Hi everyone,
I've been remiss in updating this- it's the last week of school so things are on deadline mode, resulting in back entries waiting to be posted. Everything will be back on schedule after this week so please check back next Wed (Jul 28) for new recipes.
We're heading to Paris and Lisbon two weeks from today and Tuesday Dinner is very excited about that! August updates will be full of recipes from foreign ingredients, so check back often for our first Tuesday Dinner vacation.
Love,
Tuesday Dinner gang
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Beating the heat with an outdoor picnic
This week, we hit the first heat wave of the summer. Temperatures rose to about 42°C with the humidex. As sticky and icky as the weather was, I'd still choose it over the wet and rainy summer we had last year for the single reason that you can actually spend time outdoors. This week, Tuesday dinner was moved to Wednesday so this is a bit of a late post. Tonight's recipes are great for an outdoor dinner party or picnic.
Jenna's Watermelon Salad
We'll start with the refreshing salads, the first being Jenna's watermelon salad. This salad goes well for a weather like today because you can use half of the watermelon for the salad and the other half to snack on while waiting for dinner.
1/2 of a watermelon, diced 1 cucumber, diced
120 g feta cheese, diced
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1. Mix all ingredients together, put in the fridge to cool.
2. Snack on the other half of the watermelon!
Green Salad with Beets, Peas, Avocado and Feta Cheese
This salad is from Elisha, whose introduced me to the different ways you can use avocado in a salad.
1 head of lettuce, chopped 4 beets, roasted (save the leaves as this will be used for one of the flatbread recipe below)
4 green onions, roasted
120 g feta cheese, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh peas (can also be frozen but not canned as those are too soft)
olive oil and balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
1. Start grill or set oven at 350°C. To roast the beets, drizzle them with olive oil then wrap in foil. Put them on the grill or in the oven for 20 min, or until they are soft. Peel and dice once they are soft.
2. To grill the green onions, drizzle them with olive oil and set on the stove or grill for 5 minutes, make sure not to burn them.
3. In a salad bowl, mix thee chopped lettuce with the grilled beets, green onions, feta cheese, avocado and peas.
4. On a separate bowl, mix equal amounts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar - amount depends on how much dressing you want in your salad. Drizzle the salad dressing on the salad, add a pinch of salt.
1 whole grain pizza dough - you can make your own or buy one from the grocery or local baker such as Papa Ceo's in Spadina and Harbord.
6 tomatoes, diced
1 ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 head of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil olive oil
2. Use a long baking sheet as a work area, lightly dust with flour and flatten the pizza dough into a flatbread (see photo above for size).
3. Brush olive oil on the bread.
4. Sprinkle the diced tomatoes and chopped garlic on the flatbread.
5. Add a layer of sliced mozzarella.
6. Add a layer of the chopped basil.
7. If you are a meat lover, you can add prosciutto, ham or any choice of meat on the flatbread.
8. Bake in the oven or put on the grill for 20-30 minutes. Check intermittently and take out when edges start to brown. Do not overcook.
Flatbread 2: Sweet Potato and Vodka Sauce
1 whole grain pizza dough
2 sweet potato, baked
1/2 cup of peas
1 small onion, sliced
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
4 beets worth of beet greens, chopped
balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
1. Set oven to 400°C or warm up the grill and bake the sweet potato until soft. About 20 minutes. When done, peel and chop the sweet potato into cubes.
2. Use a long baking sheet as a work area, lightly dust with flour and flatten the pizza dough into a flatbread.
3. Use all of the vodka sauce and spread evenly on the flatbread.
4. From the beets used in the salad above, chop their green leaves and add to the flatbread.
5. Add a layer of the cherry tomatoes, cubed sweet potatoes and peas.
6. Add a layer of basil topped with the sliced onion.
7. Lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar then add a pinch of salt.
8. Put in oven or grill for 20-30 minutes or until the sides start to brown.
Asparagus Egg Nest
This recipe is good for two cooked servings so you can cut the ingredients to half if you want to serve a smaller quantity. It's also a good recipe for breakfast.
1 bunch of asparagus, sliced thinly or shaved
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
1. Set the stove at medium high.
2. Thinly slice or shave 1 bunch of asparagus (15-20 stalks)
3. Put half the slices of asparagus on a pan on top of the heated stove, spread them out evenly. Add 3/4 cup of vegetable stock on the pan and let it simmer.
4. Poach 3 eggs on the pan until stock has evaporated.
5. Repeat step 3 and 4 for the rest of the ingredients or cook them at the same time.
Dessert
Recipe to come!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
In-between: banana, strawberry, pineapple smoothie
As the summer progresses and the sticky icky humidity rises, I've been looking for different ways to cool down. One is through a deliciously refreshing shake. This recipe is from Rebar, whose recipe book a friend recommended.
What you'll need:
1 banana
5-6 regular sized strawberries (more or less depending on the size)
2 spears of pineapple
1/3 cup soy milk
4 Tablespoon light coconut milk (optional)
ice cubes (optional)
1. Chop banana, strawberries, and pineapple.
2. Put in a blender or juicer, blend/juice.
3. If putting in a blender, you can add 3-4 ice cubes to make the smoothie cooler.
I haven't had a chance to try this with coconut milk and it's still awesome without it. I usually make my smoothies this way, minus the pineapples and trust me - the pineapples makes it a whole new ball game. It adds a different texture and citrus taste to the shake. If you can, make the smoothie from organic fruits - also makes a difference in the taste. Although I must admit, I have yet to see organic pineapples.
Other variations can be: 1 banana, 5 strawberries, 1/3 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup soy milk, 1T honey blended together - a great breakfast to start your day!
If I get organized enough, I'll make some ice cream for the next in-between Tuesday dinner posts.
What you'll need:1 banana
5-6 regular sized strawberries (more or less depending on the size)
2 spears of pineapple
1/3 cup soy milk
4 Tablespoon light coconut milk (optional)
ice cubes (optional)
1. Chop banana, strawberries, and pineapple.
2. Put in a blender or juicer, blend/juice.
3. If putting in a blender, you can add 3-4 ice cubes to make the smoothie cooler.
I haven't had a chance to try this with coconut milk and it's still awesome without it. I usually make my smoothies this way, minus the pineapples and trust me - the pineapples makes it a whole new ball game. It adds a different texture and citrus taste to the shake. If you can, make the smoothie from organic fruits - also makes a difference in the taste. Although I must admit, I have yet to see organic pineapples.
Other variations can be: 1 banana, 5 strawberries, 1/3 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup soy milk, 1T honey blended together - a great breakfast to start your day!
If I get organized enough, I'll make some ice cream for the next in-between Tuesday dinner posts.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Greens, greens and beans
All of us have those days that get really busy and it's hard to make elaborate meals, or update an entry on time (sorry!). But a hectic day doesn't mean that you can't make something simple and delicious. The following recipes can be made quickly, or while you're doing other things. Majority of this week's recipes are made from green leafy vegetables, which are very easy and quick to cook.
But first, let me introduce you to Jamie, one half of our weekly host, the cook extraordinaire, supplier of fresh farm vegetables and when he has time, also of delicious lamb meat (yum yum).
That's Jamie with one of the humongous pak choy that he grows in his parents' farm.
Now for the recipes, the following were enough for 12 people.
Swiss Chard Salad
10 leaves of swiss chard, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 Tablespoon of butter
1 cup of grated cheese (can be Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, or your preferred type of hard cheese)
1. Slice garlic, saute in butter in low heat for 30 min. Make sure not to burn garlic or butter.
2. Mix swiss chard and tomatoes, pour sauted garlic and butter.
3. Top with grated cheese.
Pok Choy with Maple Syrup
1 bunch of pok choy (see Jamie's photo on top)
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T of olive oil
1 T of sesame oil
2 T of maple syrup
2 T of whiskey (optional - you can also substitute white wine, sherry or other cooking wine)
1. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in medium heat. Add pok choy until wilted. If you have a lot of pok choy, divide in either third or half when adding to the pan. Start with the bottom parts of the pok choy, then the leaves to ensure consistency - the bottom parts take a while longer to cook compared to the leaves.
2. Add the red pepper flakes, you can skip this if you don't like spicy dishes but if you do, this adds a nice and very subtle spiciness. Sautee for another five minutes.
3. Add sesame oil, maple syrup and whiskey. Sautee for another 5 minutes, do not overcook.
Collard greens and spinach with onions
1 bunch of collard greens, chopped
1 bunch of spinach, chopped
1/4 glass of white wine
1 onion, diced
1. Mix all ingredients in medium heat, saute until greens are cooked.
Broccoli with kohlrabi
1 head of broccoli
1 kohlrabi, sliced
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 C or start your grill.
2. Chop broccoli and slice kohlrabi. Mix together with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Put in oven or grill for 30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked but not soggy.
Beans
1 bag of dried kidney beans, soaked overnight but if you don't have time, it will just be in the oven a little longer
1 onion, cut in half
3-4 sticks of dried marjoram (or any other spice you prefer), this also amounts to 2 tsp of dried spice (can be oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
1. Set oven to 400 C. Boil beans on stove top while waiting for the oven to heat, follow the water to bean ratio in the package. If you have time to soak the beans overnight that's great as cooking time will be shorter. But if you don't, it's ok as it just means that it'll be in the oven longer. If you're busy, you can do other things (such as writing your essays!!!) while the beans are in the oven.
2. Once beans have boiled, add spice, boil for another 10 min.
3. Add some risotto from the collard greens for added taste. Put in the oven for 60-90 minutes or until beans are soft, check intermittently.
If you have a bit of time, here is the bread and dessert that was served with the veggie dishes above:
Rye bread
Prep time: 20 minutes
Whole process: 3 1/2 hr
This recipe is from Jenna, one of the bakers in the group. Hopefully there will be a recipe from Jenna for one of her vegan desserts. Sorry there's no photo of the bread - it disappeared very quickly, it was that good! The best part about this bread is that you don't need a breadmaker and most of the time is just waiting for the bread to bake. Plus who doesn't want a kitchen that smells of freshly baked bread?
t = teaspoon
T= tablespoon
1 1/4 cup white flour
2 cups dark rye flour
1 T bread machine yeast
1 T kosher salt
1 T caraway seeds
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup molasses
1. In a bowl, mix white flour, dark rye flour, yeast, kosher salt and caraway seads
2. In a separate bowl, mix lukewarm water with molasses.
3. Mix the above toger and stir until blended. Stir about 40 times until all ingredients are nicely mixed. Take the mix and cover with plastic for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
4. Take the bread mix and mold with both hands (don't knead!) until it is formed into a loaf.
5. Cover with a towel (but not a terry cloth) to rest for 40 minutes. While waiting, pre-heat oven for 30 minutes at 450 C.
6. Put the bread mix in a casserole dish, roasting pan or cookie sheet and place in the oven. A casserole dish, especially one with a cover is the best as it will result in consistency.
7. Bake the bread, preferrably in the covered dish but a cookie sheet is also ok, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and add a pan of hot water at the bottom of rack (for moisture), bake for another 15 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
Julia's Trifle
This trifle was made by Julia with a lot of improvised ingredients - the best part is that you can change any of the layers with your favourite flavours. This particular trifle resulted in a whole lot of chocolate and berries (nice mix of texture and taste) in one bite. This recipe is great because it nicely uses packaged cake mixes with fresh berries that results in a delicious yet easy to make trifle. Approximate cooking time is 1 1/2 hours for everything, cake included.
1 box of Dunken Hines chocolate cake (you can use white cake or any other flavour of cake that you prefer)
1 box of Lindt chocolate, chopped
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream, chilled
2 cups dried apricots, pureed after being soaked in water for 20-30 min.
2 cups of vanilla pudding
1 cup raspberry jam
1 cup of berries (raspberries, blackberries are best but you can also add or replace with strawberries, blueberries) 1 cup of rum mint leaves for decoration
1. Bake the Dunken Hines chocolate cake as directed. Once cooled, slice into small pieces the size of a Mars bars or smaller, depending on the size of your pan.
2. On a stove top, melt the milk chocolate with the whipping cream.
3. Soak the dried apricots in water for 20-30 minutes, then puree.
4. Put the sliced chocolate cake at the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with rum - don't use all of the rum and make sure not to oversoak.
5. Pour a layer on top of the cake followed by a layer of pureed apricots, layer of vanilla pudding (you can swap whipping cream for this), topped with melted raspberry jam.
6. Repeat step 4 to 5.
7. Top with a final layer of sliced cake, drizzle with rum, add a layer of whipped cream and a final layer of fresh berries and some mint leaves for decoration.
Check back next Wednesday for next week's recipes!
But first, let me introduce you to Jamie, one half of our weekly host, the cook extraordinaire, supplier of fresh farm vegetables and when he has time, also of delicious lamb meat (yum yum).
That's Jamie with one of the humongous pak choy that he grows in his parents' farm.Now for the recipes, the following were enough for 12 people.
Swiss Chard Salad
10 leaves of swiss chard, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 Tablespoon of butter
1 cup of grated cheese (can be Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, or your preferred type of hard cheese)
1. Slice garlic, saute in butter in low heat for 30 min. Make sure not to burn garlic or butter.
2. Mix swiss chard and tomatoes, pour sauted garlic and butter.
3. Top with grated cheese.
Pok Choy with Maple Syrup
1 bunch of pok choy (see Jamie's photo on top)
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T of olive oil
1 T of sesame oil
2 T of maple syrup
2 T of whiskey (optional - you can also substitute white wine, sherry or other cooking wine)
1. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in medium heat. Add pok choy until wilted. If you have a lot of pok choy, divide in either third or half when adding to the pan. Start with the bottom parts of the pok choy, then the leaves to ensure consistency - the bottom parts take a while longer to cook compared to the leaves.
2. Add the red pepper flakes, you can skip this if you don't like spicy dishes but if you do, this adds a nice and very subtle spiciness. Sautee for another five minutes.
3. Add sesame oil, maple syrup and whiskey. Sautee for another 5 minutes, do not overcook.
Collard greens and spinach with onions
1 bunch of collard greens, chopped
1 bunch of spinach, chopped
1/4 glass of white wine
1 onion, diced
1. Mix all ingredients in medium heat, saute until greens are cooked.
Broccoli with kohlrabi
1 head of broccoli
1 kohlrabi, sliced
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 C or start your grill.
2. Chop broccoli and slice kohlrabi. Mix together with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Put in oven or grill for 30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked but not soggy.
Beans
1 bag of dried kidney beans, soaked overnight but if you don't have time, it will just be in the oven a little longer
1 onion, cut in half
3-4 sticks of dried marjoram (or any other spice you prefer), this also amounts to 2 tsp of dried spice (can be oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
1. Set oven to 400 C. Boil beans on stove top while waiting for the oven to heat, follow the water to bean ratio in the package. If you have time to soak the beans overnight that's great as cooking time will be shorter. But if you don't, it's ok as it just means that it'll be in the oven longer. If you're busy, you can do other things (such as writing your essays!!!) while the beans are in the oven.
2. Once beans have boiled, add spice, boil for another 10 min.
3. Add some risotto from the collard greens for added taste. Put in the oven for 60-90 minutes or until beans are soft, check intermittently.
If you have a bit of time, here is the bread and dessert that was served with the veggie dishes above:
Rye bread
Prep time: 20 minutes
Whole process: 3 1/2 hr
This recipe is from Jenna, one of the bakers in the group. Hopefully there will be a recipe from Jenna for one of her vegan desserts. Sorry there's no photo of the bread - it disappeared very quickly, it was that good! The best part about this bread is that you don't need a breadmaker and most of the time is just waiting for the bread to bake. Plus who doesn't want a kitchen that smells of freshly baked bread?
t = teaspoon
T= tablespoon
1 1/4 cup white flour
2 cups dark rye flour
1 T bread machine yeast
1 T kosher salt
1 T caraway seeds
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup molasses
1. In a bowl, mix white flour, dark rye flour, yeast, kosher salt and caraway seads
2. In a separate bowl, mix lukewarm water with molasses.
3. Mix the above toger and stir until blended. Stir about 40 times until all ingredients are nicely mixed. Take the mix and cover with plastic for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
4. Take the bread mix and mold with both hands (don't knead!) until it is formed into a loaf.
5. Cover with a towel (but not a terry cloth) to rest for 40 minutes. While waiting, pre-heat oven for 30 minutes at 450 C.
6. Put the bread mix in a casserole dish, roasting pan or cookie sheet and place in the oven. A casserole dish, especially one with a cover is the best as it will result in consistency.
7. Bake the bread, preferrably in the covered dish but a cookie sheet is also ok, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and add a pan of hot water at the bottom of rack (for moisture), bake for another 15 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
Julia's Trifle This trifle was made by Julia with a lot of improvised ingredients - the best part is that you can change any of the layers with your favourite flavours. This particular trifle resulted in a whole lot of chocolate and berries (nice mix of texture and taste) in one bite. This recipe is great because it nicely uses packaged cake mixes with fresh berries that results in a delicious yet easy to make trifle. Approximate cooking time is 1 1/2 hours for everything, cake included.
1 box of Dunken Hines chocolate cake (you can use white cake or any other flavour of cake that you prefer)
1 box of Lindt chocolate, chopped
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream, chilled
2 cups dried apricots, pureed after being soaked in water for 20-30 min.
2 cups of vanilla pudding
1 cup raspberry jam
1 cup of berries (raspberries, blackberries are best but you can also add or replace with strawberries, blueberries) 1 cup of rum mint leaves for decoration
1. Bake the Dunken Hines chocolate cake as directed. Once cooled, slice into small pieces the size of a Mars bars or smaller, depending on the size of your pan.
2. On a stove top, melt the milk chocolate with the whipping cream.
3. Soak the dried apricots in water for 20-30 minutes, then puree.
4. Put the sliced chocolate cake at the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with rum - don't use all of the rum and make sure not to oversoak.
5. Pour a layer on top of the cake followed by a layer of pureed apricots, layer of vanilla pudding (you can swap whipping cream for this), topped with melted raspberry jam.
6. Repeat step 4 to 5.
7. Top with a final layer of sliced cake, drizzle with rum, add a layer of whipped cream and a final layer of fresh berries and some mint leaves for decoration.
Check back next Wednesday for next week's recipes!
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