Quick Broccoli Rabe

For those "broccoli' haters out there (and I mean you Jess) I challenge you to try this recipe and not like it.  Although broccoli rabe may contain the name 'broccoli' I assure you it tastes nothing like the version you are thinking you hate right now - the kind that is steamed to a soft mush with little chewing required.  Broccoli rabe is also known as rapini and is much more bitter and peppery than traditional broccoli, think bok choy meets arugula, tipped with tiny broccoli heads.  Just another way to Eat Yer Greens!

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 bunch of broccoli rabe, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2" pieces
salt and pepper

pinch of chili flakes or 1 tsp chili garlic paste

In a large skillet over medium heat 2 tbsp olive oil, once oil is hot - add garlic and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Remove slices with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add broccoli rabe, chilis, salt and pepper to skillet and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, add splash of water and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Return sliced garlic to skillet and toss to incorporate.  Serve.

Ice Cream Cookie Cups

I'm an engineer by education and so I'm a stickler for efficiency.  As such, I'm a big fan of meals with edible containers.  Sandwiches, calzones, burritos, and chili in a bread bowl all strike a chord deep within my fussy engineering psyche.  In the words of George Steinbrenner (aka, Larry David): "From 1973 to 1982 I ate the exact same lunch every day: turkey chili in a bowl made out of bread. Bread bowl, George. You'd eat the chili, then you'd eat the bowl. Nothing more satisfying than looking down after lunch and just seeing a table."

Thus, I was completely bowled over when I saw this idea on The Daily Buzz.  The idea had all the hallmarks of brilliance (simple, repeatable, obvious in retrospect, and delicious) and I am still amazed that it took me almost 32 years to come across it.

The process is remarkably simple: flip over your muffin tray and grease the outside of it (yeah, you read that right). Then mound the cookie dough over the bumps.  Bake for ~10 minutes at 350F until the dough sets and pop your cookie cups off to cool.

As the cookies bake, the dough will flow down and around the bumps on the muffin tin.  Thus, it's a good idea to use a cookie dough that doesn't spread out too much as it will just flow off the mold and pool at the bottom.  T-Moo's oatmeal chocolate chip dough is ideal.

You can fill these with just about anything you want but I used vanilla ice cream and steeped strawberries, topped with a strawberry rosewater coulis because I really wanted to cook something with rosewater in it!

Coulis:
1 cup diced strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp rose water
1/2 cup water
1 tsp butter

Saute the berries in the butter for 1 minute, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until reduced by half.  Blend with an immersion blender or actual blender and strain over dessert.

Steeped berries:
1 cup strawberries, quartered
1/2 tbsp sweet balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Toss to coat and reserve for 30-minutes to an hour in the fridge.

Soft Polenta with Rosemary

I have often seen polenta on menus, on cooking shows and have once before tried it and do remember liking it; however, I have never tried making it.  I never really knew what to serve it with, or what it would be a good accompaniment to...something that I would usually serve with potatoes maybe, or rice?  I couldn't seem to figure it out.  Also, I was under the assumption that polenta required 'babysitting', ie: you cannot take your eyes off of it for even a second, as disaster may ensue (similar to my thoughts on risotto).  Polenta is a soft, pillowy bed for just about anything served on top, especially good for braised meats with rich sauces and I have discovered that it is quite easy to make and extremely versatile.  You could experiment with almost any combination of herbs and cheeses to compliment your dish, try thyme and goat cheese with pork or rosemary and blue cheese with beef, the combinations are endless!

3 cups stock, chicken or vegetable

1 cup water

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a medium pot heat broth, water and garlic until boiling.  Turn heat to medium and slowly whisk in cornmeal, ensuring there are no lumps.  Once Cornmeal has been whisked in, turn heat to low and with a wooden spoon, stir constantly for about 10 minutes, until thick and creamy.

Off the heat stir in cream cheese, Rosemary, salt and pepper.  Finish by stirring in Parmesan cheese. 
Serve immediately, or if prepared slightly before eating, cover with lid and return to very low heat, stir occasionally so polenta does not stick to bottom of pot.

Cran-Apple Oatmeal Muffins

I was recently stocking up on some kitchen supplies when I came across a huge display of beautifully patterned paper muffin cups. Now normally I am more of the ‘cooking’ type but there is something about brightly coloured muffin cups that convinces me that I can be a better baker and, regardless of what is inside of them, if I use nicer cups my baked goods be more delicious. With this in mind, I purchased four packages of 60 cups each, effectivly signing myself up for a years worth of baking. I am happy to say that as good as these muffins are when baked inside a greased muffin tin, unwrapping them from a lovely paper cup makes them more of a treat!  I usually eat these as a breakfast on the go or packed as an afternoon snack.  The addition of grated apple keeps these muffins moist, making them great for freezing.

Makes 12-14 muffins

1 large apple, grated

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cranberries, frozen

1 1/2 cups oatmeal, large flakes

1 cup flour

1 tbsp ground flax

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375F.

Line muffin tins with papers and spray with cooking spray to grease.

In a medium bowl combine grated apple, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla and mix well.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine oatmeal, flour, flax, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix well.  Add reserved wet ingredients to flour-oatmeal mix and stir to incorporate.  Stir in cranberries and almonds.

Fill muffin cups to the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick can be inserted in centre and removed cleanly.  Remove from muffin tin and cool completely on a cooling rack.

*If freezing, wrap individually in plastic wrap, then freeze.  To thaw, remove muffin from freezer, let stand overnight and enjoy in the morning.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Arugula, Roasted Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese

Once a week, the Onion Gogglers engage in a brutal and exhausting ritual known as "Wednesday Night Spin Class". The class is a tear-inducing, gruelling, sweatfest but is also lots of fun and immensely satisfying. So satisfying that I want to make the most of the "spinning shine", that feeling of doing something really good for your health, by extending healthy behaviours to other areas of my life. For me, the mid-week health boost means I focus more on eating well, getting plenty of sleep, and flossing for the day or so before and after each class (specifically, until the "Friday Night Bottle of Wine" ritual begins and it all goes out the window). I try to get to the gym throughout the rest of the week as well, but there's something about spinning that motivates me to be good more than any other exercise. Perhaps it's the tight shorts.

While I occasionally indulge in these, these, and plenty of this, most days we opt for meals like this one that are healthy and quick to make. This dish is full of good things: nutrient-dense vegetables, whole grains, and a sensible amount of cheese (because it makes me happy, which is good for you too).  It's ideal as a quick week night supper and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day. For all you carb-haters, it's also delicious if you omit the pasta and make a salad version topped with pumpkin seeds and an egg or cup of cooked lentils for protein.

Makes 4 servings

2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1" cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of crushed chili flakes
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper
4 cups arugula
2 tablespoons goat cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 cups whole wheat pasta (I used whole wheat egg noodles)
1/4 cup reserved pasta water

Heat the oven to 400F. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with chili flakes and salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft and being to brown.

While the sweet potatoes cook, crumble the goat cheese into a large serving dish along with the arugula, Parmesan, and a generous pinch of pepper. Bring a large pot of boiling, salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve a 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Add the warm pasta, sweet potatoes, and pasta water to the bowl with the arugula. Toss to coat and allow the heat from the pasta and sweet potatoes to wilt the arugula and melt the cheese. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.

Roast Tomatoes with Pesto

Succulent, sweet and slightly acidic all at the same time, fresh tomatoes are an amazing thing.  Unfortunately, they are available for about 45 minutes here in Canada when summer ends and fall begins.  The rest of the year our tomatoes resemble granny smith apples in colour and texture so that they may survive the trip north to our frozen land.  The result is something that looks like a tomato, bounces like a lacrosse ball, tastes like plywood and is best used as a projectile weapon to deter burglars.  If, however, you roast these woody little spheres, they come close resembling actual tomatoes and are quite delicious, giving you the illusion of it being late August instead of late January.

4 tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, removing the woody white roots of the stem. Toss to coat in olive oil and balsamic and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven until the tomatoes start to break down and caramelize, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven, top with pesto and serve. 

Maple Whisky Glazed Hen with Wild Rice Stuffing

I have a tradition of buying a bottle of scotch from the duty free store every time I'm out of the country. Over time I've built up quite a collection of almost twenty scotches, however, we live in a condo and the amount of room we can allocate to booze storage is somewhat limited, so T-Moo has enacted a 1 in 1 out policy in our liquor cabinet.  Seeing as I have a hefty travel schedule coming up and not being one to break with tradition, I needed to find a way to up my scotch consumption. A Robbie Burns day meal seemed like the perfect fit!

We scoured around our favourite web hangouts for inspired whiskey recipes and came across Zen Chef's AWESOME sounding recipe for soy-whiskey glazed baby chicken with sticky rice stuffing.  It really was an ideal pairing as this weekend was also Chinese new year, however, we wanted to roll with a slightly more earthy flavour to complement the smoky whiskey so we substituted sticky rice with wild rice and brown rice and then swapped out soy with maple syrup to maintain the sweetness we lost by losing the sticky rice.  The results are a little bit Scottish, a little bit Canadian, inspired by a French chef's Asian hybrid creation and 100% delicious.

4 pheasants or Cornish game hens

2 cups duck or chicken stock

3/4 cup brown rice

1/4 cup wild rice

1/3 cup walnuts

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 onion diced

1 cup rough chopped shitake mushrooms

2 cloves garlic diced

3 sprigs thyme

3/4 cup smooth whiskey (I used Dalwhinnie)

1/4 cup smoky whiskey (I used Ardbeg)

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp brown sugar

Brown the mushrooms in some oil or butter and set aside.  Saute the onions and garlic in a little oil until soft.  Add the stock, bring to a boil, add the wild rice and turn down to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes then add the brown rice and simmer for 15 minutes more until rice is cooked.  Add in the nuts, cranberries, 1 oz of smoky whiskey, and thyme mix well and set aside to cool.

While the rice is cooking, make the whiskey glaze by combining the remaining whiskey and the maple syrup and simmering gently until reduced by half.  Clean and brine the birds (I had to do this as mine were frozen and my guests were arriving shortly).  When the rice is cool enough to handle, stuff the birds with the rice mixture and place in a roasting pan on a rack.  Place the remaining stuffing (if there is any) into a casserole dish or ramekin.

Cook the birds at 400F, basting with the glaze every 10 minutes until juices run clear or the meat registers 170F on an instant read thermometer.  Remove the birds to a platter and cover with foil  Add a half cup of water and any remaining glaze to the roasting pan and bring to a boil on the stove, stirring to scrape up any bits from the pan.  When sauce has reduced by half, strain it to a fat separator if needed or directly to a gravy boat.

We served half a bird per person by slicing the birds in half down through the breast (they're small so you shouldn't have trouble if your knife is sharp) and served each portion on top of a gratin of potato, tomato and zucchini.