who needs a measured recipe

-take a large soup pot.
-season 2 chicken breasts with S&P, turmeric and curry or whatever; brown
-saute some onion/ garlic in olive oil.
-add chopped celery
-on the side make some stock with Better Than Bouillon- Vegetable Base*
-add stock to sauteed onions/ garlic/ celery/ and chicken
-add chopped carrots
-add quartered baby potatoes, yams, turnips, squash etc
-add chopped ginger and 1 cup of red lentils
-bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 15- 20 minutes
-add a can of chopped tomatoes and a very small teaspoon of honey.
-fish out the chicken and chop into smaller pieces, add back to soup.

-Presto! Soup.

*Better than Bouillon Vegetable is all veggie baby- no meat. It rocks my socks.

regime

Take a large container suitable for a hand mixer to use a blender.

Add 1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
Add various amounts of:
pecans
walnuts
almonds
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
flax seeds

Cover with water plus 1/2 more, cover with a plate and soak over night.

In the morning, blend nut and seed mixture with:
1 banana
1/4 cup of berries
2 tbsp of fish oil or my favorite: Udo's Oil
a handful of raw spinach

Blend the shit out of it.

Drink it all or share it.

IT ROCKS MY WORLD

the best dessert in the world

It used to be Pumpkin Pie followed with a shot of Creme Brulee. But now, I have found a new love. Problem is is that it's a little bit unusual and not often seen in the bakery shelves and pastry cases of your favorite grocery store. What is this mysterious decoction that has tantalized me?

Pavlova, my friend, Pavlova.

What is that, you ask?

It is the most delicious menage et trois of meringue, custard and fresh fruit. It's like some crazy upside down love affair. More delectable is that it was named after a Russian ballerina.

Thanks to my aunt Heather for introducing me to this sweet treasure and to my aunt Jane for blogging about it.

And to make it a little tiny bit more common (come on, who reads this thing anyway?) I have found a recipe.

Pavlova

* 1 cup superfine sugar (250 ml)
* 1 tsp cornstarch (5 ml)
* 4 x large egg whites
* 1/4 tsp salt (1 ml)
* 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1 ml)
* 1 tsp vanilla (5 ml)
* 1 tsp white vinegar (5 ml)
* 1 cup whipping cream (250 ml)
* 1/2 pt fresh raspberries
* 1/2 pt fresh blackberries
* 1/2 pt champagne grapes
* 1 bunch fresh mint


Directions:
Pavlova

1. Preheat oven to 275 F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium glass bowl combine ¼ cup sugar and cornstarch; mix with a fork until smooth.
4. With a high speed mixer beat egg whites until they foam, add salt and cream of tartar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup sugar, 2 tsp at a time, while beating constantly, until peaks stiffen. Beat in the cornstarch mixture until just blended. Add the vanilla and vinegar, continuing to mix until just blended. Spoon the mixture onto the cookie sheet. Making small 3 inch rounds. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the meringue in the oven for 1 hour to dry thoroughly. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Peel the paper from the bottom of the meringue and place the dessert on a serving dish or cake plate. Just before serving, whip the cream into soft peaks and spoon into the center of the meringue. Top the whipped cream with the fruit and serve immediately.

Now get to it. And send me the pictures!!

mother's know best

I hope Mom is OK with me blogging this. It's just too wholesome not to share.

Cook brown rice as follows:

1:4 ratio of brown rice to water with a little salt in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (1 cup of rice)

Sauté some garlic and onion in olive oil, add some spinach, the cooked rice, and 1/2 can of kidney beans and a little curry powder. Enjoy for lunch all week.

Very healthy - a complete protein.

my mom taught me how to cook

Mom also taught me:

how to sew, and thus I made curtains last night
to keep my room clean and I still do to this day
to save my money for a rainy day and pay my bills on time and now having savings rocks
tough lessons so I would be resilient and responsible for myself
the value of myself that exists beyond anything I may do or accomplish

Thanks Mom. You've taught me so much more and mean so much more than I could write here, so instead, I'll share the soup recipe I made for lunch today. I steamed some broccoli to add to it after it was finished since I didn't have any cilantro. Oh, yeah, you helped to develop my ability to think creatively.

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Taken from La Dolce Vegan, pg 106

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 celery stalk, cubed
1-2 sm potatoes, cubed
1 sm yam/sweet potato cubed
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dried red lentil
1 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tep ground black pepper
1- 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, saute onion in oil until translucent. add garlic and celery and saute for another 5 minutes. Add yams, potatoes, stock, lentils, curry paste, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir in coconut milk and with a hand blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth. Return to pot, stir in cilantro and serve. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

died and gone to the soupbowl heaven

Just what I need: a whole blog dedicated to soup.

variations on squash

This recipe taken from this website is much better when you alter it slightly:

Ingredients:
1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (change this to 1 1/2 cups of butternut squash and sweet potatoe)
2 Jonathan or Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
Add 1 tsp of minced ginger and a dash of pepper.
Serve with fried fennel sausages and onions.


Directions:

Stem squash and sweet potatoe for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove from steamer and set aside.

Combine apples, cranberries, ginger and sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Cook 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Add apple mixture to squash and potatoe. Cook 4 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Stir in melted butter and pepper & salt to taste and toss. Serve with sausages and onions.

all squashed out

I know exactly how she feels.

more uses for squash alternatively titled "my skin might start to turn a shade of orange."

Come and kill me.

I have a whole butternut squash to eat minus the 1/4 of it that went into yesterday's soup. Exactly what nutrient requirements are being met by eating so much. Vitamin C hopefully. Please god let vitamin B be one. I could use that one. How bout some iron? Mom, can you confirm?

Today's recipe was found randomly off the internet by googling 'squash recipe'. and I found it here . And you'll see that the squash's dancing partner, the apple, is also making a return.




Ta da.

veganlicious

Taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, "How it all Vegan" by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. They also wrote the intriguing and enticing, " In the Garden of Vegan".

Those clever girls with their clever cookbook names. Tanya has a website for further info.

Sweet Potato, Squash and Apple Soup

1 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups vegetable stock (actual recipe calls for 2 but I think it was a typo as 4 worked much better)
2 cups butternut squash*
2 cups sweet potatoe or yams, peeled and diced
2-3 medium apples. cored, peeled and diced (I added 2 ripe pears and 2 apples)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large soup pot, saute onions in oil on medium high until translucent. Add stock, squash, sweet potatoe or yam, apples, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Book says to take 2 ladles worth of vegetables and 1 ladle of stock and blend together in a blender or food processor until smooth, but I blended it all. Makes 4-6 servings. I might go back and add some carrots and ginger or adjust the seasonings. I kind of like pepper. A lot.

Yummy yummy on a rainy wintery Vancouver Sunday.

*But really what do you do with the left over butternut squash?

making marijuana (read: catnip)mice

Supplies:
peice of felt
table, cutting board and cutting wheel
pattern peices
sewing machine
later: catnip, peice of thin cord, embroidery thread and a sewing needle.

Cut 1- bottom, 2-sides, 2-ears.
Get ready to sew.






Sew ears about a 1/3 of the way across the body. Sew both ears on and make sure you have them on the right side of the felt. Longer and more slender side of the side peices is the nose. I personally enjoy a zig zag stich with low stitch length on this project.



Sew up the top seam of the 2 sides. leave a one inch space on the top (see where my finger is poking in?). You'll need this for stuffing later.





Sew the "body" to the base, lining up the edges as you go. Careful when you get to the "bum".






Insert tail of slim cord and sew over. Backstitch a few times for strength. Continue to sew base completly.






Stuff poly-fill in the nose and tail and body. Leave a little bit of room for cat nip.






I know this looks like marijuana (mom, I swear it's not). Put a little bit in a bit of stuffing and roll up.






Insert rolled up bundle of marijuana, oops catnip into the mouse. If you need to put more stuffing on top, please do.






Sew up the stash entry port.







With a little bit of embroidery thread, stitch on some eyes and thread loops through the nose. Tie off and cut for whiskers. Immediatly entice you cat into a frenzy with the pleasing aroma of herb emiting from inside.




Ruby, my lovely cat and part time model becomes quickly aquainted with her new toy.






They become fast friends and live happily ever after.

in lieu of snow photos

in the pot, originally uploaded by smoooch.

2 1/2 pounds of lean, boneless beef chuck, cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion
6 carrots, diced
2 turnips, diced
6-10 new potatoes, quartered
2 cups pearl onions, peeled
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (totally optional, yuck.)
2 1/2 cups beef stock
2 1/2 cups red wine
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
bit of butter
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Prep:

Trim and cut beef into 1 inch chunks
Chop onions
Wash and scrub carrots, turnips and potatoes
Cut carrots and turnips into chunks, and quarter potatoes
Peel pearl onions by quickly boiling, drain and rinse
Measure beef stock and red wine, keep seperate
Mince garlic

Method:

In skillet, saute the beef chunk in the vegetable oil until brown on all sides. Season with salt & pepper to taste. When finished, transfer to large cooking pot.

Add onions, carrots and turnips to skillet, add sugar and cook over medium high heat for approximatly 8 minutes. Remove the vegetables and reserve in a large bowl.

Optional part: In a bit of butter saute mushrooms over medium high heat for approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to the reserved vegetables. Or not.

have a swig of wine and add the measured to the skillet, scrap up sides, then add the beef stock. Whisk in tomato paste and rosemary. Cook for a couple of minutes and add to pot with meat.

Add potatoes and garlic to the meat and cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Add remaining reserved vegetables, half the chopped parsley and continue cooking for approximately 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Ganish with remaining parsley.

Serve with another bottle of red wine and a nice loaf of french bread.

stew, originally uploaded by smoooch.