Welcome spring!: Asian Salad with Arugula, Enoki Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

March 2014

SmartCooks here.  March is easing on down the road, and none too soon.  In honour of spring ... mega-hint here Mother Nature ... I searched out a recipe I made a few times last summer and was great for entertaining:  Asian Salad with Arugula, Enoki Mushrooms and Hazelnuts.  Easy, presents well, fresh taste ... a winner.  

For most of the winter, I've been flattened with a combo of flu, cold, cough, cough, cough. I was supposed to take a week off but cancelled it when it became clear it would be an 'off' week, not a week 'off'.  

I will try some R & R again in April.  The bathroom renovations are over and both bathrooms now look fabulous, clean, bright, modern, professional, all good.  One more to go.  Next time someone asks me where our money goes, I can honestly say 'down the drain'. 

I can't wait for spring.  It's been the coldest winter in 20 years here in Ottawa and it felt like it was.  Snowmageddons of snow, freezing rain/heavy rain and flash freezes, as the 'stock' photo at left shows.  Charlottetown office has been closed due to weather many times, and I've cancelled travel to the Island many times.  I got the last seat on the last plane off the Island tis week just in advance of WhiteJuan2, which saw 53cm of snow in downtown Charlottetown and 100plus Kmh winds.  No fun... We'll see what spring brings.  



Even Washington, where I hoped to walk amongst the famous cherry blossoms, was knee-deep in snow and slush.  I got to see "How Washington Really Works" but missed most of Day 3 when my workplace melted down in a political crisis and I flew fast from one capital to another. 

And I WILL go back to Washington soon ... Newseum here I come.  It was torture sitting in the Canadian Embassy boardroom with the lovely Inuit sculptures outside the window and knowing this treat was just next door.  Next time! 

I've been saved from total blues-y boredom by nightly viewing, with himself, of Downton Abbey, beginning at Episode One, Season One.  We worked our way through to the final episode of Season 4.  We're quite hooked.  

Since Valentine's Day, we've added in a nightly episode of House of Cards and I would like to report that Season 2 gives me the same chills/creeps as Season 1.  But, between Netflix and the Olympics, I managed to keep life in perspective.  

Now we're onto Series 5 of Nurse Jackie.  She's sober this season but dealing with the aftermath of long-term drug addiction, loss of marriage, friends and now looks like one of her kids.  We'll see how that goes.  

On that note, in honour of spring, I've perked up lunches once a week with spring type salad.  This one -- Asian Salad, with Arugula, Enoki Mushrooms and Hazelnuts -- is fresh and offers endless variations.  Don't have arugula, then just substitute your favourite greens.  

Enoki Mushrooms

Add caption

Enoki mushrooms, also known as the velvet foot, are one of the delights I've found since Herb and Spice started getting regular supplies of every type of mushroom imaginable from Le Coprin.  Enoki mushrooms are have a mild, delicate flavour and a slight crunch.  They can be used in Asian cooking but are also the right touch in salads, sandwiches, miso soups and pasta sauces.  

The ones I buy are collected from the wild in northern Quebec.  They are often the last mushroom to linger in late fall and the first to appear in the spring.  Enjoy! 





Hazelnuts or Macadamia Nuts 

Either can be used in this salad.  I prefer hazelnuts, or filberts as they are also known.  There's nothing like the earthy crunch of hazelnuts in salads. The original recipe for this salad, which appeared in Food and Wine, called for macadamia nuts, no doubt due to their rich, sweet, buttery flavour.  But I didn't have any on hand and substituted hazelnuts.  

Either way... this salad works fabulously.  Switch it up and enjoy! 

Asian Greens

I always hesitate when recipes ask me for 'Asian greens' without specifying which ones ... so I end up trying whatever I can find that's organic, fresh, and in season.  

At this time of year, it's most arugula; as spring progresses, there will be a wider selection of greens, including mesclun, spicy flavours of red mustard, tatsoi, mizuna, spinach etc.

Asian Salad with Arugula, Enoki Mushrooms and Hazelnuts 
(Food and Wine inspired)

Ingredients:


2T mayonnaise (I used light mayo) 
1 T rice vinegar1 T white wine vinegar
1 T low-sodium soy sauce 
2 tsp honey
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 minced large garlilc clove
1/2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce or other hot chili sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup (3 ounces) hazelnut or macadamia nuts
1 T sesame seeds
3/4 pound (18 cups) baby arugula, Asian greens or mesclu
1 3-ounce package Enoki mushrooms, trimmed and separated
Directions:

In a blender, combine the mayonnaise, rice and white wine vinegars, soy sauce, honey, ginger, sesame oil, garlic and chili sauce and process to mix. With the machine on, blend in the vegetable oil in a thin stream. Scrape the dressing into a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium skillet, toast the macadamia nuts over moderately low heat, shaking the skillet, until the nuts are a deep golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate to cool. Add the sesame seeds to the skillet and toast until a deep golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the sesame seeds to a plate to cool. Coarsely chop the macadamia nuts (I put them in a plastic bag and lightly pounded them with a mallet).

In a very large bowl, toss the baby Asian greens with the enoki mushrooms. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Scatter the toasted macadamia nuts and sesame seeds all over the salad and toss briefly once more. Serve the salad at once. 

Assemble ahead:  Take the salad to the event and add dressing at last minute for best results! 

Vietnamese Comfort Food -- Chicken Pho with Crispy Shallots and Garnishes

January 2014 

SmartCooks here.  

If it's January it must be ... 
polar vortex cold, freezing rain, rain, sitting at airports waiting for delayed or cancelled flights, thaw ... rinse and repeat. 

It's also Comfort Food R Me -- 
Chicken Pho with Crispy Shallots and garnishes.  

My version of it was inspired by a Christmas gift of Vietnamese Home Cooking by Chef Charles Phan and Smitten Kitchen's take on it. 

Perfect winter comfort food.

It's also winter reno time. The bathrooms -- 2 out of 3 of them -- are in major do-overs. The upstairs bathroom has been screaming at us for years with its moaning pipes or ones that freeze in the winter leading no water/no shower and a cold wind on the toes (and other body parts) due to lack of heat. 

The reno has brought unwelcome surprises.  Surprisingly, the old bathtub came out with no problems, exposing old floorboards and ... a live wire and rotten pipes.  A live wire (even capped off) is not what you want under your bathtub... ever.

Then, with the wall tile removed, there was a lovely view of the outside through the hole in the brick.  Explains the cold tootsies.  

To finish it off, the bathroom vent to the outside turned out to be the stove vent too.  Code (not).  

To do a proper bathroom vent means dropping the ceiling.  Kaching $  

Warming up the bathroom means installing heated flooring. Kaching $  

New pipes and floorboards Kaching $ $ $ 

Next up is the tiny bathroom on the main floor.  It's old and tired with a spongy floor that feels like the floorboards are rotting beneath it.  Turns out they are.
Kaching $  

Undoubtedly, there will be more surprises to come when that work starts in the next few weeks.  Old houses, lots of problems.  

New bungalow (not in the burbs) anyone? 

Kaching$ Kaching$ Kaching$ 

Himself is having to do full-time marshalling of the cat kids during the day, locking them up out of harm's way, moving around food and water bowls, much to their disgust.  In fact, someone (guilty party paws up!!!) actually peed in the new tub overnight.  And they say cats can't talk.  Sigh.... bleach r me.  New bungalow anyone? 

The poor weather curtailed travel to Charlottetown this month. Just as well because January is a frenzy of getting ready for the spring parliamentary slug-fest, taking part in a Deputy panel at the annual government Communicators' conference, the obligatory bureaucratic 'talent management session' where I'm given feedback on my faults and not-so-faults, and a Deputy retreat with the Clerk and all my colleagues at Fort Sussex to talk 'medium-term' planning agendas.  Who would ever have thought I would end up in rooms like that? Not me.  And have something to contribute?  Honestly, it's a bit bemusing. 

I'm off to Washington next week for two days of studying at the Canadian Embassy on  'How Washington Works'.  I think I'm one of the chosen 12 for a private tour of the White House.  Fingers crossed.  Shades of West Wing but it has always intrigued me.  

It's too early for cherry blossoms there and it's likely the Capitol is due for polar vortex round 2 ... darn.  Eternal winter be gone!   

With a weekend of gym and grunge ahead of me, I looked about for some appropriate comfort food.  I didn't look far -- Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soups.  Chicken Pho with Crispy Shallots and garnishes  Just the ticket.

A word about the noodles.  The recipes recommend using dried rice noodles, linguine shaped (called bánh phở), but pad thai or rice vermicelli noodles work just fine too.  

It requires some time to make your own chicken broth.  There's always the option of skipping this step and using whatever but, hey, it's the weekend so play around.  It's snowing again anyway.  

Chicken Pho with Crispy Shallots and Garnishes

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

Broth (optional):

2 unpeeled yellow onions, quartered
3 1/2 inch thick slices of unpeeled fresh ginger, smashed
4 quarts cold water
3 lbs chicken bones or chicken wings
Fresh 3.5 lb chicken, quartered
1 T kosher salt2 tsp sugar
Additional spices (optional): 

Cinnamon, star anise, black cardamoms, coriander seeds, fennel seeds or cloves
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

Noodles:
1 lb dried rice noodles, a linguine shape (bánh phở) if you can find them

Garnishes (any or all):  

2 large scallions, thinly sliced
1 lb mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup torn basil leaves, Thai basil if you can find it
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 limes, cut into wedges
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced into rings

Hoisin Sauce
Sriracha Sauce 

4 large shallots (for crispy shallots, about 2 cups) 

Canola Oil (for crispy shallots, 2 cups) 

Directions for the Broth: 

Step 1:  Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Put onions and ginger on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until softened and light brown. 
Step 2:  Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the roasted onions and ginger from step 1, then chicken bones/wings, quartered chicken, salt, sugar and any of the optional spices you wish and bring to a boil. Lower heat the medium and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes.
Step 3:  Using tongs, transfer the quartered chicken to a plate and let it cool slightly. Remove the meat from the bones and refrigerate. Return the skin and bones to the stockpot and simmer for 2 hours longer. Strain the chicken broth into a large soup pot and cook over high heat until reduced to 12 cups, about 15 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce; adjust to taste.

Directions for Noodles:

Soak the noodles in a large bowl of warm water for about 20 minutes.  Alternatively, follow directions on package.  Transfer the noodles to large bowl and sprinkle with the scallions.  

To finish:

Add the chicken to the broth and simmer until heated.  Ladle the broth and chicken over the noodles.  Serve with any or all of the garnishes, especially crispy fried shallots (below): 

Directions for Crispy Fried Shallots:

In a small saucepan or large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high until it registers 275°F.  Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden brown, about 4-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  You have the option of stopping here and adding to the pho.  

OR  

Follow the Vietnamese way and do the next step.  Increase the heat to high and place a fine-mesh sieve over a heatproof boil. When the oil registers 375°F on the deep-fry thermometer, return the fried shallots to the oil and cook just until they are crispy and well-browned, about 5 seconds, watching carefully so the shallots don’t burn.

Pour the oil and shallots through the sieve to stop the cooking and transfer shallots to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Sprinkle with salt to season and serve!

The New Year Menu for 2014!

January 2014 

I didn't post in December.  Posting on things I like to do is my way of managing work and life stress but when the writing itself becomes the stressor, it's time to throw in the writing trowel. 

Small whine ... December has become a burden.  I become overwhelmed by 'stuff', whether it's decorating, planning for the holidays, cleaning or whatever. All I want to do is just throw everything away and reduce the days to simple, clean, monastic.  It's not helped by fact that December is always work-crazy as we rush to finish all the big projects that need to be considered for the following year's federal Budget.  

I'm hoping retirement in the future restores more equanimity to the holiday season.  I used to love it. 

So the boost to the season was some of the gifts I received from friends and family -- inspiring cookbooks with photos opening worlds yet to be explored, both literally and through home-based cooking.  Here's two of the half a dozen I received, with reviews of them in subsequent postings.

The first is Vietnamese Home Cooking, written by Charles Phan, who is executive chef at a celebrated group of restaurants that started with The Slanted Door, located in San Francisco.  Check out their cutting-edge website! 

For each item in the book and on the menu, Phan went to the original region, studied traditional ingredients, flavours and techniques, and recreated the recipe using contemporary methods and organic vegetables and meat.

The recipes, photos and the author's experience as a refugee are engrossing.  The restaurant is on the bucket list of places to visit.  Second best is to cook some of the recipes like Lemongrass Pork (or Chicken) cooked in coriander seeds, a brothy rich Coconut Curry with a mix of spices, Grilled Five-Spice Chicken with Tamarind, and Roasted Eggplant and Leek Salad.  There's also a myriad of fish and seafood recipes for those inclined that way.

The next one is written by an author/chef I've profiled in previous posts:  Ottam Ottolenghi, a UK chef and food columnist. The first time I profiled Ottolenghi's book called Jerusalem, as reviewed in this New York Times article.  It's become a well-thumbed book in my household too.  

This time, I pored over the Christmas gift of Plenty, where Ottolengthi takes vibrant vegetables and grains and puts together 120 vegetarian recipes which prove we can get the majority of our calories quite happily and wholesomely this way.

My frig now always has a small bottle of preserved lemons, freekeh grains are in the pantry and sumac is part of my herb supply. I've yet to find pomegranate molasses and my sleuthing in Middle Eastern shops goes on.  

I've marked to try Spiced Moroccan Carrot Salad, Cucumber Salad with smashed ginger and garlic, Ultimate Winter Couscous, and Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt.  

Next up to profile is The Best of the Best Cookbooks from Food and Wine, 











bad-boy Gordon Ramsay's Chef's Secrets, and 









my new PEI home-boy Michael Smith's Fast Flavours, 110 Simple, Speedy Recipes.  











It's all in aid of chasing away the 2014 winter blahs.  I've got 'em big time.  Hate this wintery year.  Attitude adjustment in store....  

Thai Ginger Chicken Stir Fry Conquers 1st Snow of the Season Woes...

November 2013

SmartCooks here.  Winter arrived last weekend in time for Remembrance Day.  I raked three bags of leaves, those leafy gifts that just keep on giving from the two massive maples in our backyard.  As I pushed the last bit into bag #3, the snow began falling.  Talk about timing.

To cheer myself up, I decided on an aerobics class in Kanata.  Normally, it's a 15-minute drive door to door but, naturally, in the first snow of the season, it look almost 45 minutes of bumper-to- bumper traffic crawling along in the grey slush and gloom.

People drive (pun intended) you crazy.  Most adjust for the conditions but then there's the morons who ignore the weather and zoom in and out of traffic at 120+ kph.  I swear people take stupid pills when they get behind the wheel of a car.  They made the drive to and from the gym not fun.

OK, got that out of my system.  When I finally got home it seemed like just the kind of evening to cook and watch my latest Netflix series -- The 4400 -- a sci-fi that ran for four seasons from 2004-07.  

Ever wonder what happened to all those people who are kidnapped by UFOs?  Wonder no more.  All 4400 kidnapped over a 50-year period are returned to earth, each with special powers for good or evil.  

Anyway, I was hooked.  And, way too late I read the review and, 'NATCH, it ends on a cliffhanger.  Despite countless petitions, it never returned.  Maybe Netflix viewers can help change that.  



Thai Cooking Websites
It also seemed like an evening for a little heat so I pulled out a recipe for Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry and tarted it up with mushrooms.  


Endless variations of this recipe can be found on any of the top-notch, easy-to-follow and well presented sites focussing on accessible Thai cooking.  By 'accessible' I mean easy-to-find ingredients without having to order on-line or do a full-scale forensic search of Asian cooking stores.  So, I left out the most authentic Thai cooking sites like "Thai Food Master".  (But check it out if you are up to a challenge.)

For my taste, websites such as

Appon's Thai Food, Thai Kitchen Canada,  She Simmers, Riya's Kitchen, and Enjoy Thai Food provide plenty of inspiration for a home-cooker like me.

For Thai Ginger Chicken Stir Fry, however, I chose a recipe from The Kitchn, a site I've following for quite a while now. 

The site is a mixture of home-cooking recipes, combined with collections of pinterest interests (e.g., creative pet enclosures in a family setting) and cooking tools and techniques. There's dozen of recipes, all beautifully presented, with a range of cooking styles.  I've tried a number of them, and they've never let me down.  They are all easy to adapt with whatever you have on hand.  

Some of the recipes call for oyster sauce and I always use the vegetarian (mushroom)-based version. Like most stir-fry recipes, advance preparation is key. I assemble all ingredients and then cook in a wok or other skillet or choice. 

It's also an incredibly versatile recipe, as you can see in photos below.  In one version, coriander takes centre stage, while the second photo (from the Kitchn) promotes the use of the red pepper and chilies.  It all depends on mood and taste.  

Minced Ginger-Garlic Paste Mixtures 
When I have lots of time, I love cutting up some of the garlic cloves I bought at the Carp Garlic Festival this summer.  Stored properly, they last all winter.  I've learned the trick of running my hands around the stainless steel sink after cutting garlic as it instantly cuts the smell of garlic on your hands (I kid you not!).  

Same with ginger... fresh, organic, peeled and then cut into matchsticks.  There's nothing like the fresh ginger smell in a kitchen.  

But, if I'm really pressed for time, I save those 10 minutes and haul out my trusty bottle of minced ginger and garlic (combined in one jar) that I found in an Asian food store.  Alternatively, you can buy two bottles, one of minced ginger and one of minced garlic.  But I find the combo works of me in times of need.  

Recipe
Thai Ginger Chicken Stir Fry 

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless, preferably organic, chicken breast
3 T vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil, canola oil also works)
2 T fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves (or less depending on preference)
1/2 large white or yellow onion
1/2 cup cashew nuts
5-6 dried chilies 

4 green spring onions 

1/2 red bell pepper 

1/2 cup mushrooms (mix of cremini, shiitake, oyster or other favourites)
1.5 T fish sauce 

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 T oyster sauce (vegetarian or regular)
1/4 tsp salt
1 red chili
1 T cornstarch (more if thicker sauce desired) 
Coriander (optional)
Jasmine rice or Green vegetables (I used kale) 

Advance Preparation:

Slice the chicken breast into small slices.

Chop and dice the garlic.
Cut the ginger into matchsticks.
Slice the half onion into shreds.
Slice the red chili into strips.
Cut the mushrooms into pieces.  
Fry the cashew nuts in a saucepan with 1 T vegetable oil on a medium heat for 5 minutes until they change to a yellow colour.
Fry the dry chili for half a minute until crispy.
Make a slurry of the chicken stock and cornstarch in a small bowl.


Directions:
Add 2 T oil to medium wok or hot frying pan.
Add the garlic and ginger and fry until you can smell the garlic. 
Add the onion and stir fry for another minute or so. 
Add the chicken and stir fry 4-5 minutes until the chicken changes colour.
Add in mushrooms, cashew nuts, crispy chili, spring onion, and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add fish and oyster sauces, salt and red chilli and stir for one minute. 
Add the slurry of chicken stock/cornstarch and stir for a couple of minutes to thicken sauce.  
To serve, sprinkle with coriander (optional) 
Can be served alone or with jasmine rice or Thai greens (The Kitchn has a great recipe for stir fry greens).

Lecsó Hungarian-inspired Tomato-Peppers Stew

September 2013

SmartCooks here.  Tomato season is definitely over, for me at least.  I picked them all from my little vegetable plot.  I also got some from the neighbours who were overrun by produce from a half-acre plot they planted for the first time, courtesy of one of their parents.  

It also inspired me to try a Hungarian tomato and peppers dish, called Lecsó for the first time.  Details below.  

It was a perfect weekend for something warm and cozy. It is crazy, weather-wise.  I've alternated from running the air conditioner then switching it to the furnace, all in the space of hours, and from pouring rain to sunshine (the getting off the Queensway because I can't see a thing kindof rain).  

A grumble ... Driving in Ottawa is a full-on series of obstacle courses.  Between the weather, all minor and major road construction (like the Light Rail Transport) and, to add to it, the road closures this weekend for the annual 5 km and half-marathon Army Runs... not fun. 

Himself has to navigate this hellish version of the city every day! (e.g., look at Slater Street from my office building).  Lucky for Himself he's headed for the UK to visit his daughter, Ilya who is there for a year's sabbatical at the London School of Economics. For himself, it's a first sampling of life across the ocean.  About time!  I promised him snow upon his return ... kidding ... I hope.  

Driving rain and hard driving conditions didn't deter my determination to do a rocking Saturday afternoon BodyAttack class in deepest darkest west end Kanata.  I made it to a crowded class, where the instructor commented he had been seeing me in a lot of classes these days.  Given that I can barely move from stiffness today, he must be seeing my double as I'm a weekend warrior at best in this life, much to my eternal chagrin.  

Lecho (Lecsó)

I had enough energy to take on a recipe called 'Lecho', or Lecsó, (pronounced 'LETCH-oh'). It's originally an Hungarian thick vegetable dish, featuring tomatoes, peppers, onion, lard, sugar, salt, and ground paprika as a base recipe. The onions and peppers are supposed to be sauteed in lard or bacon fat but I changed this to sunflower oil. I also omitted the sugar and used mustard instead.  Some recipes call for sausage, like Hungarian or Polish; others add tomatoes and eggs.  One recipe even suggested adding peeled eggplant,  which I will try next time.  

Lecho is considered a traditional food in Hungarian, Czeck, Slovak, and Polish cuisine.  It is also very common in Austria and Israel.   It is not well known in North America at least in circles I've ever been in but a surplus of tomatoes and the purchase of two or three types of Hungarian paprika made it the perfect dish for me.

First, the tomato sauce ...

I followed the super simple version of tomato sauce on the Smitten Kitchen website entitled "Naked tomato sauce. To play around as little as possible". 

First, I scored an 'x' in the bottom of the tomatoes as per the picture at top, then blanched and cooled them quickly to remove the skins.  

After that, I cut the tomatoes in half, scooped out the seeds over a bowl to capture the liquid and cooked the tomatoes on medium low for 30-45 minutes, adding some of the reserved juice when it got a little dry looking.

After it cooled, I froze the cooked sauce in freezer bags for the winter months and can jazz it up at that point.  The sauce (already done in my case) was the starting point for the dish. 

Lesco Ingredients:

1 lb of various peppers (yellow, green, red peppers; if, more heat is desired, mix in jalapenos or other chilies
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 red onions
3 green or yellow zucchini,   quartered
2 cups tomato sauce (or more depending on thickness of sauce)
3T Worcestershire sauce
4T Hungarian or sweet paprika 
1/3 cup Dutch or German mustard 
Pepper and Kosher salt 
Sunflower oil

Directions:

Put sunflower oil in a large skillet or heavy pan to cover the bottom generously.  Add onion and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add sausage (if using), garlic and peppers and cook another 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. 

Add tomato sauce, rest of ingredients and mix to combine.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove lid and cook another 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce, if needed.

Enjoy! 

Whole Food, Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

September 1, 2013

SmartCooks here.

Last of the zucchini recipes for the season. Honestly.  

I'm still swimming in zucchini and having a great time cooking it all up.  I'm coping with my little 1m x 2m vegetable plot but I wouldn't want to be working and have it any larger.  At least not while I'm working at the kinds of jobs I'm doing.  

Yesterday, the next door neighbour called me over.  She, husband and 2 kids had just arrived home from their 'small' 1/2 acre of vegetables.  For the second weekend in a row, they are drowning in fresh produce.  

She took a week off work last week (lucky!) to do a LOT of cooking and canning from last weekend's offering.  But she is going back to work Tuesday and is still faced with a new mountain of fresh produce as the picture (right) shows. The kids want to set up tables at the end of the driveway and give it to passersby.  

I offered to help with the tomatoes and cook them some fresh tomato sauce to freeze.  More on that next post.  

Flours 

Since the Wheatberry store on Main Street closed about a year ago, I've been lost in terms of what kind of flour to buy, and where to find it.  

My pick at Wheatberry was always Red Fifte Wheat, an Ontario, locally grown, organic whole-grain flour.  I had ditched the 'bleached' flours of my childhood for these more traditional and wholesome products. And the baked goods were delicious.  




I haven't had time to do a lot of searching for another Red Fife outlet.  In the U.S., bloggers rave about King Arthur Flour for cooking breads and the like, but it is not to be found in Canada.  So I'm making do with whatever until I find an accessible spot (just try driving anywhere in this city these days .... the construction is ridiculous!), with a flour I want to try.  Till then, it's supermarket unbleached stuff.  

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Today's recipe is Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins, compliments of Whole Foods Market.  I adapted the recipe with various substitutes I had on hand, e.g., half coconut oil and half unsweetened applesauce.  

They can be frozen and thawed overnight before eating.  Enjoy! 

Whole Food, Whole-Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 T cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (or half coconut oil, half unsweetened applesauce)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (i used walnuts but almonds, pecans or even pistachios would be great)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F for muffins tins or 325 degrees F for large loaf pan.  Blend the dry ingredients.

Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – do not overmix.

Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts, if using.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin tins.

Muffins take about 15-20 minutes.  If using smaller pans bake for 30-40 minutes.  For larger loaf pan bake for 50-60 minutes.

Zucchini Egg Muffin Breakfasts

August 2013

SmartCooks here.  

It's the end of August here in Ottawa, with an abundance of zucchini and tomatoes in the garden. All is well (look at the lovely flowers at right given to me by one of our next door neighbours!).  

But I'm soooo busy work-wise.  I've been on my own this month with a new Minister and Minister's Office.  They made the obligatory trek to Charlottetown HQ, so I was the ring master of policy briefings, videoconference addresses to 1,000 staff, demos of new technologies to speed up decisions for veterans and follow-ups galore.

The Clerk also visited Charlottetown HQ doing consultations on the future shape of the public service so another videoconference hook up across the country.  I'm not complaining but it a myth that summer months are quiet -- in all my years of public service I've never found that.  August in particular is just plain nuts.

All to say that I'm keeping up with the Ottawa garden bounty, but just barely.  I tell myself that I chose to do this knowing what life would likely throw at me but I am still determined to try and achieve some minimal balance between work and not-work. The garden, cooking, researching, and blogging helps me keep a grip on life as I hope to know it someday post public service. 

This week it's zucchini cornucopia in my house.  Seriously who would thought a small 1m x 2m piece of land could give 30 plus massive zucchinis and still some are flowering.  Thanks to the recipe ideas I received from FB friends, I've experimented with zucchini muffins galore (do NOT use cake and pastry flour... it did NOT work on one batch), cute zucchini loafs made with this little loaf pan I found at Home Hardware (see left), zucchini fritters (the same recipe I used from Smitten Kitchen two years ago watching Jack Layton's funeral ... see blog entry), zucchini pasta and on and on and on...


My favourite breakfast fare right now is zucchini and egg white muffins.

I had trouble finding the exact recipe as I wanted the perfect combo of zucchini, vegeys and egg whites. 

The closest recipe I found was from Oxygen magazine, and it was picked up and copied on many food blogs such as Eat Yourself Skinny. 

The Oxygen version includes carrot, and I didn't have any on hand, so I used more zucchini and threw in some leftover asparagus spears (not pictured). It was all good, basically you need a mix of vegeys to fill the muffin tins 3/4s full.  So experiment with your favourites.   

Anyway, here's my version.  At 50-60 calories each, it's a delicious, healthy breakfast.  I made many, all now nicely frozen in my freezer.  I take out two at night to defrost in the frig or, yes, zap 'em on reheat in the a.m. and they're ready to go.  

Enjoy! 

Breakfast Zucchini Egg Muffins 

Ingredients:

14 egg whites 
4 whole eggs
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, minced
1 cup zucchini, shredded
Other veyegs, like asparagus, spinach or carrot (optional) 
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
Sea salt and pepper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat muffin loaf pan or tin with spray.  

Combine veggies in a large bowl and fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full.  

Whisk eggs and seasonings and then use a measuring cup or large spoon to fill each muffin loaf or tin to the top.

Bake muffins for 30 minutes until they've risen and are slightly browned (this depends on type of muffin pan being used so watch closely).