Archive for Food
September 26, 2011 at 4:04 am · Filed under Food
I guess it has been awhile since the last update. I am still cooking and documenting the creations, I probably have 2 years of backlog to post when I have time. I was looking to cook something that I have never made before and couldn’t come up with any ideas. While grocery shopping I saw Roti wraps on the shelf, they were calling my name. I have never seen them before and instantly starting thinking of recipe possibilities. All I needed was the wraps, I already had everything I needed at home. Here it goes
Ingredients
- Roti Wraps
- 2 tsp Yellow curry powder
- 3 tsp oil
- 1 med size potato
- 1/2 cup of your favorite squash
- 1 med onion
- 1/2 cup of zucchini
- 1/4 cup carrots
- 1/4 red pepper
- 1 cup chic peas
- 2 small chicken breast (cook separate and add to stew)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of water
- 1 veggie/chicken cube
Method
- Cook chicken in a separate pan. While the chicken is cooking away, do the following.
- Chop everything up in 1/2 inch pieces
- Add oil, onions and garlic to pot an simmer to bring out the flavor
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and cook for about 5 minutes stirring often
- Once everything is covered in the curry powder and cooked a little, add the water and flavor cube
- Chop up and add the cooked chicken
- Cook at medium low heat (a light boil) until the potatoes are soft. The starch from the potatoes will thicken up the liquid into a curry gravy.
- Add curry stew to Roti wrap and enjoy
Permalink
December 1, 2009 at 9:54 pm · Filed under Food, Pizza ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, dinner, pizza
This is a quick and easy take on a pizza or a sandwich. I’m not really sure what it is, but it sure is delicious. I made this dish with dough bought from the supermarket; it’s too much of a hassle for me to do it myself and it saves me time. This dish can be made on the BBQ or over an open fire, I simply flattened out the dough and put it right on the lowest rack in the oven at 350 degrees until it was bread like. Next time I will make sure to flatten out the dough a littler more as it tends to rise pretty high.
Ingredients
- Pizza dough – ( store bought serving can be divided up into quarters)
- Asiago and cheddar cheese
- Prosciutto – (get it sliced as thin as possible at the deli)
- Arugula
- Roasted Red peppers
- Mushrooms
Method
- Cut the pizza dough into quarters or the desiered size and roll flat
- Place the dough directly onto the lowest rack of the oven at 350°F with the door open, KEEP AN EYE ON
- Flip it over after a few minutes and continue to cook until the crust is golden brown
- Put the Prosciutto on it as soon as it comes out of the oven, this will cause it took cook a little and release some wonderful flavors
- Continue to top the sandwich with the cheese, arugula, roasted red peppers and mushrooms
- Finish the dish off with a little olive oil for that authentic Italian flavor
- Fold it up and enjoy..
Permalink
October 1, 2009 at 5:29 pm · Filed under Food ·Tagged 24 hour marinade, bbq, chicken wings
This recipe requires a 24 hour marinade. I don’t remember how I came up with it, but it definilty did the trick.
Ingredients
- 24 Chicken Wings
- 2 Lemons juiced
- 4 or 5 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 5 cloved of minced garlic
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger minced
- 1/2 red pepper finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 tbsp cracked pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp of chili pepper
- a few splashed of beer
Method
- Cut up the wings if necessary and place in a plastic ziplock bag
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a big bowl, and pour into the ziplock bag
- Make sure all of the wings are covered and lay flat in the fridge for 24 hours
- Preheat BBQ (set burners to medium high), place a small amout of oil on a paper towl and wipe the grill so they wings dont stick
- Cook until crispy
Permalink
September 28, 2009 at 6:42 pm · Filed under Breakfast and Brunch, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged Azores, Brie Cheese, courmet crilled cheese sandwich, Gourmet
Ok ok, I know what you are thinking..a grilled brie and pineapple jam sandwich? I am totally not a fan of mixing fruit with my dinner, but this is truly an amazing combination. This summer I spent a few weeks on the Azores Island with my girlfriends family. She is a vegetarian and didn’t have to many exciting meals options, manly because the only food options on the islands are chicken, beef, cheese and bread. Good thing the islands also grow some amazing pineapples. We started eating corn bread, cheese and pineapple jam on day one and took it back to Canada with us.
Ingredients
- Fresh egg bread
- Slices of brie ( a little goes a long way)
- Pineapple jam
- Butter
Method
- Butter the bread on the outsides and spread a thin layer of pineapple jam on the inside
- Place on a skillet on medium high heat and place something heavy on top of the sandwich to weigh it down. I use a cast-iron pan, this will ensure even and direct heat
- Cook on both sides until the cheese starts to melt, total cook time was about 6 minutes
Permalink
September 21, 2009 at 8:46 pm · Filed under Asian, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Asian recipe, cabbage, Chinese food, cilantro, President's Choice Meatless chicken, Sri Racha Hot Sauce, stir fry, teriyaki, Udon noodles, Wok
This recipe has been a huge hit with everyone who has tried it. It is one of the easiest meals to prepare if you are short on time and its inexpensive to make. The trick to this dish is cooking on medium-high heat the whole time, it brings out an amazing flavor in all of the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp of both garlic and ginger
- fresh black pepper
- 1-2 TBSP peanut oil
- 2 veggie chicken breasts
- 2 pack of Udon noodles
- 1/2 cup cabbage sliced thin
- 1/2 cup red pepper sliced thin
- 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp of coriander
- 3 to 4 tbsp of Teriyaki ( I use both Kikkoman and VH brands)
- Sri Racha Hot Sauce (THE ROOSTER)
Method
- Start by adding 2 tbsp of peanut oil and 1 tbsp of ginger to a Wok on medium/ high heat. Cut up the veggie chicken into bite size strips and cooks until they are a little crispy.
- While the chicken is cooking, slice up the cabbage, onion and red pepper and set aside.
- When the chicken is done, add the 2 pack of Udon, the rest of the vegetables, the teriyaki and more ginger if you want. Sauté for a 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly cooked but still firm, you can also add more teriyaki if you want.
- Add Sri Racha after the dish is plated, this stuff is spicy!
Permalink
September 17, 2009 at 5:17 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, kesra, Moroccan, veggie
The Moroccan Veggie Strew wouldn’t be complete without a kind of traditional bread. I got the idea and recipe for this when I was watching a travel show on Morocco. I did not add to many spices because I just wanted to keep it simple.
Ingredients
- 1 pks active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water for the yeast
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/8 cup corn flour
- 2 tsp salt
Method
- Mix the yeast and 1/4 cup of warm water in a blow. Stir in the sugar and set aside for about 10 minutes
- Sift flour and the corn flour into a bowl, make a hole in the centre of the flour and add the yeast liquid
- knead these together while adding the remaining water until the dough forms into a smooth around ball
- Flatten this out with your hands until it is about 1 inch thick, cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise for about 15 minutes
- In the mean time, place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven at 425 degrees F
- Once the dough has had time to rise, poke the top surface with a fork and flour the bottom so it doesn’t stick to the pizza stone. Place the dough on the pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy
Feel free to add some cayenne pepper, pepper, paprika or any other herbs to spice the break up a little. I might even add some raisins or chopped up apricot next time.
Permalink
July 30, 2009 at 3:10 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Moroccan, spice, Vegetarian
A few years ago I received a Tagine as a gift from my good friend Rich. Not knowing what it was, I quickly rushed out and picked up everything I needed to cook my family a meal. It so easy to use, just add all of the veg/meat you want, some spice and set it on the stove at medium/low for an hour.
Moroccan Spice
I used a pre-made that came with the Tagine, but here is a link to a similar recipe.
Ingredients
- garlic & ginger chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 medium size potato cubed
- 1 Large can of diced tomatoes
- 2/4 can of chickpeas
- 1 fake chicken breast
- handful of pit in olives
- small handful of dried apricots
Method
- add garlic / ginger and oil to the Tagine and simmer for a few minutes
- add the can of tomatoes and chickpeas
- chop up all of the other ingredients and add into the Tagine
- add a full tbsp of the spice to the stew and stir
- cook for about 1 hour or until potatoes are soft
- serve this dish with white rice and bread
Permalink
July 15, 2009 at 8:48 pm · Filed under Food ·Tagged bbq, dry rub, ribs, smoked ribs, summer
A BBQ is a perfect substitute if you don’t have a smoker, make sure you cover up all of the vents on the hood with aluminum foil before you start, this will help keep the smoke in.
You can buy different flavor woodchips at various grocery stores or home centers like Canadian Tire / Home Depot. Simply soak the chips in water for a few hours and wrap in aluminum foil and fold into a pouch. Take a knife and stab about 10-15 holes into the pouch so the smoke has room to escape. I was using a BBQ that had a heat shield on it, this was the perfect surface to place the smoke pouches on. If you have lava rocks, you can probably place the pouches directly on them; just make sure you don’t have the burner turned up to high.
Ingredients – Dry rub (feel free to substitute or use what ever you have)
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
Method
- Rinse the ribs in cold water and cover with dry rub.
- Turn on one side of the burner and place the smoke pouches on it, heat up until they are smoking
- Place ribs on the opposite side of the heat and close lid and cook for 1 ½ – 2 hours
- Check ribs a few times, but not too often or you will lose the smoke and heat.
Permalink
July 9, 2009 at 2:57 pm · Filed under Asian, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #recipes, Asian recipe, cilantro, Vegetarian, veggie
This meal only takes a few minutes to put together if you don’t add tofu or meal. The vermicelli noodles cook in about 3 minutes depending on what size you prefer and the rest is a little slicing.
Ingredients
Vermicelli Salad
- 1/2 of a pack Rice noodles (aka vermicelli)
- 1 Carrot thinly sliced
- 1 small Onion thinly sliced
- 1 handful Lettuce chopped per serving
- 1 small Cucumber thinly sliced
- Cilantro chopped
- 1 sliced lime
Noodle Sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar (granulated)
- 1 garlic minced
- 1 tsp chili peppers
- 1/2 fresh lime juice
Method
- Cook the vermicelli as directed on the package, the instructions change depending on thickness of the noodles
- Slice and chop all of the vegetables
- Place a handful of lettuce on each plate, topped with the noodles and the vegetables and lime juice
- For the sauce, add all of the ingredients to a glass and whisk together
- For Vegetarians use Veggie Hoisin Sauce found at Loblaws
- Add tofu, chicken or pork if you want
Permalink
June 10, 2009 at 8:23 pm · Filed under Food, Pizza, Vegetarian ·Tagged artichokes, pizza, roasted red peppers
You can make a big batch of these and freeze them for a quick and easy meal when you don’t have a lot of time to cook.
Ingredients
- Pita’s
- Roasted red peppers
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Artichokes
- Asiago cheese
- Onion
- Tomato sauce
Method
- Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the pitas
- Soak the sun dried tomatoes in a dish of warm water for 5 minutes to hydrate them a little.
- Squeeze the some of the water out of the roasted red peppers and artichokes by pressing them in paper towel
- Top pitas with red peppers, tomatoes, artichokes and asiago cheese
- Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 10 – 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown
Permalink
May 29, 2009 at 8:53 pm · Filed under Asian, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Asparagus, coconut, dinner, Vegetarian
This idea came from a good friend of mine, I modified the recipe a little and came up with this.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of Asparagus
- 1 Red Pepper
- 5 canned artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup of lima beans
- 2 fake chicken breast (cut into strips)
- 2 tbsp Peanut Oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 cm piece of Ginger
- 4 tbsp Coconut milk
- 1 tbsp Peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbsp milk
Method
- In a pan heat up oil, ginger and garlic, add chicken strips. Cook on medium high heat, constantly stirring until the chicken is golden brown.
- On a BBQ, electric grill or in the oven, roast the asparagus, peppers and artichoke until tender
- In a small dish, mix coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey and milk. Nuke in the microwave for 10 -15 seconds and stir.
- Add the roasted veg, lima beans and sauce to the pan and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Once again, thank you Simon for this great idea, it’s my new favorite dish. The fake chicken absorbs so much of the coconut / peanut butter flavor, its unreal.
Permalink
May 20, 2009 at 8:20 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged dinner, mexican, Vegetarian, veggie
This is one of my all time favorite dishes to make, it is extremely easy to put together and very tasty, it also makes great leftovers. I started making my own Mexican spice to go along with it, you can make the spice in bulk to have on hand for later.
Mexican Spice
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs chili powder
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 fake chicken breast (cut into strips)
- 1 large onions sliced
- 1 yellow pepper sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced
- Mexican spice (see above)
- 2 -3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup of water
Method
- In a wok or pan heat up oil and add chicken strips and garlic, cook on medium high heat constantly stirring until it starts to turn a golden color
- add the peppers, onions, Mexican spice and water and stir until the veggie are slightly cooked
- remove from heat and serve on a pita or wrap
- top with cheese, avocado, sour cream, salsa or anything else you prefer
Permalink
May 19, 2009 at 8:51 pm · Filed under Food, Indian, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, curry, Indian food, Indian Recipe, tofu, Vegetarian, veggie
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 Pack of firm tofu
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 can (500 ml) diced tomatoes (drain most of the liquid out)
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 1 can of chic peas
- 2 tbsp chopped ginger
- 3/4 can of coconut milk
- 2 tbsp mustard seed
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper/chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp grama masala
Method
- in wok or large pot, on medium heat add oil and garlic, before the garlic starts to brown add sliced onions and sweat
- add coriander, cinnamon and grama masala and stir for 30 seconds.
- stir in tomatoes, chic peas, broth and ginger and bring to a boil
- add chili pepper mix, turmeric and coconut milk, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
- Cut tofu block into 2cm pieces and deep fry until golden brown
Serve on rice,
Permalink
May 19, 2009 at 3:19 am · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #recipes, breakfast, german pancake, pancake
This is an easy to make breakfast dish, its a cross between french toast and a pancake. Thanks Courtney for the idea.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 eggs
- a pinch of ground cinnamon
- a splash of vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp of butter
Method
- Place the baking dish in the oven and preheat 425 degrees (use a dish about 2 inches deep)
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl , I used an electric hand blender to speed up the process
- Once the oven is preheated, butter the sides of the dish and add the mixture
- Place the dish back into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are crispy brown
Permalink
May 14, 2009 at 5:51 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, bbq, dinner, Vegetarian, veggie, veggie burger
This is a quick and easy veggie burger anyone can make, perfect for the bbq season or done on a skillet.
Ingredients
- 1 can of Pinto beans (drained)
- 3/4 can of corn (drained)
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno (with the seeds removed)
- 1/4 cup (or more) of minced fresh cilantro
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Method
- Add beans and corn to a large bowl and mash together
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the mash and mix together
- Set this mixture aside for 5-10 minutes
- Divide the mixture into equal parts and shape into patties, place on wax paper
- Place vegetable oil in pan and fry for 4-5 minutes a side, or until each side is golden brown
Serve with chipotles on mayo or whatever toppings you want.
Permalink
May 12, 2009 at 9:03 pm · Filed under Asian, Food ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Asian, prawns, Seafood, shrimp
This recipe is very similar to the Caramelized Potatoes one in the previous post. Once again I used 4 basic ingredients to prepare this dish, honey, ginger, Shao Hsing wine and black rice vinegar.
Ingredients
- 10-15 PC Wild Raw Zipperback Shrimp
- 3 tbsp peanut oil
- 5 cm piece of finely sliced ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp shao hsing wine
- 1 tsp black rice vinegar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- a few tbsp of water
- heat peanut oil and garlic in a wok until hot
- pour in wine, honey, soy sauce and rice vinegar
- once the liquid is simmering add the shrimp and ginger, cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp are tender
- in a small glass of water, add the corn starch and stir until combined
- add this mixture to the simmering liquid to thicken it up a little
Serve this dish hot on rice with some fried veg, you can also serve this as an appetizerer.
Permalink
May 5, 2009 at 6:29 pm · Filed under Asian, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #recipes, Asian recipe, Chinese food, potatoes, Vegetarian, veggie
A few months ago the food network featured this lady who was preparing typical Eastern Asian dishes. It seemed like every recipe she was making consisted of 4 main ingredients, brown sugar, ginger, Shao Hsing wine and black rice vinegar. I went down to China town to pick up the wine and vinegar and started cooking, this is what i came up with.
Ingredients
- 500 g fingerling potatoes
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 5 cm piece of finely sliced ginger
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp shao hsing wine
- 1 tsp black rice vinegar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- salt and pepper
- boil fingerling potatoes whole until soft
- drain and cut into bite size pieces
- in a wok heat oil and add potatoes, cook until lightly brown
- add ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add brown sugar, shao hsing wine, vinegar, soy and salt & pepper
- stir-fry for a few more minutes until potatoes are caramelised
Serve this dish hot with some chicken or steak, add some hot peppers to give it a slight kick.
Permalink
May 2, 2009 at 5:56 pm · Filed under Food, Seafood ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, bbq, cedar, fish, salmon, summer
Ingredients
Salmon
- 2 cedar planks (bought in the grocery store)
- 1 fresh whole salmon
- 1 lemon
- 1 hand full of both fresh rosemary and thyme
- salt and pepper
Grilled Vegetables
- Red, Green, Yellow peppers
- Green and Yellow Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Olive oil
Salmon
- soak planks in salty water for 2 hours and dry off.
- salt and pepper the whole fish, inside and out
- place some herbs on the plank where the fish will be placed
- stuff the fish with the rest of the herbs and some lemon slices
- bbq on medium heat for about 20 minutes, check it after 10 or 15 mins so you dont over cook it
Vegetables
- soak the skewers for an hour (if using wood)
- chop up veg so they are large enough to put on skewers
- drizzle the skewered veg with olive oil
- bbq until done
This is a perfect meal to cook with some good friends and family on a nice summers day, enjoy with some beer or wine.
Permalink
April 27, 2009 at 4:50 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, dinner, fried, fried okra, okra, recipe, Vegetarian, veggie
I really didn’t know what to expect when I started making this dish, the only other time I have had okra was when it was pickled and it really didn’t taste like much. The consistency of the mixture is on the slimy side, but it cooks up nicely.
Ingredients
- vegtable oil to fry the patties in
- 1 pound of chopped okra
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- 1/2 of a small zucchini
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 egg
- 1/2 of flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- heat some oil on medium heat in a large skillet or pan
- in a bowl mix the okra, onion, zucchini, salt, pepper, water and egg.
- add the flour and baking powder and stir everything together
- drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil and fry on each side until golden brown. this took about 3 minutes a side.
- remove and place on paper towel
I found this went really well with cheese…but what doesn’t?
Permalink
April 27, 2009 at 1:50 am · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Chicken, curry, Indian food, Indian Recipe, recipe, spinach, Vegetarian, veggie
I got the idea to make this from a blog I follow called Project:Spice, the owner of this blog specializes in Indian/curry dishes. Last week I went to The House of Spice in Kensington Market to pick up everything I would need. I changed some of the ingredients because i didn’t have everything the recipes called for.
Ingredients
- 4tbsp Oil
- 2 large Onions chopped
- 1 can of tomatoes
- 5cm piece of ginger
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1tbsp paprika
- 1tbsp ground cumin
- 1tbsp ground coriander seed
- 1tbsp turmeric
- 3tbs of cilantro
- 1tbs garam masala
- 1tbs chili powder
- 1tbs salt
- ground pepper
- 1/4 of a green pepper
- veggie chicken breast / real chicken cubed
- water
- add oil to medium heat and sauté onions until they are soft and light brown
- put tomatoes, ginger and garlic into blender and blend until smooth, add the cooked onions and continue to blend
- put this mixture into a large pan/pot or wok and simmer for 20 minutes (add water during the simmering process if necessary)
- add turmeric, chili powder, cumin, paprika, ground coriander seed and stir, let simmer for a few minutes
- in 2 small pans add the fake and real chicken cubes and a few ladels of the mixture and simmer until chicken is fully cooked
- take 200 gram of the spinach and cook 1/2 of this down in large pan until wilted, this will take only a few minutes. transfer this into blender and puree.
- take the green pepper, cilantro and a few tbsp of water and puree with the spinach, add this mixture to the simmering sauce
- add the other 1/2 of the spinach to the sauce and fold in until wilted
- add garam masala, salt and pepper to taste.
I added a few dashes of chili pepper to my dish to give it the additional kick it needed, served it on basmati rice.
Enjoy and thanks David for the idea
Permalink
For the Love of Food 