Grilled Corn Salad

July 15th, 2012

 

The grilled corn adds a nice smokey flavour to this festive summer salad. Goes well as a side dish with grilled meats or make it into a one-bowl meal by tossing with leftover roast chicken.

 

 

 

SERVES 4 to 6

4 ears of corn, husked removed and cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
2 cups canned chick peas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup coriander, finely chopped

 

Rice Vinaigrette Dressing

1/3 cup rice vinegar
½ cup sunflower or grape seed oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Heat barbecue or stove top grill pan to medium high. Brush each ear of corn with olive oil. Place on the hot grill and cook for about 15 minutes, turning frequently to ensure a golden crust on all sides. Remove form heat and let cool on a plate.

Place the remainder of the vegetables, chick peas and chopped coriander in a large bowl.  Remove the kernels of the corn by carefully slicing them from the stalk and place into bowl. Mix all the ingredients.

To make the salad dressing, place the vinegar, oil, maple syrup, celery salt, salt and pepper in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour the dressing into the salad and mix. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

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Mushroom, Spinach & Goat Cheese Crepes with Béchamel Sauce

November 16th, 2010

Filling

1 cup soft goat cheese – chevre (Fifth Town Artisan Cheese)
1 large onion sliced thin
4 cups fresh Ontario Spinach
4 cups cremini or mixed mushrooms (stems removed)
Handful of chives or other fresh herbs, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Sauté onion till golden brown. Add in spinach till cooked, season with salt and pepper. Place in a bowl and mix in chevre and herbs.

Crepes

2 large eggs
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
½ cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons green onions

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Whisk in the milk and ½ cup water to blend well, and then add the flour and whisk just till its mixed. Whisk in the scallions. The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream. If too thick, add a bit more water.

Lightly spray a 5-inch crepe pan with oil. Add 2 tablespoons of the batter to the pan and gently tilt and rotate the pan to form a thin pancake. Return the pan to the heat and cook till lightly browned on both sides, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Makes about a dozen crepes. Freeze leftovers with wax paper in between for future use.

Or dip the electric crepe pan in the batter and cook till the crepe is done.

Béchamel Sauce

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, heat the butter till melted over medium-low heat and then add in flour. Stir and cook for about 1 minute. With a whisk slowly add in room temperature milk till thickened on low heat. Strain and return to the pan and add in salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Assembly

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush and oven proof baking dish with soft butter or oil.

Roll up the crepes with the filling, place side by side on the baking dish.  Pour white sauce over crepes and sprinkle the cheese on top. Heat for 15 min in oven. Place the dish under broiler for 1 minute to toast the cheese. Watch carefully.

Serve hot.

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Moroccan Lamb Cigars (Briouat bil Kefta)

September 21st, 2010

2 medium onion chopped finely
4 tablespoons oil
1 ½   pounds of ground lamb (or beef)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon of allspice
½ teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 package of phyllo pastry
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter -melted

To prepare the filling – In a large skillet sauté the onion in some oil for about 5 minutes. Add the meat, spices and cook till done, about 10 minutes.  Make sure it is ground really well. Add in the parsley and coriander and stir.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl and pour over the meat. Cook gently for a moment or two only. Let the filling cool.

Lay out one sheet of the phyllo dough at a time on a plastic mat, lengthwise. With a pastry brush lightly coat the top with melted butter. Then cut each rectangle in four long strips with a small paring knife or pastry wheel.

Place about a tablespoon of the mixture at the bottom of each strip. Start to roll up and tuck the sides in along the way. When you reach the top, apply a bit more butter to seal. Place on a lined baking sheet with wax paper.

Complete all the rolls and freeze on the tray. When frozen, remove from the tray and place in a zip lock freezer bags.

To bake, place in a 425 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes till lightly golden.

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Vicki’s Veggies Bread Salad (Panzanella)

September 9th, 2010



To make the croutons…… We cut crusty french bread into chunks and toss it with garlic, olive oil and herbs… usually basil or rosemary and toast till crunchy.

Cut up 3 to 4lbs of all different colour tomatoes.
coarsley chop 1 red onion
cube 1/4 lb of mozzarella
12 pitted olives
Loads of fresh basil
Put all of this in a big mixing bowl and add croutons…
then the dressing…

Dressing…. Basil Vinaigrette.. in the food processor
2 garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 2 tbls dijon mustard, 2 tbls of honey,
1cup olive oil, loads of fresh basil, some salt and pepper.
Blend until smooth and pour over top of everything and let sit for 10 mins and serve.

I wait for this all year long and then long for it after the tomatoes are over.

Vicki

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Baked Mushrooms with Apples & Chevre

September 5th, 2010

15-20 cremini or white mushrooms
1 cup soft goat cheese (I love Fifth Town Artisan chevre)
1 small apple (finely diced)
1 small sweet onion (finely diced)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp. fresh chopped basil
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley or chives
1 tbsp. Ontario maple syrup
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Ground pepper and salt to taste

In a fry pan, saute the onion in butter and oil till golden brown (about 10 minutes on medium heat). Add the apple and cook anther few minutes, till soft. Add maple syrup and stir. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.

In a bowl, place the goat cheese and herbs. Mix in the apple mixture and stir till it is thoroughly incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. It’s best to cover this and place in fridge for a few hours for the flavors to incorporate (but you can use it right away)

With a damp paper towel, wipe off each mushroom. Remove the stem and with a small knife cut off the top of the mushroom a bit to make a flat surface for the cheese.

Scoop about one tablespoon of the cheese mixture on each mushroom and shape it so it looks like a small dome on top.

Place mushrooms on baking tray and cook in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Serve on its own or on individual plates, place three on a bed of baby spinach and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar for a great appetizer.

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Spicy Asian Eggplant

August 17th, 2010

Sauce:

3 tbsp. light soy sauce
3 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tsp. maple syrup or organic sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. organic tomato puree
1 tsp. ground coriander or 5-spice powder
Ground black pepper to taste

Vegetables:

1 tbsp. sunflower oil
3 Asian eggplants, cut crosswise into 2 inch lengths and quartered
1 onion chopped into bite size pieces
1 hot pepper of your choice finely minced (or 1 tsp. chili paste/Sanbal)
2 tsp. garlic minced
2 tsp. ginger minced
1 large green or red or “whatever color you have “ Sweet Pepper, chopped
1 small can of water chestnuts (sliced thin)
½ cup of chopped fresh basil leaves

To prepare the sauce, mix in a bowl the cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, tomatoes puree and spices until well blended and set aside.

Heat a wok or deep-dish fry pan over high heat with the oil. Stir fry the onion, hot pepper, garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add eggplant, onion and sweet pepper and cook for about three minutes or until done. Stir in the water chestnuts and the sauce and stir till it thickens (about 1 minute). Serve on a warm platter and sprinkle with basil leaves.

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French Peach Cake

August 2nd, 2010

2 cups peeled & sliced Ontario peaches
2/3 cup sugar
Grated rind & juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. melted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp.salt
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. melted butter
¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Grease the bottom of a glass pie dish (with deep sides) with butter. Place the slices peaches on the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the fruit with the sugar and lemon. Dredge with the flour and pour the melted butter on top.

To prepare the batter, mix together in a bowl the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, beat together the egg yolks butter and milk. Add it to the dry ingredients and mix very well. Add a bit more milk if it is too thick.

Place batter on top of peaches and spread evenly with a spatula.

Bake the cake for about 30 minutes. Serve from pie plate or reverse on a plate and cool slightly. Serve warm or room temperature. Goes well with vanilla ice cream, creme anglaise or whipping cream too.

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Zucchini Bread

July 19th, 2010

Ontario fields are abundant in zucchini right now – another great way to enjoy them is in a healthy loaf. Children will love it too!  Grate a whole bunch of zucchini and freeze it in bags for Ontario zucchini bread all year around.

1 1/2 cups, + 3 tbsp. Whole Wheat flour
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 cup organic sugar
3 cups of grated zucchini
1 cup toasted chopped walnuts (optional, but a nice addition)

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate  bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid) mix together the eggs oil and sugar and blend for a couple of minutes. Slowly add in the flour mixture just till it is incorporated. By hand, mix in the zucchini and walnuts with a spatula and then place the batter in a greased, 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake for about 1 hour till golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean form the middle. Cool completely before cutting. Enjoy with butter or not, it’s very moist.

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Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

July 4th, 2010

Blueberry Topping

1 tbsp. buttter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed firm)
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water

Cake

1 cup cake  flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter plus a couple of tbsp. – room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp.  grated lemon rind
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 egg – beaten
4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Start first with the topping. In a sauce pan combine the first 4 ingredients and bring to  boil. Then simmer for about 8 minutes over low heat till the berries break down. In another small bowl, combine the starch and water, then add it to the berries. Bring to boil then set aside and keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a Kitchen Aid mixer,or by hand, cream the butter, then add the sugar, lemon rind and vanilla. Mix well and then add the egg. Slowly add the flour mixture, about half, then add the lemon juice and repeat till all the remaining ingredients have been incorporated.

Butter a round 9 inch pan and then place the berry mixture on top. Spoon the batter on top and even out/spread with a knife.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Invert on a plate and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yum.

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Paella with Chicken, Shrimp & Peas

June 17th, 2010

Paella with Chicken, Shrimp and Fresh Peas
(Serves 4-6)

2 large deboned skinless organic or free range Chicken breasts (cubed) or 6 thighs
36 medium to large shrimp, cleaned
1 cup of finely chopped sweet onions
3-4 cups of WARM organic chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 ½  tsp saffron
1 cup of diced Ontario canned tomatoes (drained)
2 cups farm fresh peas (put in a handful of snow peas too from Vicki’s Veggies)
1 1/2 cups of long grain rice (I like Uncle Ben’s the best)
Salt and pepper to taste
Flat Leaf Parsley and fresh oregano finely chopped
Lemon wedges

Sprinkle diced chicken with paprika and oregano and let sit for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle saffron in 1/2 cup of the broth and set aside in bowl.

Heat pan with olive oil and sauté chicken till nearly done (about 2 minutes)

In the same pan, add onions and garlic and sauté will soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes.

Add rice and coat with all ingredients and cook till translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add warm broth and saffron broth, salt and pepper and cook for 12 minutes, uncovered. Bring to boil then simmer. ONLY stir a bit.

Then place the chicken and shrimp in the rice mixture. Stir to incorporate.

Cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes, then add peas and cook 3-5 minutes till all the broth has been absorbed.

Let rest for 5 minutes, partially uncovered. Plate and serve with parsley & oregano and lemon wedge garnish.
Great served with Sangria or a chilled Rose.

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