This clean-eating and very tasty Asian inspired dish makes use of three highly nutritious “super-foods”- Maitake Mushrooms, Lacinato Kale and Quinoa. I was in the neighborhood Asian market and came across a selection of beautiful fresh Maitake mushrooms. Maitakes (Grifola Frondosa) are being studied for their beneficial effects on the immune system, for cancer treatment and for their effects on blood lipids, glucose, insulin and blood pressure. They are chock-full of vitamins and minerals and besides that they taste really good.

Lacinato Kale (also called Cavalo Nero or Tuscan or Black or Dinosaur Kale)  is one of my favourite vegetables, like all kale it is full of vitamins and minerals -particularly vitamins A,K,C and manganese as well as fibre and  deliciousness. It is also lovely in pasta dishes or as steamed greens.

Quinoa- I’ve written about how much I love it here before-is actually a seed (of the goosefoot plant- chenopodium quinoa) rather than a grain but it is generally assigned to the whole grains category. It has a complete protein- and lots of it- and is a bit nutty and delicious. I like it cooked a bit al dente so that there is a slightly chewy pop to the little curly-cued seeds when they are cooked. You cook it like rice- making sure to rinse it well beforehand as the seeds contain a naturally occurring saponin that makes them bitter. Just rinse and cook in a 2:1 of liquid to Quinoa for about 15 minutes after coming to a boil. Steaming is good too. 

Stirfry of Maitake Mushrooms, Lacinato Kale and Quinoa

(serves two)

• peanut, coconut or avocado oil for pan
• 1 fresh Maitake mushroom* head, about 2 cups chopped (also called Hen of the Woods in your Asian Market)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-2 cups Lacinato Kale washed, spun and cut into 1 inch ribbons
• Shao Hsing  cooking wine* (optional)
• Black Vinegar* (optional)
• Soy sauce
• Salt
• Szechuan Peppercorns, freshly ground, pinch (optional)
• 2 cups of cooked Quinoa (see above)
• chopped shelled pistachios

Heat a wok or a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. When hot add the oil then the mushrooms and onion, fry until the mushrooms render their juices and the onions are caramelized, add the garlic and cook being careful not to burn it. Add the kale and stir until softened. Add Shao Hsing, Black Vinegar (*found in most Asian Markets) and Soy starting with a Tablespoon of each and then adding more as needed to adjust to taste. Add the cooked Quinoa and some salt and ground Szechuan pepper or regular black pepper and stir all to heat through and serve in small bowls garnished with a Tablespoons chopped pistachios for a bit of crunch.

Good Eating to you!

xo

When it’s cold and snowing it’s nice to know that you can go to your own freezer and pull out a quick comforting meal. These chicken pot pies in small ramekins are just the ticket!

I don’t make a bottom crust for these because #1 it reduces the calories, #2 the bottom crust always gets sogbog and #3 they’re easier and quicker to make plus you just don’t miss it.

All you do is bung some boneless, skinless chicken thighs into your crock pot and let them cook a couple of hours on high then add some cut up veg- onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, fennel, turnips, leeks, parsnips-whatever you have and whatever you like. Add a bay leaf or other herbs, a bit of salt and pepper and let it all cook away until it’s cooked through and the veg are al dente.

You can even put the chicken and veg all in together if you won’t be around to add them later.
When all is cooked, drain the chicken and veg then shred the chicken and stir in a little bechamel (or plain white sauce) to coat everything and make a sauce for the pot pie. Fill 6 ounce ramekins with the mixture, cut rounds (or even squares) of pie dough to cover the top, press around the edges to seal, cut a few vent holes for the steam to escape, place on a parchment lined tray to catch any overspill and then bake them immediately in a 375F oven until the pie crust is puffed and golden and the filling is bubbly- about 30 minutes. I bake these quite often in my little counter top Cuisinart Convection/Toaster oven.

Or let the filling cool, fill then top the ramekins with the pie dough and freeze them for future use. To bake the frozen pot pies- don’t thaw tthem- just add a bit of cooking time.
These are great because you can put what you like into them -just to your own taste, the crust tastes better and also you don’t have a lot of the fillers and trans-fats that commercial products often have in them. You can make them vegetarian by using seitan or tofu or just plain vegetables.
I usually make 8 or 10 of these, cook a couple for our dinner immediately and freeze the rest for a fairly quick no fuss dinner – just add a salad and a glass of wine and we’re eating in almost no time at all.

I usually have some kind of leftover pie crust in the freezer from another dish to use but here is a recipe for corn meal pate brisee again that works great with these. And as if I haven’t put the recipe for bechamel on here many times before here it is again:

for the Bechamel:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 small bay leaves
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon season/garlic salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tablespoons half and half cream

Heat the milk with the bay leaves until just coming to the boil. I do this in a 2 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup in the microwave for ease. In a medium heavy bottomed (preferably copper clad) sauce pan heat the butter until melted and bubbling. Add the flour and season salt and stir until a paste forms. Remove the bay leaves from the hot milk and add the milk to the flour paste in the sauce pan. Stir constantly with a whisk until slightly thickened. Mix the egg yolk with the half and half and add to the mixture in the pan stirring as you add to incorporate it without making scrambled eggs. Cook until thickened.

 
Corn Meal Pie Dough or Pate Brisee:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 cup of cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 pound fresh butter, cold and cut into small bits
• 1/3 cup iced water as needed

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, corn meal, salt and sugar together until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Turn the machine to full “on” and add the iced water in a slow steady stream, adding only enough to make the dough come together. Process as little as possible. Place a two large squares of plastic wrap on your counter. Turn 1/2 of the dough out onto each. Using the plastic wrap form each into a disk and place in the fridge for an hour.

Another amalgamation meal!

Enjoy!

xo

Cook a small shank end ham in a crockpot and then glaze it in the oven while you cook some easy potatoes au gratin and steam some marble sized brussels sprouts- and voila  you have an easy and comfortingly great dinner!

Ham in the Crockpot

You’ll need 1 smallish bone in, shank end, fully cooked ham, small enough to fit in your crockpot with the lid on. Since crockpots work by slow heat it is important  that the lid hold in the heat so if your ham is too large to close the pot you’ll have to cut it so it fits or  it won’t work.

I admit that I cheated a bit and made a foil tent to extend the space since my lid was resting on the thin end of the ham and I was off of closing the lid by about an inch and a half . I’m sure that this is not recommended by the crockpot manufacturer so I’m not recommending it to you even though I did it. Safety first you know!

Put the crockpot on low and cook a few hours – the ham will be moist and tender. If you have a removable crock you can make the glaze and glaze the ham in place in the crock and finish in a 350F oven for a half hour or until the glaze is bubbly.  If not remove it to a roasting pan and finish off as above.

Glaze:

•1 cup brown sugar
•2 Tablespoon whole grain mustard (I like Emeril’s with horseradish)
•approximately 2 Tablespoons orange juice and 1/4 cup Whiskey of choice or Orange Brandy-or just enough to moisten the sugar and mustard to a paste

Pat all over the top and sides of the ham and cook in the oven at 350F until bubbly.

Potatoes Au Gratin

• 6 potatoes, baked  and pared or pared, boiled and drained well
• bechamel sauce to coat (see recipe below)
• grated aged gouda or gryere
• salt and pepper
• snipped fresh chives

Butter a shallow baking dish. Toss the potatoes in the bechamel sauce and layer in the dish with the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in  the oven with the ham until bubbling and finish under the broiler to brown the top. Top with the chives.

for the Bechamel:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 small bay leaves
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon season/garlic salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tablespoons half and half cream

Heat the milk with the bay leaves until just coming to the boil. I do this in a 2 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup in the microwave for ease. In a medium heavy bottomed (preferably copper clad) sauce pan heat the butter until melted and bubbling. Add the flour and season salt and stir until a paste forms. Remove the bay leaves from the hot milk and add the milk to the flour paste in the sauce pan. Stir constantly with a whisk until slightly thickened. Mix the egg yolk with the half and half and add to the mixture in the pan stirring as you add to incorporate it without making scrambled eggs. Cook until thickened.

You’ll end up with moist and flavourful ham, browned and creamy potatoes and bite sized al dente brussels sprouts- perfect. Mmmm.

We enjoy the small plate style of Tapas now and then and two of our favourite dishes are Patatas Bravas and Crab Cakes. While it’s lovely to go to Meditrina or Martine Cafe (two of our favourite local tapas restaurants) and order many small plates to share- occasionally we like to make our own at home.

Patatas Bravas (brave potatoes) are very easy to make and so delicious.
In exploring some Spanish cuisine I’ve found that spicy foods are not often the standing order. A Spanish friend of mine once complained that black pepper was too spicy. So these potatoes are for those with “machismo.” 

Patatas Bravas

• Potatoes as many as you like, scrubbed and dried -about 2 pounds will serve four people
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 large or 3 small dried chiles- I use Guajillo, remove seeds and break up into pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon of toasted and ground cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 2 Tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
• pinch of salt
• olive oil for frying
• one bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• salt and pepper to taste for finishing
• chile salsa mayonnaise or romesco sauce for serving

Boil the potatoes until almost tender- about 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool them.
While the potatoes are cooling, place the garlic and chilies in a mortar and pestle and pound them until a smooth paste forms, add the cumin, paprika, vinegar and salt and mix well. Set aside.

Slice the potatoes about 1/4″ thick or even a little thicker. Heat a heavy, wide skillet for a few minutes over medium flame and then add olive oil to thinly coat the bottom. Add the sliced potatoes in a single layer and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Fry until golden on one side and then flip. They will stick at first- but will release once a crust is formed. Fry the other side until it releases and add the sliced pepper and fry until the pepper is tender. Add a tablespoon of the garlic-chile paste and turn the potatoes into it to coat all sides. Fry for a few minutes and then serve. Drizzle a  bit of mayonnaise mixed with some salsa to taste over the top or serve a romesco sauce on the side.

The chile-garlic paste will keep for a few days in the fridge so you can cook extra potatoes and make these a few times, or use the paste in other dishes to add some spice.

I know it’s not usual to use King Crab in crabcakes but I had some on hand and they were delicious.

King Crab Cakes

• 1 cup cooked king crab meat, picked over for shells
• 1/2 cup red onion minced
• 1/2 cup celery minced fine
• pinch of old bay seasoning
• pinch of chile powder- I use Rick’s homemade mmm
•  a couple of teaspoons of mayonnaise
• about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of moist bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• panko bread crumbs to coat
• salt and pepper to taste
• chile mayonnaise or romesco for serving

Mix all except the panko crumbs until you have a light mixture that will hold together when pressed lightly. You may have to adjust the bread crumbs but don’t add too many or you will make the crab cakes heavy. Form small cakes and coat with panko crumbs. Fry in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat in a little olive oil until cooked through and browned on all sides. Serve with a bit of chile-mayonnaise or romesco sauce.

I made a nice Pom spritzer – with Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice and a bit of San Pellegrino sparkling water and lemonade to go with these one night. Janny from Pom Wonderful was nice enough to send me some a while ago. I do really like and use their very healthy product and have posted about it before, we make a lot of Pom martinis and cocktails around here. I also like it in smoothies, have used it to make granola, had it over cereal and we even add it in a splash to our water with meals for a refresher. There is always a bottle in our fridge.

Try using some in Sangria- I made a pitcher of that on another night that we had Tapas.

Pom Sangria

• one bottle nice Spanish red wine like Rioja
• 1- eight ounce bottle Pom Pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup orange brandy or Gran Marnier
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Sparking mineral water such as San Pellegrino to taste
• Sliced fruit- oranges, lemons, limes or even grapes and peaches etc.

Mix the first 5 ingredients making sure the sugar dissolves. Add sparkling water to taste to dilute or add fizz. Add the sliced fruit and enjoy responsibly.

Do you ever enjoy an evening of Tapas- what are your favourites?

xo