Monthly Archives: April 2010

Friday’s dinner

30 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by in flourless chocolate cookies

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Last night’s dinner

Ok, this actually wasn’t last night’s dinner-it was the night before. Last night was fridge choice. I had leftover pad thai and Stephen had eggplant parmesan and a bowl of cereal. Odd combination but he seemed happy enough.

Tonight’s dinner

We’re going to be having pizza (see recipe on previous post) but I thought something chocolatey would be in order too. I was out to this neat shop called “Serious Cheese” on Bank St. South the other day and they had glorious looking cookies that were labelled “Flourless and Dairy-free”. Granted this description doesn’t really sell this cookie but wow they looked good.

However, I had just spent the last hour looking for a top that would fit onto my baby body without looking pornographic and didn’t think that I should have a cookie on top of all that cake that has been around lately. Luckily, I’m over that crazy thinking now so I hunted down a recipe for them.

Found this adorable website that I will be visiting again. It is run by a couple who (like many of us) are trying to justify their obsessive purchasing of food magazines. I wonder if this would be ok to do for grocery store gossip rags too?

I’ve put in the original description of the method but all I did was bung everything in a bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon until it looked thick. THEY ARE FABULOUS!!! Must double the batch next time.

http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2009/09/flourless-doublechocolate-cookies.html

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons (68 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 cups (350 grams) confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3/4 cups (272 grams) walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15 grams) pure vanilla extract

Place a rack each in the upper and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine the cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and walnuts in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg whites and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture has slightly thickened. Do not overmix it, or the egg whites will thicken too much.

With a 2-ounce cookie or ice-cream scoop or a generous tablespoon, scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, to make cookies that are 4 inches in diameter. Scoop 5 cookies on each pan, about 3 inches apart so that they don’t stick when they spread. If you have extra batter, wait until the first batch of cookies is baked before scooping the next batch.

Put the cookies in the oven, and immediately lower the temperature to 320°F. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until small thin cracks appear on the surface of the cookies. Switch the pans halfway through baking. Pull the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing the cookies from the paper. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

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Wednesday’s dinner

28 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by in eggplant parmesan

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Last night’s dinner

This was so satisfying. I added a bit of grated ginger at the end to give it some zing though. I think that next time I might even just serve the parsnips and pears as a side dish to a ham or a roast. They were nibble worthy before I finished making the soup.

Tonight’s dinner

Today is organic bin day so that means everything needs to be cleaned-up from last week. I have a very lonely eggplant in the fridge along with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. We’ve had moussaka in the not too far distant past so that means tonight has to be eggplant parmesan. I want it to be a healthy version though as I am still trying to get my pre-baby body back and refuse to buy clothes until then.

Here is the solution:

3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3.In a 9×13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Tuesday’s dinner

27 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by in roasted pear and parsnip soup

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Last night’s dinner

Loved the pulled pork but gave it an extra kick of chili powder and a bit more brown sugar right at the end.

Tonight’s dinner

Sorry about the weather. This is totally my fault. I got out summer clothes, washed them and put them out on the line. I guaranteed that it would be cold like this by even putting winter clothes away yesterday.

Oddly enough, when I was at Bridgehead yesterday treating myself to a soy latte (had to go to “Three Little Monkeys” for more Nellie’s washing soda to ensure the baboos diapers get clean) I spotted an amazing, sounding soup. At the time it was really warm and I didn’t want any but thought that it sounded delish. Today seems like a day for soup so I’ve cobbled together a recipe that I think will do the trick.

To go with, I have great looking spinach that needs to be finished up and some blueberries that I will put on the top.

Roasted Pear and Parsnip soup

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds parsnips, peeled and with woody core removed (see Tip)
2 pears, peeled and cut into eighths
1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1 tablespoon light vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups milk

1. Preheat to 450 F.

2. Toss parsnips, pears, onion, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until very soft and starting to brown, about 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, boil vinegar in a small saucepan until syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. (Watch the syrup carefully during the last few minutes of reducing or this will burn and your pot will be ruined forever.) Remove from the heat.

4. Puree the parsnips and pears in a pot with the milk and the broth. Season to taste.

5. Reheat the soup over medium heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Gently reheat the balsamic syrup if it has become thicker than syrup while standing. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the balsamic syrup.

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Monday’s dinner

26 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by in pulled pork

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Last night’s dinner

The faux Pad Thai was quite tasty but Stephen rated our last tofu dish higher. Mind you this didn’t stop him from having two servings and offering to take the remainder to work for lunch.

Tonight’s dinner

I was a little worried that in these posts I was coming across as a bit too healthy so I am going to fess-up that breakfast this morning is a REALLY BIG piece of leftover birthday cake. I am celebrating as my husband decided to take the day off for an impromptu holiday aka “rest-up after your mother leaves” day. Funny how he had lots of extra work and couldn’t take any time when she was here. There will also likely be afternoon wine drinking involved.

I am also going to pull out old faithful (aka the slowcooker. Q. Is it bad to use aka twice in one post? Likely.) and make pulled pork. I’ve taken this recipe from Canadian Living originally and adapted it a litte bit. Can’t wait for dinner.

Ingredients
3-1/2 lb (1.75 kg) pork shoulder blade_roast
3/4 tsp (4 mL) each salt and pepper
2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable_oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (25 mL) chili_powder
2 tsp (10 mL) ground coriander
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup (50 mL) tomato paste
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) tomato sauce
2 tbsp (25 mL) each packed brown sugar and cider vinegar
2 tbsp (25 mL) Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced

This is my Preparation (their’s is below)
Dump everything but the green onions in the slowcooker. Turn on and cook until it falls apart or you are very hungry. Serve on a crusty bun.

Preparation:
Check out the test kitchen video to see how easy this pulled pork recipe is.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown pork all over. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add onions, garlic, chili powder, coriander and bay leaves to Dutch oven; fry, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, until darkened, about 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until pork is tender, 8 to 10 hours.

Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil; let stand for 10 minutes. With two forks, shred or “pull” pork.

Meanwhile, pour liquid from slow cooker into large saucepan; skim off fat. Bring to boil over high heat; boil vigorously until reduced to 3 cups (750 mL), about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves.

Add pork; reduce heat and simmer until hot, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions.

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