Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Well, I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here in Calgary it has been getting chilly! Know what that means? Time to use the oven again! But whether you're hot or cold, who couldn't use a ball o' meat?!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
You can use this sauce on other meats, such as pork or chicken. Alternatively, you can make the meatballs with a regular beef gravy and serve with mashed potatoes.

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs ground beef
• 1 med onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
  

**if you are making these meatballs to go with beef gravy, try adding a tsp of allspice - my dad calls these “Swedish” meatballs, and they’re really good.**

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 large can crushed pineapple
• 2 cans mandarins (or two fresh mandarins), chopped small
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• 2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ cup cornstarch, with a little water

Preheat oven to 375º.
Combine all meatball ingredients in large bowl, take off your rings, and squish it all together.
Roll out meatballs and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet with sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until browned.

In large saucepan on stovetop over medium-high heat, add all sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch and water. Let bubble away for a few minutes to let everything melt and meld.
Put the cornstarch into a jar or glass and dissolve it in a little water (to prevent lumps). Add this to the sauce, stir, and watch it thicken. Remove from heat.

Pour meatballs and sauce into a lidded casserole dish (use a cake pan if you don't have one) and replace in oven set at 350º.

Bake, covered (use foil if you have to) for a half an hour. Remove lid and stir gently (don’t bust up those meatballs!) and bake uncovered for another half an hour. Check periodically to make sure it doesn’t need to be stirred again.

Enjoy!

The Best Green Beans

My parents have always grown yellow and green beans in their garden. Fresh vegetables from your own garden are always a treat. I miss that garden (sigh), except for that weeding part.

So, what's better than growing your own? Eating of course!

I would like to share a fantastic, and very simple, recipe with you that has kept me eating beans for a long time now:


The Best Beans Ever:

• 450g or 1 lb fresh green or yellow beans, cleaned and trimmed


• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed using a mortar and pestle or the back of a heavy knife (alternately you can buy crushed garlic in a jar, use about 3 tsp)


• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar


• 3 tbsp olive oil


• Salt and pepper

Boil beans until quite soft, about 8 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Drain. Add all other ingredients, toss and serve.

**If beans are unavailable you can use broccoli - adjust the cooking time to 3-5 minutes, you want to retain the colour and some crunch.

FYI:

"Green beans are ready in July and can be enjoyed all summer. Choose bright green beans that are long, slim, and do not have large seed protrusions—this indicates an older, tougher bean. Avoid beans with very noticeable blemishes, or a withered look. Store them in the refrigerator in a clear plastic bag. They will last three to five days. "
From: http://www.foodtv.ca/

Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Chicken

As requested: a stovetop recipe. A friend of mine teaches English in Korea and requested more stovetop recipes because they don't have ovens in Korea! Or at least, not in her apartment.

This is one of my favourites - it's quick and easy to make, but you would never think it to taste it.......



Lemon Garlic Chicken
Serves 2

• 2 chicken breasts cut into thin strips
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 lemons, use zest of one lemon and use juices of both
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsbp chopped fresh parsely
• Salt and pepper

When cooking the chicken it is best to use a flat-bottomed, stainless steel, heavy skillet, rather than a non-stick pan, with a wooden spoon to properly deglaze the pan (it will taste better this way!)

Pour olive oil into the pan and heat at medium to medium high (remember, if your olive oil smokes - turn it down! It's too high. Olive oil smokes at 325°). Add onions, let cook for a few minutes, but not until browned. Add chicken, brown. (*note: do not overload the pan, or else the chicken will not brown. Cook in batches if necessary. Divide the onion so there's some in each batch).

Once chicken is browned (if you have done multiple batches you can throw it all in the pan at this point) add the juices of both lemons, the zest, and garlic. Turn the heat down to medium–low and let it bubble. Scrape up (or deglaze) all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon (this whole process takes about 3-4 mins).

Remove from heat and add a little salt and pepper and the parsley, stir. You can reserve some zest and use it as a garnish.

And that's it! Pour all the contents of the pan (make SURE you get the juices!) and serve with wedges of lemon, crusty French bread or rice.

Enjoy!!

p.s. This dish is very worthy of being served with a nice wine. Serve with a zippy Sauvignon Blanc.

Rosy Mango and Coconut Milk Jello

This time it's elegant....

That's right - more jello! But this time it's virgin - that is, no booze! This jello creation is also much more elegant than shooters, making it a cheap and creative way to serve dessert for a dinner party or a romantic meal.



For this jello dish I used Mango jello and substituted the cup of cold water with a cup of coconut milk. Other variations could include sweetened condensed milk or cream. Use other jellos too - I think strawberry with cream would be divine, garnished with a fresh strawberry.



To jazz this up even more I added a couple drops (yes, only drops, it's potent) of rose water - so this jello really had an Eastern flair! Try to think of other additional flavours, I know not everyone has access to rose water (I got mine at Superstore). You could try almond, vanilla, lemon or orange extract, or orange water, the list goes on.

I picked a little mint from my garden to garnish. If I'd had some fresh mango it would have ended up on top too!
















Rosy Mango and Coconut Milk Jello:

• 1 pkg mango jello


• 1 cup boiling water


• 1 cup coconut milk


• a couple drops of rose water


• a sprig of mint for garnish


• And if you have them, clear serving dishes, so your eyes can enjoy the feast as well.

Dissolve jello in one cup of boiling water. Let cool a little, until warm. Add coconut milk and rosewater, stir. Pour into serving dishes and chill until set. And that's it! The mixture of coconut milk and jello separates - but this is part of the allure - the top is mousse like and the bottom is a nice clear jello. Food isn't only about taste, presentation goes a long way.

This is a nice refreshing dessert, not too heavy and just perfect for the last lingering days of summer.

Enjoy!

Jello Shooters

The Joys of Jello!

Well, I'm back from vacation and as promised I'm going to share a cabin favourite: jello shooters! These are a family favourite for parties - they really pack a punch! We have these so often that my dad said he can't even remember the last time he's had regular jello! Indeed, he even made a "jello shooter tree" which my parents decorate differently depending on the theme or holiday. He cut out 5 circles of styrofoam, each a little smaller than the first, the largest of which serves as the base, the smallest circle being the top. Then, depending on the occasion, decorate the tree!

However, the creativity doesn't stop there; just think about the myriad of possibilities there are when it comes to jello flavours and booze. Here's how you do it:

Jello Shooters

• 1 pkg jello
• 1/2 cup booze
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup boiling water

As per packet instructions, dissolve the jello crystals in the cup of boiling water. Next, add your booze and cold water. My mom is able to get paper medicine cups from a general supply store. I have not been able to find these (well, I haven't tried that hard!) so I use dixie cups. Next, pour your jello into the cups and chill until set.

Experiment with different flavour combinations, here are a few ideas: vodka & orange, white rum & strawberry, tequila & lime, melon liqueur & mango, malibu rum & pineapple, the list goes on.

If you have the inclination to be fancy, do it! Jazz up your
jello by piping some whipping cream on the top of each
shooter. My favourite idea is to make orange, lime or
lemon jello shooter wedges. Simply slice fruit in half,
spoon out the flesh, and pour in your prepared jello. Chill
until firmly set and cut into wedges - 3 from an orange and
2 if using a lemon or lime.

Try this recipe next time you are hosting a party, your guests will be sure to enjoy!

Redeeming Rosé

For a long time now I have been guilty. Guilty of slandering a type of wine that deserves nothing but reverence! Alas, I know I am not alone in thinking that all wines called "rosé" taste like Ernest & Julio Gallo's White Zinfandel. (For those of you who enjoy this wine, I apologize. But really, you MUST do yourself a favour - just keep reading!) In fact, there is a world of great, dry rosés out there. I've read about "Rosados" from an area of Spain called Navarre which are supposed to be fantastic, but have yet to try one myself.

About 2 weeks ago we were looking at wine (I was looking for the perfect white to go with my stuffed mushrooms - a Viognier from Australia turned out to be perfect) and I was approached by a gentleman working there asking if I needed help. Well, actually, first he stopped to comment on the beer I was holding - Kronenbourg 1664- a really great French beer.
Anyways, we then started talking about a number of wines. After he finished telling me one of my favourite wines tasted like tap water (well la-di-da!) he proceeded to tell Percy and I about rosés. He simply couldn't believe that we had yet to enjoy a rosé in the summer heat, especially when dining al fresco. In fact, he told us a story about this man (a vintner maybe?) that he had spoken with while visiting Bordeaux. Apparently it is practically sacrilege to drink white wine if you are Bordelaise. So, what's the next best thing?? "Le rosé naturellement!" And of course this was all delivered in a great mock French accent. However, that's not the end of the story....he then brought us over to the US section and showed us a rosé that was almost $20 cheaper than usual. Apparently, and this brings this article full circle, in the southern states rosé has a bad rep due to White Zin and so it can be hard to sell rosés at full price. Well, after tasting this wine that suits me just fine:

Kendall-Jackson
Grand Reserve 2006 Rosé Wine
California

Check out your liquor store or wine market for this one. In Calgary I found it at Willowpark. I don't know if it's still on for $11 (rather than $30) but it's worth every penny, either way.

So - hide from the sun no more! When you're armed with a refreshing glass of rosé you can handle the heat. And if you don't believe me, go to Willowpark and ask my wine guy - he'll tell ya! Unless of course you think the Bordelaise don't know their wine.......

Pairing rosé with food is easy according to my wine guy. Since the response "anything" is not good enough for me, I did a search:

Pair rosé with:

• pizza (yes!)
• rich patés
• tomato seafood sauces
• pork
• roast turkey (what a nice change for Thanksgiving and Christmas!)
• tuna, shellfish, shrimp
• salads
• vegetarian casseroles

Thanks to nataliemaclean.com for this information. Natalie also has a great new-ish book out: "Red, white, and drunk all over. Check it out, it will make you jealous, and impassioned.

p.s. I'm about to leave for Northwestern Ontario to visit with my family on the lake. I will return August 14th - check back then for more! I think I'll share a favourite family recipe from the cabin.

Soba Veggie Salad with Sesame Oil Dressing

I love salads, but I get bored fast eating the same thing (except with pizza!). Day after day of regular tossed salads just isn't exciting enough. Alongside these meatballs, which are pork meatballs with an almond sauce (drool) is a soba noodle and veggie salad with a tasty sesame dressing. I like making different salads as it is a great opportunity to clean out your crisper. With all the fantastic fresh produce available right now, what better time then to get creative with veggies?

Soba Veggie Salad with Sesame oil dressing:
(for 2)

Any of the soba noodles I've ever bought come in packages that contain 4 individually wrapped servings each good for 2 people in this recipe, which makes it easy. Soba noodles are Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour. If you can't get soba noodles, you can use vermicelli, it will taste great.

• soba noodles (or vermicelli)
• half an english cumcumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup edamame (fresh soy beans. Peas or beans would be good too)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• a few green onions, chopped

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Rinse under cold water until cool. Add these to a salad bowl with all the chopped veggies.

To make the dressing, add to a lidded jar:

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil, or to taste (be careful with this, it's very potent!)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (you could use white wine vinegar instead)
• the juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chili paste, or 1 small chopped chile (optional)

Shake the dressing in the jar until all the sugar has dissolved and it becomes emulsified. Toss the dressing with the salad and eat! Hope you enjoy this.

Check out this link to learn more about Soba noodles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soba