Pumpkin Soup - Happy Halloween!

Pumkins are not just for carving.

The only kind of pumkin I ever ate, until recently, was pumpkin pie and it was most likely always made with pumpkin purée from a can. Little did I know that there are a myriad of ways to prepare pumpkin! And, you can even invest in one or two ahead of time as they last weeks if they are not cut. But before you rush out and grab a pumpkin from one of the many bins from which you buy to make Jack-o-Lanterns, read on, and even better, check the link posted at the bottom of this post.

I have looked around and gauged the scene regarding pumpkins. It is really easy to find the type appropriate for Jack-o-Laterns, but less so to find the ones that taste best: sugar pumpkins or as they are sometimes labeled, pie pumpkins. This variety is sweeter and less stringy. I had no luck at Safeway or Coop, but did find them at Sobey's and at farmers markets. My mom told me they carry them at The Place, for anybody living in Fort Frances!

Here is a fabulous and healthy autumn meal that takes the best of the season and transforms it into something delicious! Now, doesn't that make you just a little bit excited about embracing autumn?

Pumpkin Soup

• 450g or 1 lb pumpkin, chopped into 1 inch cubes


• ¼ cup butter


• 1 medium onion, finely chopped


• 750 ml or 3½ cups chicken broth


• 2 cups milk


• Pinch of ground or grated nutmeg


• Salt and pepper


• 6 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until onion softens. Stir in the pumpkin and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add the broth and cook for another 15 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft. Remove from heat.

Pour into a blender or food processor and purée. Return liquid to the saucepan. Stir in milk, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese and serve.

For a great resource on pumpkins check out:

http://www.lesliebeck.com/ingredient_index.php?featured_food=27

Enjoy!

Squash and Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Squash.

Instead of pining over the loss of summer veggies and fruits for another year, welcome autumn by embracing (and eating of course!) what's in season.
It's a wonderful time of the year to have your pick of a variety of squashes. I always love picking one out - so many different shapes, colours and uses. Here's one use that you're sure to enjoy:



















Squash and Sweet Potato Bake:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 medium to large sized sweet potatoes (so, if you use a smaller squash, just reduce the amount of sweet potato - you're aiming for more or less equal quantities of each. Also, if you make a smaller quantity you may want to reduce the amount of onion.)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350°- 375°

Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and lay the halves on a baking pan. Cut the sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise, lay on baking pan.

Bake squash and sweet potato for a half an hour to 45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, let cool until you can handle.

Meanwhile, briefly sauté the diced onion in a pan with butter or olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent.

Scoop out flesh of both squash and sweet potato and mash up with fork or potato masher. Stir in sautéed onions. Spread into a casserole dish and heat at 350° for about half and hour, or until heated through.

Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Turkey

First, don't listen to this guy?! LOL

How many times have you invested your time and money into preparing a turkey only to have it turn out dry as a bone and lacking in flavour?

No more will you be plagued by dry white meat! Follow this recipe and be prepared to impress!

The lemons used in this recipe add a nice, subtle lemon flavour to the breast meat, while the herbs add a nice savoury earthiness. This dish is all about aroma and taste, all inside a magnificently crispy skin. If you like to stuff your bird with dressing, omit the lemons and stuff away! If you like the lemons you can always make your dressing on the side.


Perfect Roast Turkey

• 1 turkey
• 2 lemons, cut into quarters
• 2-3 Tbsp freshly chopped or dried herbs (adjust depending on size of bird), such as thyme or rosemary
• 1½-2 cups chicken broth and/or white wine (pick a wine you enjoy as the flavour of the wine will influence the taste of your bird, and more so the gravy you make from the pan drippings)
• Sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F

Rinse your bird in cold water, taking care to remove any giblets and such from the cavity. Place in roaster pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Stuff cavity with lemons quarters and truss the turkey.
Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat by working your fingers and hands gently(!) underneath the skin.
Rub the herbs, mixed with some sea salt and pepper into the breast meat (this will look and taste so beautiful!)

With a brush (or hands), coat the entire turkey with olive oil.
Place on middle rack of the oven for 20 mins.

Reduce oven to 325°F.

Roast chicken 20 mins. per pound or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F and no more than 180°F in the thickest part of the thigh.

3-4 times, depending on length of cooking time, remove turkey from oven, brush again (not with hands this time!) with olive oil and baste with a third or a quarter (depending on length of cooking time) of the wine or chicken stock (I like to use both, the more flavour the better!).
Let turkey rest for 15 mins. before carving.

To make a fabulous sauce simply place roasting pan on the stovetop, on low heat, and deglaze* the pan by scraping up the turkey bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. If necessary, add a little cornstarch (dilute this first with a little water or stock to prevent lumping) to thicken it up and more stock to make more gravy. Drizzle over carved and plated turkey.

Now, Enjoy!

*Definition of Deglaze: To remove the remaining buts of sautéed or roasted food from a skillet or pot by adding a liquid and heating. This mixture often becomes the base for a gravy or sauce. http://foodgeeks.com/encyclopedia/44/deglaze/

p.s. Next post I will give you my grandma Noreen's recipe for sweet potato and squash bake. It's very good for you and for your taste buds! And is a perfect side dish for your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.

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!