Moroccan me this...

Wow... it has been forever since I've updated my blog and I feel kind of guilty about it! It's funny cause I have so many pictures on my computer that I can't remember what I made and what the recipe was. Oh well... my new years resolution is to try to keep up with this! Promise!

Here's a fun update, if you live in Winnipeg and cannot find free range eggs I have solve your life stopping dilemma. Costco has free range eggs now and they're cheap! They're gorgeous eggs and remind me of the eggs from Hutlet's farm out in Cypress River. 

So I made this awhile back but it a favourite of mine! It's spicy, yummy and light. Also, I make it when Mom isn't around since she's allergic to shellfish. Now, the first time I made this I made it as directed with couscous. I realized quickly that I hate couscous. So, I find that this works well with rice, noodles and barley. Yes that's right... Barley. I think Barley is an underused grain. Let's bring it back like it's 1850.

I got this recipe from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook. So I am fulfilling it's requirement. (seriously there is a form at the beginning saying that you WILL share these recipes with people)

Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish with Couscous

1 cup couscous
Olive Oil
2 lemons
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chile
bunch of fresh basil
1 tsp cumin seeds (it calls for seeds but I didn't have any so I just used regular cumin)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 x 6oz fish fillets (skin and bones removed) - I didn't have any fish in my house so I skipped this step
1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and devained
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
2 handfuls of frozen peas

First off, I start with peeling and de-veining my shrimp. I buy the bags of raw frozen shrimp and dethaw under cold running water. 

While you are doing this, start boiling your water for your couscous. Once you've got your shrimp under control, put your couscous in a bowl and add a couple Tbsp of olive oil. Now you want to half your lemons and squeeze the juice from 2 halves into the bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Don't forget to sharpen your knives. This knive sharpener was my grandma's. It's ancient but it works like a charm!

Pour just enough boiling water to cover the couscous then cover it with plastic wrap to trap in the steam. Let that soak for 10 mins.

Now get yourself a large saucepan and put it on medium heat. Peel and finely slice your garlic, chile and pick your basil off the stalks. Rough chop the larger ones.

The trick to slicing basil... roll it like a cigar. Chiffonade my friends, chiffonade! 

Add a couple glugs (~ 2 Tbsp) of olive oil to your now hot pan. add the garlic, chile, basil, cumin seeds and cinnamon. Give it a stir!

Now add in your fish if you have some, unlike my unplanned self. And then your shrimp. Add the can of tomatoes and frozen peas. I also added in some corn. If you have, add edamame beans or lima beans. What ever veggies you like really.

 

 Now add the remaining 2 halves of lemon juice. Add a lid to the pan and bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 8 mins. Taste and season with our friends salt and pepper!

In all this time, your couscous will be cooked. Fluff it with a fork and plate. Then laddle this spicy goodness over top and tada! In about 18 mins, you've got yourself a great meal!!

  

I hope you all give this a try. It's not overly spicy so if you like it hot (some may not - ha! tat rhymed) add another chile. Remember, recipes are never laid in stone. Change things up! You may surprise yourself.

Much love and spice it up tonight!

battery or free range... where do you stand?

It's been awhile since I've been on here but I've been sick and really haven't found the time to sit down and devout time to write. I do apologize! I'm making my comeback to talk about chickens. Yes, chickens. I've grown up in a family that has been into farming animals at some point. My grandpa raised cattle, chickens, pigs, and turkeys. My uncle currently is a cattle farmer. So I've always known what is involved in animal farming, birth, death and eventually food at the table.

I watched Jamie Oliver's Fowl Dinner's tonight. And it enraged me. Literally. So much that I am writing this right now. I am so fed up that people are just OK with eating complete shit. I'm not OK with it and I'm sick of feeling like no one else gives a crap. Well Jamie is one person making a difference so here is my attempt to get the people around me to start being angry too! 

The problem I have today is with how our "food" is raised... scratch that, mass produced. It's sad. Our animals are being genetically altered to grow bigger, faster and become food much faster than they should. At what point will the industry stop to think about how this is affecting our bodies. Most people would guess that a chicken is slaughtered in between 6 months to a year. The truth is that most are slaughtered within 38 days. How is this possible? Well, America has genetically produced a bird that can do just that. The problem with this is the birds usually have health issues. The most common issue is that they gain so much weight in such a short amount of time that their immature bones cannot hold their weight and cannot walk and are in an immense amount of pain. All of this so we can have cheaper bigger chicken breasts and legs.

The other issue I have is with eggs. Watching Jamie Oliver's "Fowl Dinner" program amazed me. I knew what barn produced eggs looked like which made me feel horrible for buying cheap eggs but the truth is... barn raised birds are better off than caged birds. 

Caged birds are 6 to a cage, loose up to 65% of their feathers and stand on bars for their entire life until they are killed. Might I add, they are usually killed 8 years before they even stop producing eggs. You could take one of these chickens home and it would lay you eggs for 8 years.

To give you the full experience...

The third option is free range, organic. Which for me... this will be the only choice. I know you pay an extra dollar for these eggs but really if we as consumers do not make the conscious decision to say to these producers that we wont stand for the mass produced and genetically altered. We have to start somewhere and by you making that choice to not buy cheap products is a start. You get what you pay for people.

Don't they look happy!!

Not only does it make a difference in the chickens lives but TASTE! Not allowing chickens to express their natural habits, dust bathing, eating multiple grains and grass and establishing a social pecking order produces bland, dry and horrible meat. How do I know the difference? Well I buy farm free range chickens and now I'll make the conscious choice to buy free-range organic eggs as well. Now you may be asking how do we find organic free range chicken? Well eggs are easy enough, they are in your everyday grocery store. As for meat... finding a farmer is your best bet and the easiest way I do that is at my local farmers market. For me, here in Winnipeg that is St. Norberts farmers market. They have a lot of farmers producing free range organic beef, chicken, bison and turkeys! So every weekend we buy a chicken or what we need and then get their card and buy when we can the rest of the year. Now, some butcher shops will have this option available but I know here in Winnipeg hardly any of the grocery stores offer free range organic meat. Maybe we should be asking for it. If you don't ask, they don't know.

Our society is all about placing laws and changing our environment with things like no smoking in your car with a child under the age of 16 and hand sanitizers in every corner of every store. Yet we as society cannot change how the fuel of our lives is produced? We cannot survive without food and it is so crucial to our lives but society cannot stop and say, no I wont put this into my body. You only have this one body, this one life but we are so willing to do so. I think this is because it isn't something that is in our everyday decision making. We don't stop and think where our food comes from because it is so mass produced. 

In an earlier time our food was more organic than we could ever imagine. Mayo was made at home with chickens that are in the yard with oil that was made from the canola in your neighbors field. Your chicken came from your kids pet that they named "Ginger" and were unknowingly eating. Your desert was likely made with peaches that were canned during the summer when they were ripe and fresh. We don't eat like this anymore. I can't name one person in my generation that knows how to can and avidly does so. I don't know anyone that can put a name to their chicken that is apart of their dinner. And well as for the mayo... my nana was the last person I had homemade mayo from.Yes, we live longer than our grandparents generation did but we also have a higher rate of heart disease, diabetes and DIET related diseases. Think about it...

I think we can do better. Why should be be told what to eat? No one likes to be told what to do and not be given options. As consumers we need to realize that WE can dictate what we want! We can change what is offered to us. We're the ones buying it dammit. Think about it the next time you pick up that carton of eggs, chicken breasts and that jar of mayo or creamy salad dressing. Is that extra dollar really worth it?

Don't worry, I'll be posting a recipe in the next few days. Just felt this was more important. Want to learn more? Check out Jamie's website.

Start caring please. Don't be apart of the out of sight, out of mind generation. Much love!

sunday funday, baking my way

So I've discovered with this food blog that it's hard to keep up. I cook A LOT. lol It's hard to try to know what people want to read about and maybe try themselves. So I've decided I'll just record it all and then decide later. That way I have options. I hope some of you are trying these dishes out at home! I took the rest of my tikka masala to Calvin at work. (he is my Timmies supplier) He gave it a rave review! YAY! I always like to get others opinions about my food cause I tend to be pretty hard on myself.

So last Sunday I went on a baking spree followed by a roasted chicken dinner. I decided to try my hand at dinner rolls. Now... the last time I made buns was back in the day when I made them with Mom. Before the bread maker. Now she goes too fast or I'm at work, so learning goes out the window. Mom just bought a new bread maker cause the other one died a horrible death. She is the proud new owner of a black and decker deluxe bread maker. I'm not a huge bread person so I never felt the need to make bread. (especially when I have Mom making fresh bread every week) But last Sunday, I was home alone and decided it was time to tear it up! Now don't think that bread from a bread maker isn't like homemade. We don't use ours to bake bread in... just to mix and let it rise. It makes life easy and over mixing a thing of the past!

 the big bad bread machine

Bread Maker Dinner Rolls

3 cups bread flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup skim milk powder

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp butter, softened

2 1/4 tsp bread maker yeast (equal to 1 pkg)

Now you need to follow your bread machine order for putting these into the bread maker, not this recipe order. Believe me it's important. I don't know why but it is. (says my Mommy, "I just love my mum!" haha that song is always in my head...)

 

Now once you've got everyone in the pool, shut the lid and choose the dough setting and then START! Your hard work now ends for like 3 1/2 hours. Now as much as you want to smell that great yeast smell don't open the lid... luckily the manufacturer knows that would be something we would all do so they made a window!

 Fab eh? So it does it's mixy mixy thing and beeps when it's done rising and mixing and rising and mixing. Open the lid now and unplug the machine. Pull out the pan and move over to a floured board.

Now... punch it down and dump it on to the board.

 

  

I don't know about you but I love the feeling of warm dough. So you now divide this into 12 equal parts. haha mine we definitely not equal but whatever... and then roll into a ball. I have not perfected this as my pictures will display. Don't laugh too hard cause I laughed enough for everyone.

 Now cover these and let them rise for an hour. I know... another hour seems like forever but go vacuum or something! Preheat your oven as well here... keep these babies warm and cozy. 350 is the temp.

Once the hour is up they should be about double the size.

Now shove these in the oven and bake for 15 mins till golden. Take them out of the oven and brush with butter then move to a cooling rack. Wait for a bit before you rip into one or you will burn yourself... believe me. 

I have a love hate relationship with Sundays. One part of me loves Sundays because it either involves cleaning or cooking. (yes I love cleaning... mainly I like organization) The other half of me hates Sundays because I know I have to work on Monday. Not this weekend... it's my long weekend! So I am planning some meals out for the week. Tonight I made a dish I should make more to be honest... Chicken and Spinach stuffed Manicotti with a Cheese Sauce and I ended up with extra stuffing so I will make a tomato sauce to pair with it later. (I will also post later) Potato Leek Soup is making an appearance in my kitchen as it's my morning shift this week and I need lunches!

Much love and enjoy your Sunday!

Waffle me crazy

I love waffles. Let it be said. Nothing beats a waffle in the morning to get you going. Especially this recipe I have. It's chewy and yummy and the cinnamon that comes through is pure delight. I blame my amazing auntie pat for my obsession with waffles A. because she bought my waffle iron for my birthday and B. she makes really good waffles. Who doesn't love an aunt who can do it all? My auntie pat can! 

My childhood memories of food with my aunt include a lot of Amway products which oddly enough were presidents choice back then... but the top of all Amway products for me was acerola. A cherry drink that had it's own labeled juice jug in her fridge. All of her neices and nephews knew and loved that jug. I think it has since been recycled but I will forever remember it. Auntie pat also makes a mean quiche and I definitely called her when I lived in residence at university to get the recipe. My mom never made quiche and it was a treat before swimming classes at my aunts house in the summer. Not to leave my uncle doug out of the food equation because he has his own food memories for me. Top of the list... chocolate milk, bar none. Next... peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. ew, not so yum. He also told me that mushrooms were fungus and bad for me. Obviously I didn't listen lol. But I love that I have these types of memories with my family no matter what they are!

Back to waffles... I think if you have a waffle maker it either gets taken out of the box and used often or doesn't get used at all. Knowing this, I made sure to get mine out and try it right away. So for all you closeted waffle iron owners, I want you to break free and bust out that waffle iron! Take charge! It doesn't own you, you own it! 

Now.. this recipe comes from my Cuisinart waffle iron instruction/recipe book. They are called "Protein Waffles" but I  rarely have cottage cheese in my fridge but I always have yogurt so I sub that with some extra flour (about 1/2 cup).

Protein Waffles by Cuisinart

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup flour

3 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 Tbsp oil (I use olive oil)

1/2 cup cottage cheese (I use yogurt, so don't forget about another 1/2 cup of flour for this)

1 cup skim milk

Combine your oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine it all together. 

Stir in the rest of the ingredients one at a time until just mixed until it looks like a smooth batter. (not loose or too thick) If you don't think its thick enough, add some flour a little at a time.

Let this rest for 5 mins while your waffle iron preheats. It says for mine setting #3 but I like them crispier. So I put mine on #4. When its preheated SPRAY your waffle iron with PAM (I used butter flavor!) because if you don't, this will happen....

I always seem to forget to spray it the first time and then I end up kicking myself. Oh well... So anyway, grab a ladle full, do NOT overfill or you will have a mess and a HOT mess at that! Ladle it into the middle and it will spread out own its own, no manipulation needed!

Close the lid and wait till it beeps. (well unless yours doesn't beep then it's about 3 mins or so or a light will turn off) Remove that waffle and serve or keep in a warm oven and then repeat till your batter is done.

 

Nice and brown and crispy! Now you can serve this up with butter and syrup or fruit syrup (I like blueberry but opted for maple syrup this day!) 

Now I always have a half a ladle left of batter and hate wasting... so with these being pretty healthy I give my dog a little treat and cook her a little one. She loves them too.

 

Look at those eyes... please say OK so I can stop drooling and om nom nom it NOW!

Try it out this weekend! It's a nice change from pancakes!

Much love and waffle yourself happy!

Chicken Tikka Masala a la Jamie Oliver

For years I have loved curries. I started off mild and have moved to spicy and I am loving the adventure it brings. One of my favourite places in Winnipeg to eat curry from is Clay Oven in the Kenaston common. (I highly recommend the chefs deluxe biryani and an order of mozza naan) I've also heard that City Heart East Indian Cuisine is amazing too. That's in the old restaurant in Monty's (the Montcalm Gordon Motor Hotel). I haven't found a night off to test it out but I know if you want authentic that's the place to go.

When I first started eating curries was in the best city to try them in. London. Not London Ontario but London, England. Curry capital of the world. It was butter chicken with papadums and mango chutney. How do I remember that? (since that was 4 years ago this week) Well thats how great my introduction to curries was! I was never a person to shy away from international cuisine. One of the girls I played with after school (and who's mom watched me till mine got home), her family was Lebanese. The food that came out of that kitchen was amazing! I had no idea what I was eating half the time but it was mighty tasty! I used to come home and ask my mom to make these dishes with names that a 6 year old can't pronounce and she would laugh.

I've slowly converted the people around me to eating curries. First it was my roommate Holly in Uni, then my mom and now anyone I can hook on it. I'm telling you, curry is a forced to be reckoned with! One thing I never did was make it from scratch. I always used Sharwoods jarred sauce. (don't use Pataks... it's horrible) So this week I decided to own up and make some homemade. I had recipes for it and was always intimidated to try like most people who have never made curries at home. 

So out came Jamie Oliver's "Jamie's Dinners" cookbook. Chicken Tikka Masala on page 29. Personally I hate when the picture doesn't show the end result in clear cause then I don't know if I screwed up half way through. That's what this recipe had... no picture of the end result. Just some random restaurant with Cobra beer and half plates of food in the background. The reason I hate that is that in cases like this where I've never made the dish but eaten it lots from jarred sauce. Well... when I made this, it looked nothing like the jarred sauce and I had no idea if I messed up half way or what was going on. Oh and I added the link to Jamie's website for this recipe but it's different from this one. I guess no one really ever sticks to the same recipe ever!

Either way... it was ok. Yup, that's right, OK. It was super spicy and I made the choice to only used 1 chili pepper instead of 3. But the heat from this was all in the garam masala. I think if I made this again, I would leave out 1 Tbsp of the garam masala and add tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. I found no tomato flavor like I expected. I should also mention that I interpreted Jamie's "tomato puree" as tomato paste. It's the risk I take using British cookbooks. If you own any, you'll know what I mean!

I do have to say that I had it for lunch at work the next day and it was much better!! I also added more salt though but it was definitely better the second day around. I love when that happens cause I usually hate leftovers! I've still got some in my fridge up for claiming! 

So here's the recipe with my changes that I would make italicized

Chicken Tikka Masala - Jamie Oliver (jamie's dinners)

6 cloves of garlic peeled

3 inches of fresh ginger peeled

2-3 red chillies, deseeded (I used 1 chili and forgot to deseed it haha)

olive oil

1 Tbsp mustard seeds

1 Tbsp paprika (I totally only had maybe a tsp... oops)

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground corriander

3 Tbsps garam masala (cut this back to 2 Tbsps)

heaping 3/4 cup plain yogurt 

4 medium chicken breasts cut into large chunks (I used a pkg of chicken thighs I think there was 6)

1 Tbsp butter

2 medium onions, peeled and sliced thin (I used 1 large white onion)

2 Tbsps tomato puree (again I would use tomato sauce)

small handful cashew nuts ground (I used my blender)

sea salt (I used a tsp but would definitely use more next time. I found it undersalted)

1/2 cup heavy cream (I could only find half and half)

fresh cilantro (a bunch full)

juice of 1-2 limes (sooooo good)

Grate the garlic and ginger with a grater on the small side into a bowl. Chop the chillies as small as you can and mix them with the garlic and ginger. 

Heat a good splash of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds to toast. WATCH OUT! They pop and oil is hot and wow lol brutal. Another thing NOT to cook naked. When they start to pop a lot add them (yes with the oil) to the garlic, ginger and chili mix. Now add the paprika, cumin, coriander and 2 Tbsps of the garam masala. 

Put half of this mix into a bowl with the yogurt and chicken chunks, stir and marinate for 30 mins +.

Melt the butter in the pan that you toasted the mustard seeds in and add the sliced onions and the rest of the spice paste. This is when it starts to smell AMAZING! Cook this on medium low for 15 mins or until the onions are soft and almost browning. 

Add the tomato puree, ground cashews, 2 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt. Try it and then taste... I forgot to and found it bland and uber spicy in the end. Stir and let this simmer for a until it reduces and thickens and then place to the side.

 

Get out your chicken and grill em! I used my george forman but you could BBQ in the summer or if you have one of those griddle pans or broil it. Options people, options! Get a good sear on the chicken and place aside. At this point I start my rice as well since that takes like 20 mins.

Warm the sauce back up ad add the cream (it says to add the other Tbsp of garam masala but I would leave it out or half it) Toss your naan bread into the oven at 200. The crutial part I did not read in the book was taste and correct seasonings here... oops. Oh well! Bring this to a boil and take it off the heat, add your chicken. It AGAIN says to check seasoning. Wow Nicole... wow. 

Then toss in your chopped up cilantro and lime juice. 

Serve over rice and with some poppadums and cold beer according to Jamie. I served mine with caramelized onion naan bread. I would have had a beer but there's none in my fridge!

I know my plate doesn't look that pretty but that naan bread is out of this world! I got it at sobey's and it was a compliments product. Highly recommend!

So even though it wasn't out of this world, I think with changes it could be! I want everyone to try it out at least once cause the smells are worth it on their own! Try something new this weekend!


Much love and happy curry!

stomach flu vs chicken soup... the victory round

Well... this last week I spent in bed. For some reason Winnipeg and surrounding areas seem to be plagued by this wretched stomach flu. Unlucky me I contracted it... likely at work. When you work with computers that are shared and in a building, once a disease is brought in, it spreads like wild fire. Between the brain numbing headaches, the feeling of your stomach dying from the inside out and the constant nausea with the mention of food, I lost 5 lbs this week. 

I don't know about you, but when I'm sick, all I want to do is sleep and drink gingerale. Why? I think it's because when I was a kid, this was instilled in me this was the only way I would get better. Sleep is what your body needs to attack the virus and destroy it's puny existence and gingerale is what your stomach needs to battle nausea. Only Canada dry for this kid, that schwepps (sp?) crap is yucky. That's right, yucky. It's got a stale flavor to it that I can't quite put my finger on. 

My third weapon in fighting flu's is homemade chicken soup! Nothing beats a good chicken soup! When I was a kid it was Lipton's Alligator soup. Remember that stuff? Chewy, salty goodness in a bowl with noodles shaped like deadly animals. Now YOU'RE the predator! But now that I'm older I realize that soup had enough sodium to send me into hypertension. (which would be crazy as the last time I had my blood pressure done I was 90/60) Either way, I thought I would share my flu fighting homemade soup with everyone as this flu seems to be taking everyone out!

 

Alright, so above are your white cell activator superhero's of ingredients. (god I should have been a bio teacher...) And no those are not pickles, those are the fruits of a chicken whose carcass became chicken broth. I had them patiently waiting frozen in my freezer just waiting for this opportunity! I will post that recipe one day, it's a staple in my house.

Chicken Soup a la Old School

2 L chicken stock

4 cups water

4 sachets chicken base

6 stalks celery (diced) get some with leaves, we want a small handful

5 carrots (diced)

1 small white onion (diced)

2 garlic cloves (diced) it will put hair on your chest as my Papa would say

1 clam shell of crimini mushrooms (sliced) I find they hold their texture better than white mushrooms, up to you!

1 Tbsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

a good swig of white wine vinegar

 First off start by heating your chicken stock (medium high heat - 7 on my stove), water and chicken base while you chop the veggies. As you can see, my stock was still kind of frozen when I started. But it will soon look all golden and yummy like this...

 

So by now you should have your carrots, onion and celery chopped up. I have a personal carrot monster that creeps into my kitchen when ever she hears me chopping carrots. She patiently waits for me to "drop" a carrot piece for her and then devours it and then waits again...

 

 Look at those eyes... who could resist this carrot monster? Please feed me carrots... they're good for my eyes! I can't believe she's 13 some days...

 Add this to the pot and next up we have... celery leaves. Grab a small handful of good leaves. Now you may be wondering what the hell I am doing putting celery leaves in my soup but trust me, it adds so much flavor that celery stalks just can't do on its own. So, pile em up, roll them like a cigar and slice. If you want it smaller after that, chop em up but I like them julienned.

 

So we still have more chopping left... mushrooms and garlic. Slice the mushrooms and chop the garlic. It's soup... don't try to be fancy. Who are you kidding!?

 

So last but not least poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and a swig of vinegar. Now I know you're asking why vinegar? Well... it brightens the flavor of the veggies. Seriously, I'm not lying! It does make a difference. I wont be hurt if you leave it out though... well, maybe only a little. 

 

So once this comes to the boil, turn the heat down to simmer and cover. Let this simmer for a few hours. I find that best! Or better yet, simmer for an hour and then cool and leave over night and re-heat the next day. Sooo yummy when the flavours meld together overnight!

So now something I haven't talked about yet in this blog... how important it is to taste your culinary concoctions. Every good cook has a tasting spoon... mine is my old baby spoon. *sigh* I know, it's got sentimental value, what can I say. I think everyone should have a special tasting spoon... go get yours now and test it out by making some chicken soup a la old school!

 much love and stay virus free!