Dinner for One (with leftovers)

Tonight I was on my own... The kids had already eaten ( Poor little Miles, he is sick so when he finally asked for Kraft Dinner I had to oblige) and Brian was off to work. I hate making dinner for one. It seems like so much effort for such a small amount of return. Most of the time I settle on a yogurt or toast. But I went to the gym this afternoon for a good workout & I was hungry. So I put in 15 minutes (not even) and made myself a kick-butt salad. So glad I did. This recipe is really for two people, but I ate more than half (surprise!) & there's a little left over for Brian when he gets home from work late tonight.

The 'Sitch': Cube an avocado, drain & break-up a tin of tuna (I like the kind that comes packed in water), splash it around in some lemon juice & a glug of olive oil. Throw in a thinly sliced green onion & a handful of cherry tomatoes (halved). Add a little paprika & pepper. Mix it up & throw it onto a bed of arugula. Deeeelish.

I got the recipe from Chef Michael Smiths Favourite Recipes book... and added it to arugula. I looove arugula. He serves it in the avocado skins which looks so cute, and is good for portion control..... but I was having none of that tonight.

Possibilities.

I was out tonight to 'scout out' some Christmas gift options.

I haven't been to a mall in a long time. It was fun. I had both kids with me but they were pretty mellow & I was able to use the Lego store as a bargaining tool for Miles (he didn't get to buy anything but he loves to look at all the displays). I left Chinook Centre without any more ideas than I had going in. I have no idea what to get Brian for Christmas. I thought about it the whole way home, he is so hard to buy for.

So I stopped at Winners in Okotoks. The kids were pretty tired but I was going to push my luck. And I am so glad I did. Not only did I find the perfect present for Brian (my lips are sealed... he reads my blog once in a blue moon) but I found a little something for myself...

I've been wanting these Le Creuset stoneware ramekins since I worked at Williams Sonoma last year. And I found them today at Winners for just $10! I was so excited I practically ran to the cash register! We have a rule in our house that after November 1st we don't buy anything for ourselves but... but...I mean Brian will understand, won't he? He will when he is enjoying an individually served pot pie, apple tart or french onion soup. Yep! I have big plans for these little guys. I have been eyeing this pizza soup in the Chef At Home cookbook and there is a 99% chance that we will be having it for dinner tomorrow night! I am picturing bubbling cheese forming a perfect crust on top. Mmmm. Can't wait! I'll be sure to blog about it.

Soup Week Confession

Yesterday was day 2 of Soup Week. Which doesn't mean anything more than the title would suggest. Yesteday, I made soup. This time of year, when things are cooling off (quickly), I find myself wanting hot soup for lunch. So it was time to stock the freezer. Sunday I made my favourite Red Pepper & Tomatoe soup. Yesterday I made Chorizo and Sweet Potato. It took me 3 hours (clean-up included). And herein lies my confession: I like to cook more than I like to scrapbook (gasp!).

10oz of beautiful Chorizo Sausage. I wiki'ed Chorizo to find out a little bit more about it (we eat it often). FYI: It's a Spanish-style pork sausage seasoned with paprika.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to throw my rub-ons out the window (Except the Heidi Swapp ones. They suck.) But cooking seems to be the way I prefer to spend my time lately. And given three hours, I chose to make a soup rather than a layout. And I had fun (until it came time to do the dishes).

Today I will make Cauliflower Cheddar Soup (I know, right???) and when I am done, I will proudly add my individually portioned containers to my freezer, with the same pride in which I add a completed layout to my album.

Carrots, celery, onions and a sweet potato waiting to be peeled, sliced and diced. Oh! And if Brian happens to ask, I would like a new peeler for Christmas.

I guess as far as hobbies go, I never considered cooking. If you had asked me my hobbies I would have answered "Scrapbooking, skiing and reading." But I spend more time cooking than all three of those activities combined. And if you were to judge the talent I possess (on a scale of 1-10) for each of those activities you might give me the following scores: Scrapbooking - 5, Skiing - 4, Reading - 7. But I have been told often that I am a 'good cook' (although that might just be a courtesy). I would give myself an 8 (that's generous).

Cooking my ingredients. I didn't realise just how good the house smelled until I left to take out the garbage.

And now that I have given my 'hobby' it's fair consideration, I can justify spending time (and even money?) on it. I will be heading to the Library today to see what the 'Cooking' section looks like. I own many cookbooks, but I can honestly say I have never checked out the 'Cooking' section of the library looking to build a basic cooking foundation. Does it even exist?

Even when I managed Williams-Sonoma I didn't think of cooking as a hobby (and that's their credo!). I though you were either a Chef, trying to be a Chef or a consumer (which I considered myself to be)... I never thought you could comfortably (and confidently) call yourself a Cook if you just dabbled. I didn't think you could list Cooking as a past time if you didn't own a $300 knife or wear a white hat. Why not?

Ready for the processor. I don't have an emulsifier to I ladle everything into my food processor. Tedious, but I am grateful for even that.

I will no longer be embarrassed to say I spent the day (or week) making soups (it sounds like such a waste of time). But instead I will say it with the same tone in which I would brag about spending a weekend scrapbooking. So what if I start making dinner at 4pm some days because I 'feel like it'? And I won't pretend to bitch & complain about 'not knowing what to make for dinner' because I actually like that part of my day.

Beautiful Beans

I didn't end up at the Farmers Market today. It's a long story, but there was no way it was going to happen. So I pouted for a bit. And then I made 3 dozen Chocolate Skor cookies (one dozen for a friend who helped me out the other day). I had big plans to take the kids on a looong walk. But it started to snow. Really? In April? Yes. In April. So, because I am stuck at home (I have no car. Long story.), I am going to pay homage to this crappy, cold weather by firing up my crock pot and making a great Turkey Chili. I know, sounds delicious. As I rinsed off my dried beans to boil them, I couldn't believe how beautiful they were. Ok, I could believe it... but they are pretty right? Kind of unexpected for 'supper'. So I snapped a picture and then tried to see how many of the items in this Organic 18 Bean Mix I could name.

Here's what I got:

Beans: Blackeye, Red Kidney, Baby Lima, Navy, Pinto, Small Red

Lentils: Green

Peas: Whole & Split Green

Here's what I missed:

Beans: Appaloosa, Azuki, Black Turtle, Calypso, Great Northern, Mung

Lentils: French, Red Split (I didn't know there were red split!)

Peas: Yellow

I think beans are overlooked in our home. I use them a lot in soups, stews and chilis, but knowing there are so many out there that I have yet to discover is intriguing. I don't think most people (who aren't vegan) know how versatile beans are. Last year I made a chickpea burger from scratch to take camping, and they weren't for me, but they opened up a new door for chickpeas in my home. Chickpeas were generally only used in Hommus but now I've even used them with squash in my Tagine. I am dying to find a source for more unique beans...perhaps the Farmers Market??

Here's What's Cooking:

I love Quinoa. And luckily for me, Brian and Miles are fans as well. But I wasn't sure if I needed a cookbook that was entirely dedicated to the one food. Well, thank goodness I am a cookbook junkie & took the bait ($20 at Costco!). I love it. And tonight, I'm trying my first recipe. A salad...not a ground-breaking feat, I've made plenty of Quinoa salads before. But this one looks great & is what we need to round out tonight's meal. Tomorrow, I am planning on waking up to the Quinoa omlette. If you're saying 'Hmmmmm' that's what I said. But I am bored with the food we already know & love. So I am looking forward to getting to know this food intimately (wink, wink).

For Dinner Tonight...

Brian had to go to work at 4 tonight so I found myself needing to make dinner pretty early. Well, I had totally intended on going grocery shopping this evening. So, I looked in the fridge and pulled out what I had... not a lot. I hit up the index of one of my favourite cookbooks Good Cooking the new essentials by Jill Dupleix, looked under butternut squash and voila! Tonights dinner (which may I say, kicked ass.)

tagliatelle with pumpkin & sage

600g pumpkin or butternut squash (even sweet potatoes will do!)

1 onion

3 tbsp. butter (I used margarine)

300ml vegtable stock

1 tsp sugar

pinch of ground nutmeg

sea salt & pepper

300g tagliatelle or fettuchini

1 tbsp olive oil

6 roughly chopped sage leaves

4 tbsp fresh parmasean (couldn't believe I had that!)

________________________________________

Roughly chop pumpkin, get rid of seed & peel. Cut into 1cm cubes.

Halve & finely slice onion

Melt 2tsp. butter in frying pan, add onions & cook gently (what does that even mean?) for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin & toss well, then add sugar, stock, nutmeg & sea salt. Cook gently (again!) for 20 minutes or until tender. It will still be slightly soupy.

Add pasta & boil until al dente.

Using olive oil, in a smaller pan, fry sage until crisp.

Drain pasta. Toss into pumpkin. Add remaining butter, sage, parmasean & lots of pepper.

Enjoy!

I gave some of this to Miles (before I added butter & cheese) and I think he liked it (well, that's what I gathered from the funny face he kept making (below)). Next time I'll also skip pepper for him... poor guy had a little sneeze attack.

Is this legal?

Dinner for tomorrow night.

I took this picture from the website. And here is the recipe.

Macaroni & Cheese with Cauliflower

45 minutes. Serves 6.

12 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni

1 head cauliflower

4 slices mulitgrain bread

1/2 fresh parsley, chopped

3 tables spoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1 onion. Finely chopped

1.5 cups of sharp cheddar

1.5 cups low fat sour cream

1/2 cup milk (I used skim, worked fine)

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

Notes: Cooking with Sharp Cheddar lets you use less cheese without giving up flavour. Cauliflower adds Vitamin C & fiber.

1. Heat oven to 400F. Cook pasta according to directions, adding cauliflower during last 3 minutes. Drain.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add parsley, 2 tbsp of Olive Oil, 1/4 tsp of each salt & pepper. Combine set aside.

3. In seperate pot add remaining tbsp. of Oil, and rest of salt & pepper. Cook onions until tender (5 to 7 minutes on medium heat). Mix in pasta, cauliflower, sour cream, milk & mustard.

4. Transfer to shallow baking dish & sprinkle bread crumbs. Bake until gold brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Easy peasy lemon-squeezy.

( We like spicier food. We though next time we'd add chili pepper flakes or at least more pepper).

Comforting....

The last 2 days have been trying. Really, really trying. If bad things come in 3's, then I am expecting one more before I am at 9. Seriously, trying.

I decided to cook my stress away. And it worked. For dinner tonight I am making my family the cover recipe from REAL SIMPLE magazine this month. Comfort food. Macaroni & Cheese.

(I thought my parsley looked so pretty I had to take a picture)

Miles is just sitting in highchair playing with my whisk and Jack Johnson is singing me though this simple meal. It's in the oven now, and I had a little taste before it went in. Let me just say....yum. I can't wait until Brian gets home.