaded, butter is starting to overheat on the stove, spinach is wilting fast and Owen's dinner is on my mind. Because of this mayhem I don't think I enjoyed this meal simply because I just wanted to get out of the kitchen! Did I not mention how many pots, pans and dishes this meal used? But since that was now a few days ago I can say that this dinner was good and average. I think the flavoured butter was what gave this lack-luster dinner a needed boost.

I don't understand what the big deal with panko bread crumbs are. It's kind of a fake way to make something crispy, but I find they are really sharp and mouth piercing making me feel like I'm eating shards of glass. What's wrong with just regular toasty breading?

Between the Moo Shu Pork and this dinner I have single-handedly put Fresh Co. out of shiitake mushrooms. I even had a Shiitake Fried Rice dinner planned which I had to scrap because of the mushroom depletion. Blessing in disguise I guess because it gave me a much needed break.

moo shu pork

Here is Wednesday night's Moo Shu Pork.

This is an old standby recipe for us. We've been making it since it was first published in January 2008. We loved it first try and I was pleased to see it compiled in the Everyday Food Fresh Flavour Fast book. It tastes completely different than anything else we make. I'm not sure how 'authentic' the flavour is because I don't have a lot of experience with Chinese take-out, but we love it just the same. Hoisin sauce is a key garnish on this, so don't make this recipe without it.

The one thing that I somehow never took note of before was how time consuming this recipe is. I think it is probably because you must clean and trim the pork loin, which, if you're very particular like me, can take quite a bit of time. The same goes for the shiitake mushrooms. I have a bit of a beef with these mushrooms because I don't think they should be sold with stems. I've never seen a recipe that uses them and since portobellos are typically sold without stems, shiitakes should be as well since they are just wasted weight and packaging. Anyways, when it's indicated to expect to have this dinner ready in 45 minutes, I'd say it's way closer to an hour. If we ever make this on a weeknight again Nuno and I will both have to work together to tie this one up quicker.

barley risotto with corn and basil

Ahh, I continue to be surprised by Everyday Food. Tuesday we had Barley Risotto with Corn and Basil, and like Monday's Brazilian Black Beans, it came with an initial trepidation.

I'm not one for barley, but love risotto, so I just kept in mind that this was a healthier whole grain option. It is prepared the exact same way as risotto - which is a real pain in the butt. In the past I haven't left the stove for half an hour to an hour when making it. If you've ever made risotto before you know that you must stand by adding cupful by cupful of stock, frequently stirring the grains while they slowly absorb all liquid until fully cooked. Not a good recipe for a mom watching over a baby. That is to say I stepped away for 10 minutes after each liquid addition and came back and added another. My lack of attention and commitment made no difference whatsoever because this recipe turned out to al dante perfection!

What a comforting joy this recipe is. The corn (fresh from the cob from Tina's) had the same bite as the barley with added sweetness. The basil (also fresh from Tina's) added a nice herbal and fragrant flavour that made everything a little lighter. Owen ate an adult size portion of this! He just kept gobbling it up. It was an incredible dinner we wish we were eating it again tonight.

brazilian black beans

Here is Monday nights Brazilian Black Beans.

I've never had any sort of dinner similar to this. Beans and rice have never been much a staple for us, but after trying this I will definitely keep this as a great future dinner option. Along with the beans and rice are diced beets and garnished with cheddar and lime. It's hard to explain but all these flavours go really well together.

What I loved most about this recipe is how suitable it is for babies. Owen had a portion of beets & seasoned black beans and just loved it.

It's very simple, healthy and inexpensive, similar to the Quick Navy Bean Stew recipe. Yeah, this one is a keeper for sure!

goat cheese-leek tart

Sunday night we enjoyed Everyday Food's Goat Cheese-Leek Tart.

Reading the recipe I knew this was going to be delicious but I didn't realize how easy this was until I blinked and it was done. It was most likely this quick because I used a store bought crust. I chose to do this because I wasn't sure if this recipe would even work out with the way our oven's been lately. I decided to alter the baking instructions because of this oven issue. I used my pizza stone to help crisp the bottom and baked the tart on the top third portion of the oven. These two revisions made the recipe work out great, but it would have been quicker, easier and nicer if we could just replace our wall oven.

This recipe is so very good and very decadent. It tastes similar to a quiche, but without the eggs, which suits me. We had a mixed green salad with heirloom tomatoes, shaved cucumber and radishes. Ooh la la, c'est bon!

blueberry-buttermilk pancakes

Last week I made a couple recipes that required a carton of buttermilk. If you keep up with my blog you'd know how much I hate seeing food go to waste so I've been attempting to use up what I can from this carton. Sunday morning I decided to try out this Blueberry-Buttermilk Pancake recipe from Everyday Food's October 2009 issue. This batter is extremely easy to work with and I decided to make many small baby cakes, most no bigger than a mason jar lid. The recipe is actually quite versatile because the name suggests blueberries are in the batter but you are actually instructed to add them after you form the cakes on your grill.

That left tons of room to play! I used up some of the blueberries we froze in July along with slices of banana and chocolate chips. Very customize-able and perfect for make-your-own-pancake parties. Plus this batter seemed to be very fool-proof and made beautiful cakes!

Now, since there was a relatively small amount of sugar in this recipe, I was comfortable having Owen eat pancakes with us. And he went nuts! As the pancake eating went down, the messier and blue-er Owen became.

He munched on without a care in the world and then enjoyed a leisurely Sunday morning soak in the bath followed by a morning nap. I don't think he could have had a better Sunday morning.