Recipe Research: Cup of Summer

In French, my ‘cup of summer’ would be pot d’été (pough debt-tay). Though perhaps it’s really a cup of springtime, since rhubarb isn’t available for long. I buy extra rhubarb when I can find it, even here, and give it a quick rinse, whack it into 1/2 inch pieces, and stick it in the freezer in 1-cup bags so I can pull it out later when required.

This ‘pot of whatever’ dessert was trial #1 for my new French dessert. Here’s the original dessert at 2 Euros per serving (about $3.10 Canadian):

The crumble was dry and had nothing to do with the lemon. The meringue on top was cold, of course, and the whole thing was uninspiring.

 

Here’s my first attempt at improvement:

rhubarb, coconut cookies, whipping cream, butter, strawberries, and vanilla sugar

 cut up and cook some rhubarb

 

add some strawberries in the last minutes of cooking

 

crush cookies in the groovy cool new mini blender/chopper

 

mix with a bit of melted butter and put in small glasses

 

layer with the cooked rhubarb-strawberry compote, and top with whipped cream made with vanilla sugar

Shelley’s note #1: I would have used wine glasses, but alas we’re already broken two this month, and so there aren’t enough left to make up this dessert.

Shelley’s note #2: Katharyn, if you’re allergic to strawberries, you can make this with rhubarb alone, or you could combine other fruits like blueberries and raspberries.

Shelley’s honest opinion of this dessert: It was yummy, but not super-wowie-terrific. The cookies are nearly the best part so if I didn’t have access to great coconut cookies, then it would be crummy – no pun intended. Gingersnaps, a good logical substitute that would marry well with strawberries, are not easily found in Paris, and when found are called “English cookies” (as in from England).

Future Idea #1: Perhaps I’ll try again with a lemon curd filling and a regular shortbread cookie crust.

Future Idea #2: We did have a pot-au-chocolat for dessert that was lovely … good chocolate, whipped cream, egg whites, a tiny bit of instant coffee (or rum).

My search continues for Fabulous French recipes that I can include in my upcoming video cooking class. 

Your ideas? Let me know what you think.

~ All best, Shelley

Paris Post: Crème fraiche

I want to share a little bit of ‘what’s going on in the inside of Shelley’s head’ … and it relates to crème fraiche.  I have started researching recipes for my upcoming “Fabulous French Basics” video cooking class.

To begin, I have two French cookbooks purchased on previous trips. I also brought some Montreal-French magazines (old issues of Ricardo are pretty great).

In one French cookbook, nearly every single recipe has crème fraiche in it. Need a cream sauce? Making quiche? Cooking fish? It’s everywhere.

Now, this is a problem.

Because I do not want to design recipes that have unusual ingredients. Yes, I know we can find crème fraiche in North America, but it can sometimes be tricky, it’s expensive, and then what do you do with the leftover?

It’s not like my special jar of apricot jam that I can save safely in the fridge till I make apple pie again. 

Crème fraiche is fresh.  It’s gonna expire.

I went online to try to find a good substitute for c.f., and one that doesn’t involve ‘cooking’ anything with ‘buttermilk’ to ‘make your own’ that has to perch on the counter and ferment (ick!). 

Finally I found what looks like a pretty close substitute:  mix equal parts of sour cream with whipping cream, and let sit in the fridge overnight.

Now I want to test that concoction next to a tub of crème fraiche to make sure they do taste somewhat the same (yes, i know c.f. can be whipped and has all sorts of other ‘wonderful’ qualities, but we’re just making dinner here, not solving world peace, therefore so far as I’m concerned, if it TASTES the same, then it’s good enough to be a substitution).

This is another problem.

Couldn’t find sour cream in Paris, and no one knew what I was talking about when I asked.  Sour Cream?  You want your cream to be sour on purpose?

But when I think of how we eat sour cream, it’s not very French!  It’s kinda Tex-Mex.

And we’re so used to the lovely tex-mex influences in North America that it’s hard to imagine a grocery store, like the Monoprix on rue Grenelle in Paris, that does NOT have tacos, salsa, guacamole, and SOUR CREAM. 

André said, “well then maybe you’re going to create French recipes for North America using your Montreal-Canadian magazines.”

Gee, I coulda stayed home for that!

And all of my Canadian recipes call for … you guessed it … stuff I can’t get here:  cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream.

After days and days of researching ‘expat’ websites, to check out where other desperate souls (avid cooks or those just plain homesick), buy their creamy stuff, yes, I did find a speciality store that carries “international” food, including cheddar cheese! 

I bought some sour cream, I’m going to do the c.f. substitution test.

Phew, it’s complicated making new recipes over here   But we were richly rewarded with tonight’s dinner, quiche made with c.f.  Yes it’s sort of like sour cream, but lighter, and the texture of the quiche was not greasy at all like those made with cream. The quiche was unusually solid and kind of smooth, in fact.

Of course, I added potatoes to the quiche lorraine recipe, and some cheese, and some onions.  It was more like my White on White Quiche recipe from The Veggie Club with bacon and cheese…

Which is to say, it was yummy.

Tomorrow I’ll mix up a cocktail of mock-c.f. and we’ll see how it goes.  Never a dull moment on this side of the pond.

~ All best, Shelley

Day #28 Gift > Banana Bread for the Homeless

Today I’m making banana bread to take to the women’s shelter in downtown Montreal.

I’ve got the recipe for you below, and I’ve also got a way that YOU can give so I can make MORE than the three I’ve got planned for today.

When I first moved to Montreal five and half years ago, I was searching for a local community shelter where I could do some volunteer work and I found “Chez Doris.” It’s a daytime drop-in place, to get off the street and get inside for meals and company.  I had a tour and was impressed with the sunny inside spaces, the sewing room, the ’shop’ where visitors can pick out clothes, kitchenware, and bedding. A doctor is onsite once a week to answer questions and check on regulars. The day I was there, a group of women sat around a giant old TV set, all of them knitting.

After I made my first cash donation, a newsletter came in the mail. It was around Christmas, and there was a section in the newsletter listing non-perishable gifts we could drop off: deodorant, toothpaste, socks, winter coats. And baked goods and desserts. Really. Did they want donations of food?

I called Chez Doris and spoke with a lovely bilingual receptionist, who assured me that yes, in fact, they did want food. “Our kitchen is very busy,” she said. “We provide breakfast and lunch to over 70 women every day. If you want to donate something, please bring enough for 50-70 people to share.”

I was single then, and new to the city, and happy for a project. I dedicated several Friday nights to making banana bread for Chez Doris. They’re easy to make, with only 6 ingredients, and are easy to package in plastic wrap and then tinfoil before I pop them in the freezer. Once I have 3 or 4 loaves, I pack them in the car and deliver them downtown.

The greeting I receive when I show up at the door with a bag of baking is always the same: “Great! We’ll use these this afternoon for prizes in Bingo… We’ll eat these today. These will certainly be appreciated.”

Today’s gift:

Today’s gift has three parts.  First, I’m BAKING three banana breads this afternoon to donate to Chez Doris. Second, I’m including the RECIPE below so that you can make your own banana bread as soon as you have brown bananas.

And third, if you would like to MAKE A DONATION so that I can make more banana breads, I’ve set up a link here.  For a teeny tiny donation of $2.75 CDN ($2.20 US) I can make, bake, and deliver one whole banana bread that serves 10.

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BANANA BREAD RECIPE

3 medium bananas, very ripe (approx. 375 g)
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened (75 mL / 57 g)
1 cup white sugar (250 mL / 200 g)
2 large eggs
1½ cups flour (210 g)
1 teaspoon baking soda (5 mL)

Preheat oven to 325°F (190°C / gas mark 5). Peel ripe bananas and place in medium bowl. Beat with electric mixer until completely smooshed.

Soften margarine in microwave at low power in 10 second increments until soft to touch. (Or you can soften at room temperature for 45-95 minutes.)

Add margarine to bananas and beat together. Add sugar and continue to beat until well blended. Add eggs and mix.  Add flour and baking soda. Beat for about a minute until ingredients are well combined.

Spray bread pan (8.5” x 4.5”) with non-stick spray, or coat with a bit of butter.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top and wipe off any drips.

Bake at 325°F (190°C / gas mark 5) oven for 60 minutes, or until brown on top and cooked inside. You can check for doneness with a wooden skewer, a toothpick, or a thin knife. A few moist crumbs are OK, but you shouldn’t see any uncooked batter when you remove the tester.

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If you’d like to make a donation to Chez Doris by contributing to the Banana Bread Fund, click here.

All best and happy Monday
Shelley

Day #26 Gift > Back to Basics: Thirteen Minute Fish & Rice

Thanks to everyone who emailed to tell me about their favourite holiday foods. For Suzi, it’s cinnamon rolls, for Beth it’s gingerbread houses, for Kristina it’s homemade tamales.  I couldn’t have arranged for a better range of answers, could I?  Bruce also emailed that he liked creamed peas and carrots (and he sent along a recipe I’m going to try).  Amber likes homemade fudge, and Lauri’s got a thing for shrimp.

My favourite holiday food is stuffing.  I only make it once a year, for Christmas dinner, and it’s an un-healthy mixture of butter, soft bread, onions, celery, mushrooms and the killer ingredient — ground savoury (it’s like sage, or poultry seasoning). I bake it in a pan with a light lid made out of tinfoil, so that it partly steams and partly gets crunchy corners.  Best mixed into chicken salad sandwiches the next day, with cranberries and mayo.

Now.  Back to the gifts. Don’t forget to post your comments below.

Today’s gift:

In keeping with my 29 days of gifts, today’s gift is a simple trick for a healthy dinner for Fish and Rice.

In January I’m launching a Back-to-Basics class that covers all those things we (maybe) learned in Home Economics in high school, but have since forgotten…

And one of those topics is timing — like how to get the meal on the table so that it’s all ready at the same time — without running around with your head flying off from stress.

So tonight I’m going to share with you my favourite “perfectly timed” 13 minute dinner.

And I’ll give you the trick right up front:  basmati rice cooked on the stovetop and a filet of fish baked in the oven both take exactly 13 minutes to cook.  Add in a bit of time for soaking the rice, and you’ve got dinner in 25 minutes.

Thirteen Minute Fish & Rice
Serves 4, easily doubled or reduced

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup basmati rice (125 mL)
3/4 cup chicken broth (or water) (190 mL)
4 filets of fish
orange marmalade
clove of garlic
grainy mustard
green veggie

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Soak 1/2 cup basmati rice in cool water. Not all rice needs to soak first, basmati does.  Let it soak 5-10 minutes, and up to 25 minutes if you’ve got extra time, but it’s not required.

Drain rice. Plop drained rice into a small pot with a tight fitting lid. Using the same measuring cup you used to measure the rice, add 1.5 measures of chicken broth, veggie broth, or water to the rice in the pot.  If you used 1/2 cup of rice, then you’ll need 3/4 cup of liquid.

Do not start cooking the rice yet.

Line a pan with tinfoil, and place your fish filets on the foil, skin side down. (I love trout or salmon, but other dense white fish would work too).

Mix together a couple tablespoons of orange marmalade with a half clove of garlic and a teaspoon of grainy mustard.  Smear over the fish.

Put the rice on high heat and bring it to a hard boil with the lid off.  AS SOON AS it starts to boil hard, immediately reduce the heat to minimum, and put the top on the pot. Stick the fish in the oven.

Set your timer for 13 minutes.

That’s it

You can add in another pot for a veggie too, like broccoli or brussels sprouts or green beens. Cook them in a 1/2 inch of water, bring to a boil at the same time as the rice, also reduce to minimum and put the lid on. Cook for the same 13 minutes.  If you want asparagus, it cooks faster so start it later, maybe half-way through.

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More to come in January’s Back to Basics course including quiche, chicken broth from scratch, how to store lettuce, and apple crisp with cinnamon ice cream.  If you’d like to be on the list to get more information, you can sign up here > http://www.OneRoastVegetable.com/backtobasics.htm

All best,
Shelley

Day #18 Gift > Homemade cranberry sauce

It’s nearly time for Christmas dinner. People everywhere will be getting up at dawn to put a giant turkey in the oven. They’ll peel pounds of potatoes. They’ll cut Xs in the bottoms of Brussels sprouts. They’ll glaze carrots.

And then they’ll open a can of cranberry sauce.

Now, what’s wrong with this picture? Would you serve canned turkey on this big day? Or canned mushrooms? Probably not. But somewhere along the way we’ve decided that there’s nothing like cranberry sauce alongside a roast, and that canned is fine.

OK. I’m here to dispel that myth Don’t yell at me, I know, I know, canned is quite lovely too. I eat it all the time. But for Christmas dinner? No way! Got to have the real thing. And it’s really simple … you can even follow the recipe that comes on the side of the bag of cranberries, or you can jazz it up a bit with one of my recipes below.

(1) you can turn whole berries into quite a lovely homemade sauce

(2) The cranberries will begin to pop and the outside skin will split open

(3) bring to a boil

(4) as it cooks, it will become quite jammy and most of the berries will explode open

(5) once cooled, it will be thick and lovely

Orange Whole Berry Sauce

One bag of cranberries (or about 3 cups of whole berries)

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel (zest)

Rinse cranberries, pick out and discard any that look very shrivelled or brown. Put all ingredients together into a medium-sized pot. Heat over medium heat. The skins will begin to open a bit and they might spit a bit.

Once it comes to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer about 10 minutes. Most of the berries will pop open and the sauce will be quite jammy. Let cool at room temperature, taste to see that it’s yummy, then put it in the fridge. Can be stored for a week or so. Makes just over 2 cups.

Spicy Whole Berry Sauce

Same recipe as Orange Whole Berry Sauce, but add:

4 tablespoons dried raisins
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

Talk again soon,
Shelley

Day #12 Gift > 12 Drummers Drumming?

Today is Day #12 of my 29gifts. So today is supposed to be “12 Drummers Drumming.”

Well, I’m having a hard time getting 12 drummers into a little box suitable for mailing. Legs and arms sticking out, it’s just not going to work. Squish. Can’t get the top on.

So instead, for today’s gift, I’m going to give away a $25 online gift certificate for Amazon.com (or Amazon.ca) to the 12th person who emails me a little food-related Christmas (holiday) story from when you were a kid. Your favourite Christmas food memory, a story about your mom’s cherry surprises, the time your father served pickled fish, the time my grandmother made minced meat out of real meat… Whatever! I’ll post the best stories over the next few days.

Are you ready? Whoever is #12 wins. It’s like 12 drummers drumming… OK, not really. This is better. Email your stories to: shelley [at] OneRoastVegetable.com

Healthy eating ideas for this week…

Since I’ve already eaten today’s allocation of chocolate, I thought I’d better check out The Veggie Club site for something healthy to make for dinner.

Are you in the same boat? If so, here are some ideas based on Veggie Club recipes:

“Almost” Vegetarian Chili

Recipe 1.15 > “Almost” Vegetarian Chili. Healthy, lovely and cheap. It’s only $1.70/serving (and freezes well), and is a yummy meal to have on hand, AND is great as a leftover/lunch.

(To make a completely vegetarian version, leave out the tiny 1/2 pound of lean ground beef).

Trout with Fruit Salsa

Recipe 2.3 > Trout with Fruit Salsa. Especially now that the price of pineapples seems a bit more reasonable, I love making this recipe. I also secretly like having the mango/pineapple salsa with rice, just on its own, as a leftover. Have you tried heating up the salsa? It’s unusually good.

(This is a vegetarian meal if you’re a fish-eating-vegetarian. If not, make the fruit salsa and rice and serve with a veggie stirfry.)

Vegetarian Pizza

Recipe 1.20 > Vegetarian Pizza. Just today, right before I ate today’s allotment of chocolate, I said to André “we should have pizza for dinner.” My recipe uses frozen dough, so the whole thing comes together pretty quickly. Roast a few veggies for toppings — use up what’s in your fridge. I’ve got beets and yellow pepper and red onions. And cheese. And potatoes.

(This is a vegetarian meal if you use vegetarian cheese.)

Homemade Vegetarian Soup

1.6 > Homemade Vegetable Soup (better than Campbell’s). OK, I like to cheat and add chicken to this sometimes, but only when I’ve got leftovers in the freezer from when I roasted Recipe 2.1 > Roast Chicken with Rosemary. But you don’t need to add chicken, it’s great the way it is, and cheap. Err, inexpensive. (Now you’re thinking that cheap means it can’t possibly taste good!) Well, I can tell you, it tastes great, and there’s even a video of me making it here > http://theveggieclub.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/veggie-soup-video/

(To make a completely vegetarian version of this soup, substitute veggie broth for the chicken broth.)

Easy Bar Shortbreads

If you’ve been following my 29gifts, then you’ve also seen my recipe for Easy Bar Shortbreads. Stay tuned, I’m going to make a video to go with that recipe, and I’ll post it on the blog ASAP.

All best and happy Saturday,

Day #11 Gift > Little Garlic Potatoes

Well, the Duran Duran concert on Tuesday night was pretty amazing, it was held at a small venue (only 2200 people). My sister Joanne’s fight was delayed by 4 hours because of snow and freezing rain at our end, so André came home from work early, went down and got in line at 5:00 pm, and waited there in the concert hall holding seats for us, waiting for us to arrive (which we finally did at 8:45 pm). Lucky he was there so early with his coat draped across three seats, because it was jam packed when Jo and I finally arrived and standing-room-only… Yes, we missed the opening act, but were just in time for the real fun.

Jo took some amazing videos, over an hour in total, and here’s one >

Today’s gift:

Last week, I was asked for my recipe for Little Garlic Potatoes, so here goes:

10 tiny small red potatoes, left whole, or 6 medium potatoes quartered
4 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons butter (not margarine) (30 mL)

Wash, trim and cut potatoes in half (if medium), or in quarters (if large), or leave hole if tiny, and put in a pot with butter and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, and then cover and reduce heat to low, shaking the pot every so often to turn the potatoes over. Cook 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are brown on some of their sides and are soft when poked.

Roast chicken with green beans, and little garlic potatoes

Yes, but what would you like next for a gift? Another recipe (which one)? A teleclass? Would you like a Q&A call with me, a free t-shirt, what should my gift for tomorrow be?

All best,
Shelley

Day #2 Gift > Recipe for Easy Bar Shortbreads

My mom makes really great shortbread cookies. I’ve asked her many times to try to teach me how to make them — when I try to follow her recipe, they turn out burnt or dry. Truly, I can’t get the hang of her method (which she claims is easy), involving a special sugar, rolling out the dough to a specific thickness, cutting with cookie cutters, etc.

Contrast this with my high school boyfriend’s mom. She had a recipe that involved mixing three ingredients and dumping it into a pan, baking, and then cutting into squares while warm.

Now that I can wrap my brain around.

And no kidding, since high school, these have been my yearly Christmas staple, thanks to Daphne Carver. She put granulated sugar on hers, I put green sprinkles on mine.

My gift today …

is to share with you my RECIPE (via Daphne) for Easy Bar Shortbreads:

1 pound butter, softened (2 cups/4 sticks/454 g) (do not use margarine)
1 cup white sugar (200 g)
4 cups regular white flour (spoon+level) (520 g)

non-stick spray for the baking pans, or you can use butter/margarine
for decoration:  green coloured sugar

Preheat oven to 325ºF (160ºC/Gas mark 3). Grease baking pan with no-stick spray, or with a little bit of butter. Unwrap butter and place in mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until very well mixed, and quite a bit lighter in colour, about 2 minutes.

Add the flour and mix well. The dough should feel quite firm between your fingers, and will look quite a bit like mashed potatoes. Dump the dough out into greased baking pan. Starting from the middle, smooth out with your fingers to evenly cover the pan. Use a fork to poke holes in dough over entire surface.

Bake at 325ºF (160ºC/Gas mark 3) for 40 minutes. You’ll know the cookies are done when they’re a very light golden brown, and the edges are a darker brown. Remove pan from oven, and let cool about 5 minutes. Using a knife, cut into bars while still warm. Sprinkle with coloured sugar.

Remove cookies from pan once cooled to room temperature.  Store in air-tight containers or freeze in zipper bags for up to 6 months.

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All best,
Shelley