Lotus Root Chips - The prettiest Chips of all!

As I mentioned not only an I gluten free now but I am also allergic to Potatoes :(
I found these Lotus Roots at Wal Mart of all places and while I don't usually buy produce from there these piqued my interest. No Potatoes means No Potato Chips... and I love things that are salty and crisp.
So get ready for the Worlds easiest recipe!

Lotus Root Chips

Lotus Root
Salt
Oil for frying

I sliced my Lotus Root on a mandolin, I used the second to thinnest slice, the thinnest was just a little too think for the bit that I wanted but you do whatever floats your boat.

Fry in small batches until golden and crisp, seasoning with salt while they are still warm.

They taste just like Potato Chips except they are SO much prettier! I have also used them as a garnish, what a simple and delicious way to dress up a meal!

Yummy Roasted Carrots and Green Beans

Have you ever came home and looked in your refrigerator and wondered what the heck you were going to make for dinner? That was me a couple of days ago.... while my fridge was quite full I couldn't find inspiration anywhere and when this happens I usually turn to the amazing ability of roasting at high temperature, its pretty incredible how an oven can turn anything from stodgy potatoes to crispy crudites into amazing caramelized goodness. And that was exactly what happened. I stared at a bag of carrots and green beans, cleaned and chopped where necessary then tossed them with olive oil, a little butter salt and pepper and tossed them into a 400 degree oven until they were caramelized
and delicious. And they were! I pulled them out and sprinkled them with a little Parmesan cheese and voila amazing green bean and carrots!

I encourage you to get roasting - anything you like! Carrots, Beets, Potatoes, Cauliflower Anything! You just pop it in the oven, leave it alone and wait for the goodness!
What a great way to warm up on these cool and chilly nights!
Happy Roasting!

Love,
Tiff

Garlic Roasted Mushrooms

These would make a fabulous addition to any holiday table, I saw them a little while ago on Smitten Kitchen and since I haven't been eating any starch I have been eating a lot of mushrooms, there is something so satisfying about them, so delicious and these ones. Man. Oh. Man... I really wished that I could eat bread because the juices that were left at the bottom would have been so delicious enjoyed with some bread... however they were absolutely fantastic all by themselves though please feel free to top them onto Steak, Crostini, Chicken, Pasta anything you like!

I had some pretty huge mushrooms so I quartered them but you can halve them or leave them whole depending on the size you like. These were so simple, First I sprinkled them with salt and pepper then I drizzled them with a little bit of heavy cream, I then tossed them around so they were coated in the cream then I sprinkled them with chopped garlic and dotted the whole works with butter. Toss that into a 400 degree oven and roast until golden brown (I gave them a little stir around a couple of times to ensure even baking and that they were coated in garlic and butter and cream - pure decadence!)

Love,
Tiff

Cool Caprese Salad

I just enjoyed a weeks holiday up through the Interior and Okanagan of BC and on my way home to Vancouver Island I had to stop and go the the Granville Island Market. It really is an amazing site, so much produce from all over the world, baked goods you wouldn't believe, crafts and my favourite the Italian Market where you can get the most amazing stuffed pastas like Feta and Black Olive Ravioli and Smoked Gouda Pouches, and my favorite marinated boconccini.... Swoon!!!

All you need to add are cherry tomatoes to these baby boconccini! Drizzle with a little of the olive oil that they are marinated in and add some fresh basil if you like and what an amazing summer salad. A perfect lunch or snack during those scorcher days that we've been having.

I also added a small drizzle of balsamic - it went a long way and added a little complexity!

Sweet and Sour Veggie Ribbon Salad

I set out to make a simple salad using up a couple of veggie that I had in my fridge and was absolutely blown away by its simplicity, freshness and vibrant flavour. Honestly there is as much flavor in these carrots and zucchini as there is color! Lets have a look:

And an even closer look:

All that I did was use my vegetable peeler to make ribbons of carrots and zucchini, I added some chopped green onions and then came the magic!

I added a third of a cup of rice wine vinegar to a small saucepan with a couple of table spoons of sugar (the same ratio as you would for making sushi rice) 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 3 tbsp white sugar and warm until the sugar melts, I poured some of that over the veggies and added some fresh cracked black pepper and a small drizzle of soy sauce and it was so surprisingly yummy!

I also have some great news! I am moving into a new house! With a real Kitchen! I can't wait to share the creations I make in there with you! I am so excited right now, I have a great new job, am getting a whole house with a yard for less rent then my current 1 bedroom apartment! (Its in a small town not in the city, but this small town is my home and right on a big beautiful lake!) and I just feel that this whole year is going to be fantastic!

I hope that this year is shaping up excellently for you too!

PS : Seriously try this when you are in a rush, or just feel like something light!

Smashed Potatoes

Hello All! I have a tasty side for you today.
I've made these many times in the past and now I have finally taken pictures so that I can share them with you all! They are pretty simple and you need only a few ingredients. I would say that they are also something that has a bit of a wow factor.

Have a look at these:

A little soft and little crispy; they are very unsuspecting. Sometimes the simplest things really are the best. And all you need to do here is choose a bunch of baby potatoes. I used red and Yukon golds for a little variety. Dump them into the hot tub and boil until they are fully cooked and fork tender. Drain and dump them onto a baking sheet. Now comes the fun part, time to let out a little of your aggression with a potato masher! Well.. not to much aggression because you will just want to gently smash the potato to look like the one above. Next drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Toss in a 350 - 400 degree oven until they are crispy!

By increasing the surface area and exposing some of the fleshy inside you really get a lot of crunch while still keeping the soft and fluffy innards of a boiled potato. It would be a great addition to a roast chicken meal. So unsuspectingly delicious.

Cozy Cabbage Rolls

Here we are in the heart of fall; this time of year I always crave comfort food and what is more comforting then a warm meal that comes out of the oven? Mmmmm.... Cabbage Rolls. The epitomy of Ukrainian comfort food.


Often I find that people use too much ground meat and make them very large. So I went about an experiment. I made two different kinds of Cabbage Rolls, 1 that was made of ground meat and the other that was made of sauteed mushrooms. The both have the same ingredients other then the meat/ mushroom can you tell which is which:


They look very similar and oddly enough they didn't taste all that different either. I suggest mixing them up in a casserole dish if you are trying to cut down on red meat. I had to make both because of my meat eating partner. I enjoy meat too, but often opt to not partake and am always looking for ways to reduce meat with out having to substitute with a freaky soy product. These were both really good, even my meat eating partner had a hard time figuring out which was which! Here is the recipe:

1 large heat of cabbage
1/4 lb ground beef (the small package) or 1 lb mushrooms finely chopped and sauteed
1 carrot finely chopped
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
2 onions finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic
3 cups of cooked rice (whatever floats your boat)
2 eggs
medium pinch of rosemary
large pinch of salt & pep

1 jumbo or 2 - 3 regular cans of whole tomatoes

First pop a whole head of cabbage into a huge pot of boiling water. Martha says not to use an aluminum pot... I think that my pot is aluminum and they worked, but it could be something else. Feel free to take the risk if you must. Other people remove each leaf first and then boiled them separately. I just threw the whole thing in, accidentally forgot about it and them took it out. It was cooked through and the outer leaves weren't very pretty but the rest was great. Let it cool and then remove each leaf and set aside.

Then begin making rice. Just follow the package directions. Then move on to chopping the mushrooms (actually I ran them through a food pro until they were fairly finely chopped - you do need a little texture) and begin sauteing them with some Olive Oil and pepper (leave the salt out). In the meantime finely chop the celery, carrots, garlic and onions, again I used the food pro, if you choose to do this make sure that you do it in small batches, or else you will get a puree and you want more like pieces that are the size of rice grains, or a little bigger. Divide the chopped veggies into two bowls. Make sure the mushrooms are sauteed to the point that they have given up most of the water, then add them to one bowl and add the beef to another. Add one egg to each bowl and 1 cup of rice, mix it in and then decide if you want to add more rice. I went for it, but you might not want to and in the end you will be eating it so go ahead and do what you must!
This is how each looks, bad light I know but you get the idea!


Now you will want to empty your cans of tomatoes into a juice jug or bowl and whiz with a hand blender. I added a small handful of salt pepper, and a little less rosemary. Whiz until it is a smooth sauce.

Now assemble! Pour a little sauce into a casserole dish, take one cabbage leaf. If it is a big leaf, remove the bottom v shape of the stem, just the hard part so you end up with a small v out of your leaf. You can leave it in but it is trickier to roll. Just do whatever works for you. Add some filling to one side of the leaf and roll it up. Add to the dish and repeat until you are done. Top with a bit more of the sauce, cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour.
I serve mine with sour cream. Yum!!

The Main Event: Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is something that I look forward to every year. It has become one of my favorite holidays because it is so simple. All you have to do is prepare a delicious meal for your friends and family and enjoy it! You don't have to find a costume or the perfect gift. Just cook, eat and enjoy the company of loved ones.

Yes it is easier said then done, but with a little prep the day before and the instructions that someone else bring dessert it can achieved fairly easily. This year I made as much ahead of time as possible. I spent the whole Saturday making stuffing, brining turkey, making cranberry sauce, chopping Brussels sprouts, chopping veggies and prepping appies. Lets start with my favourite thanksgiving side.

Cheesy Brussel Sprouts

The real secret to making these Brussels sprouts delicious and what has made my friend Jamie say 'I don't even like Brussels Sprouts, but I went back for seconds!' One of my best compliments. is simple onions, caramelized before roasting. For six cups of trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts I used one and 1/2 large soft ball sized yellow onion. I caramelized it in a pan with a little butter and then tossed with the Brussels spouts in a casserole dish. Top off with a few handfuls of shredded aged cheddar cheese and bake until the sprouts are golden brown. In a 350 degree oven this will take about 45 minutes. I like to make sure to give them plenty of time, even if I have to wrap them in foil and let them sit because I put them in early. If you do a bigger batch they can take up to an hour and a half and it is critical that they get to that golden brown stage or they will be bitter not melt in your mouth delicious!

I also prep the stuffing the day before, then when it comes to getting the turkey in the oven I can just stuff it and get it in!

My stuffing is basic and goes as follows:

8 cups of toasted bread chunks
8 links of maple breakfast sausages
3 heads of roasted garlic
2 stalks of celery
1 large onion
2 tbsp each parsley & sage
1 tbsp each rosemary & thyme
1 tsp salt & pepper
1 - 2 cups chicken stock

Normally I would used just a basic sausage but this year I brined my Turkey with an apple cider brine so I decided to go with the maple breakfast sausage, just to create some interest and to really showcase some autumn flavors. I begin by toasting bread. I used a basic whole wheat, mostly because I don't really eat white bread and I didn't want to complicate it with grains or seeds. This is stuffing for us humans, not chipmunks! I chop the celery and onion in a small dice, chop the herbs and add the seasonings and then add a splash of stock. I work the stuffing with my hands until the sausage is evenly distributed and add stock as is necessary until it all combines into one big for lack of a better word glop. I always make enough so that I can stuff the turkey and bake some in an extra dish for a friend of mine who doesn't like it in the bird. Also lets be honest: There just isn't enough room in the bird for as much stuffing as you need to feed hungry stuffing lovers.

This is how it looks before it is cooked aka glop stage:

Of course you must have mashed potatoes on any decent thanksgiving table and since I love garlic I always add roasted garlic. Lots of it. I like to add 1 head of garlic per 2 large potatoes. Feel free to use this ratio for making your current favourite mashed potato recipe. Its always hard to know how much butter and cream you will need to add to get the right consistency but the garlic will make them even dreamier - it will blow the regular garlic mashed potatoes that most people make right out of the water. I don't know how someone could add garlic powder to potatoes and still sleep at night!


And of course the turkey. I used a brine this year and it was amazing!! Since I haven't used one before I used a recipe for Apple Cider Brine that I found on Tasty Kitchen. It made the meat so juicy that it blew me away. The breast meat was by far the most flavorful, tender and succulent that I have ever tasted. And let me tell you when all 30 people had walked away there wasn't even enough turkey left to make soup! I seasoned the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper, stuffed it with the recipe above, rubbed it with butter above and underneath the skin, wrapped it in thick cut double smoked bacon and rested in on top of a 'rack' that I made with some carrots, celery, onions garlic, added a little chicken stock for moisture and then let them all get acquainted in a 350 degree oven until the skin is crispy and brown and the juices run clear. Oh yeah, put a lid on all of that! Since I was so busy enjoying the meal I didn't take a picture of it but I did make a smaller breast for blogging purposes and here it is:


Other recipes that I served were:

Honey and Lime Glazed Yams and Beets
Brussels Slaw
Orange Glazed Carrots
(Steam with some orange juice, then thicken like gravy with four, add salt, pepper and fresh thyme)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
(I'll have to share another time)
Gravy - thicken the pan juices with flour and season as necessary.
And Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos as an appy.

Happy Cooking!!

Honey Lime Glazed Yams and Beets

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was so delicious. Often people get carried away with really sweet sides when making a turkey dinner ie. Candied Yams, Maple Glazed Squash so on and so forth. I actually had a turkey dinner this year that felt like I was eating dessert. Don't get me wrong; I love those sides, I love sweet stuff; but I think that when you are hosting a big dinner you need to be mindful of creating a balance. So I took a cue from that dinner and made sure to keep my dinner in check. Just enough sweet and just enough savory; especially with a rich meal like this where people often go back for seconds and generally eat way more then a regular meal.

And really isn't that when you know you've done a good job? When you look around and see all of those full faces, you know the ones, not really comfortable anymore because you had to eat that last bite - and then a little more.

This side I loved because it was so balanced. Yams and Beets are quite sweet on their own and with a couple of brushes of a Honey Lime vinaigrette they were transformed from regular vegetables to 'super hero' veggies out to add color and taste to your holiday table!

Alright before I get carried away here is the recipe:

2 large yams
4 medium beets

Juice of 2 limes
1 good squeeze of honey - about 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper

Begin with the Veggies, ideally you will want to boil the yams until tender in salted water and boil the beets until tender in unsalted water. I did do this when I made the recipe for a crowd because I needed to do two big pots of each, and because I did a lot of the prep the day before. Which is a great tip when making a large dinner: Do as much as you can the day or days before, this means that there will be less stress the day of and you will be able to socialize with your gusts. When I made them at home though for just the two of us I just threw then all in regular water and boiled until tender. Set aside to cool. Whenever you feel like it; you can mix up the glaze, which really is just a regular old vinaigrette, juice the lime, add the honey and mustard, a little salt & pep and drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and season to your liking.
This is so easy, and makes a great salad dressing. It would probably even be good on chicken, or fish. I'll have to try that.
I like to make this as long before I use it as I can. If that's only a few minutes, good, if I do it while the veggies are boiling and it ends up being more like 20 - 30 minutes, even better. The longer that it gets to hang out the more the flavors mingle and become one.
Once the veggies have cooled; you can peel the skins off; I left them on because I'm just that kind of girl. Then slice them into 1 - 2 cm rounds and arrange them on a baking sheet. I like to arrange them in stripes, purple - orange, purple - orange and so one. Brush them with the glaze and pop the whole thing into a 350 degree oven until they have soaked in the glaze and get a little caramelized. I like to glaze them once or twice before taking them out.
That's it. The great thing to is that they truly are beautiful and colorful. The contrasting colors; taste and texture are sure to liven up any table.

A new twist on Brussel Slaw

This has become a staple of my diet. It is so tasty and full of crunchy, chewy textures. It is sweet and savoury, creamy and fresh. All at once! I swear!

For the Salad I use my food processor to shred the vegetables, go ahead and throw in 1 good size beet, 1 large carrot, 1/4 - 1/2 a medium sized red onion (to your personal onion-liking), process these on a big shred so you end up with match stick type pieces, you could also use a mandolin, but I don't have one of those - yet. Now you have a lot of crunch, and even a spice, now comes the other texture, the chewy - The Brussel Sprout!
Change the blade to the slice blade, I suppose you could do this some other way, but really brussel sprouts are small and the food processor will be the best way to shred them and keep all of your fingers. Then add a big handful of chopped cilantro; toss with the dressing and you have yourself one dreamy side dish. Bring this to a potluck and you can trick all of your non-brussel sprout loving friends, or maybe you could try this recipe and trick yourself!

The flavour and texture are very different when a brussel sprout is raw, and being one of the best things nutrient-wise that you can buy in the grocery store, I say we should all incorporate them into our diet, especially raw as that way you get the full impact of all of their goodness.

Recipe

1 large beet
1 large carrot
1/4 - 1/2 red onion
About 24 Brussel Sprouts
Handful of Cilantro

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Yogurt
1/8 Cup Lemon Juice
1 tbsp honey
salt & pepper

Cheesy Potato Boats

I'm not sure what is up with me and Potatoes this month, but these little suckers are cheesy, crispy, starchy and good. Potatoes at this time of year are particularly good, I love the little new ones, so cute and sweet. I used new white potatoes for this recipe, ones that weren't too small, about medium size but you can feel free to use any size you like depending on how you choose to serve them. Smaller ones make delicious bites while a larger size would make a good man pleasing side dish.

They're just so pretty with little flecks of green and red.

For the recipe, I baked some potatoes until fork tender. After they were cooked and cooled I spooned out just a little of the middle to create a small pocket, these aren't potato skins so feel free to leave a lot of potato, you'll just want to create a boat. Line your lovely little boats up on a baking sheet and top with your favourite melting cheese, I used a combo of mozza and cheddar, kept it classic. Then for some good for you goodness I added some sliced green onions and red peppers. Bake in the oven until the bottom is crisp and the cheese is gooey and enjoy!

Potatoes worth blogging about

Potatoes are a funny ingredient. They are one of the most loved but at the same time under-appreciated items in our pantry. I would take some good potatoes over fancy ingredients any day, there is just so much you can do... today I roasted them until they were oh so crispy.


These little gems are baby Yukon gold potatoes and first I boiled them, this brings all of the starches out so that they crisp up very nicely. Then I cut the boiled potatoes drizzle some extra virgin sprinkle with coarse salt and chopped fresh rosemary and then roast at a high temperature, I did it at 450 degrees and it took a nice long oven hug of 45 minutes before the potatoes were covered in this much love.

Its also worth noting that the yellower the flesh of a potato the higher it is in vitamin A and if you eat the skin, you will also get some potassium. I'm not sure how many nutrients are actually left after the intense cooking process but it is important to learn something every day!