Family favourites (old and new)
My favourite thing at the Cactus Club is their Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl. Recently, I tried a Dragon Bowl at Brown’s with tofu instead of chicken and it was equally delicious so I thought to myself…self…it’s time to figure out how they make that. So, …
This is a ad lib from The Best of the Best and More recipe for “Phantom Rhubarb Muffins”. In my humble opinion fat-free sour CREAM is an oxymoron and since I don’t bother with fat-free anything much I just substitute whatever yoghurt I happen to …
I had this amazing soup at Smartmouth Cafe last week with kale and chorizo in it and I decided I had to try making it at home. I picked up some yummy house made Chorizo from The Honest Butcher and set to work looking for a recipe. It didn’t take long. I liked Rachel Ray’s rendition of a Portuguese soup she apparently had in Mystic, Conneticutt. Click to view the Food Network Recipe.
This is quick (for soup), hearty, flavourful and healthy…and bears the coveted “14 year old son” seal of approval… in case you’re interested.
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium potatoes diced (Rachel uses Yukon golds but all I had was Russets and they worked fine)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 8)
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
1 container baby kale (or you can chop a bunch of “adult” kale)
Coarse salt and pepper
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 rough chopped tomatoes (or 1 can of chopped tomatoes)
2 Honest Butcher chorizo sausages with casings removed and chopped into 1/4″ rounds
1 quart broth (doesn’t matter what kind)
I am still working my way through The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. Sorry kids no fruit and veg this week…but how about some SNAILS ahahaha. Schnecken is the German word for snail and the term given to a rather lovely gooey treat similar to the Chelsea …
More goodness from the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle. Tonight I made the Apple Raisin Compote but since my kids hate raisins and I like cranberries I used cranberries instead and it worked out YUM. Then because I had buttermilk in the fridge that …
This recipe is based on the Cherry Almond Scone recipe from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. I didn’t have any dried cherries and truth be told I prefer dried cranberries. Plus my kids won’t eat whole nuts in anything so I had to sneak them in as ground almonds shhhhh. I also used buttermilk instead of cream to brush the tops of the scones (no cream in house) and I sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar because who doesn’t like cinnamon sugar right? Right! Oh and I used the zest of a whole lemon, not just 1 tsp.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Zest of one whole lemon (it helps to have a good mandolin grater)
1/2 tsp of kosher salt (if you use table salt cut it down to 1/4 tsp)
1/2 tsp baking soda
10 Tbsp butter (the original recipe calls for unsalted butter but I just cut the salt a bit and used regular butter)
1/2 c. dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. ground almonds
1 c. buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
Buttermilk for brushing the tops of the scones
Cinnamon sugar for dusting the tops of the scones
Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
This is a slightly different take on the Tuscan Salad I usually make. Ataulfo mangos are just coming into season and they are so wonderfully delicious that I had to get some. 3 medium sized yams peeled and chopped in bite sized pieces 2 Tbsp …
I’m big on finding recipes to suit the ingredients I have on hand. Today I defrosted some chicken legs that I bought recently from the BFFs (Big Friendly Fellahs) at the Honest Butcher but I had a hard time finding a recipe for chicken legs (bone in) so I just adapted a recipe I found online. I reduced the soy sauce quite a bit and upped the garlic just to ward off any vampires left over from that recent full moon. I also think I cooked this recipe closer to 8 hours (but 6 would have been fine).
Ingredients
4 bone in chicken legs (skin removed but you could leave it on if you can’t be bothered)
1 large yellow onion, sliced into rings
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
7 cloves garlic, smashed
Ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup chicken broth (I bet orange juice would work well as a substitute)
Put the chicken legs and onion in your slow cooker. Stir together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worchestershire sauce and pour over top. Give it a stir to coat. Toss in the bay leaves, garlic and grind the pepper over top. Stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch and chicken broth and pour that it. Give it a stir, slap the lid on that sucker and cook on low for 6 hours. You can debone the chicken if you feel like it. It pretty much falls off the bone when done so I didn’t bother…just watch out for d’em little bones.
Serve over rice with the vegetable of your choice. Here I served it with a “mangofied” take on Roasted Tuscan Salad…which I’m calling Mexitaliano Yam Salad … because I can’t think of anything more interesting at the moment.
I think this would serve 4 if everyone has the side salad…my son the carnivore just wanted the meat, hold the onions (sigh). The onions are actually delicious because they’ve been braised in balsamic vinegar so they come out like caramelized onions without all that stirring (I like).
My daughter has recently taken an interest in trying new recipes…or to be more precise, finding new recipes for me to try. Today I made the Cauliflower Breadsticks she found on Tumblr which are from the delightful Mama Grubbs Grub blog. You can find the …
