Here we are in one of my most favourite parts of the year, the beginning of spring. In fact, Autumn and Spring are my favourite seasons. I mean, yes summer is all hot and sunny and has an abundance of fruits and vegetables, but spring is where it all begins and autumn is where we say goodbye. I like the beginning and the end better than the middle, for the middle is so long that you get used to being in it, but spring is fleeting and autumn turns to rain and snow before you know what hit you. But it is not “officially” spring yet. We are straddling that line between seasons at the moment really. Here in Victoria, BC, spring comes a little early, but there is still time to be waited out before it will be here.
I have my seedlings sprouting on my kitchen counter, waiting for that last frosty morning to rear it’s ugly head. Gardening is in my future, and I will be posting about it soon! Food wise, things are starting to happen though. I see California Asparagus and Artichokes in the grocery store, two of my favourite spring veggies. Artichokes grown in BC tend to mature in mid summer, but California gets all the fun. California artichokes peak in March and asparagus is a spring vegetable as well, though somehow it is more known in summer. Probably because it is readily available and cheap during those hot summer months.
Continue reading “Pan Fried Pork Chops with Apple Compote and Apple, Cheddar and Rosemary Biscuits” →
I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not a big fan of cold weather. Which is strange really. I’m one of those women who needs it to be cool to sleep (you know the ones. The husband wants it to be warm, but the wife doesn’t. Someone always suffers. Well, it isn’t me). I always have one foot splayed out of the side of the bed, lurking there in the dark depths of night, floating silently as my very own “thermometer.”
I used to work in a wholesale lumber yard. I was in the office, yes, but we had single pane windows looking out into the warehouse and the door was always being held open by some dirty, sawdust covered cabinet maker. So I would crank the heat, which was conveniently located next to my desk (which I shared with another salesman). Whenever I’d go to the bathroom, my lovely coworker would secretly turn the heat off. He was always hot. I was always cold. It made for an interesting 4 years.
Now that we live in a big old house heated with a wood stove, I’m really looking forward to the warm glow of fire heating my bones. Is it weird that I love fall, but I hate being cold? I think I’ve mentioned my reasons being mostly aesthetic. I love scarves and boots, so sue me.
When it really starts to be miserable out, which is most of October through February around these parts, I turn to comforting food. The kind that sticks to your ribs, fills you up, but doesn’t necessarily fill you out. I think I like that when I have the stove top and the oven both going at the same time, I will gladly stand in front of it stirring whatever it is I’m cooking up.
When I was a kid, my Dad used to make a few select dishes. One of his best, was his version of chili con carne. Meaty, full of tomatoes and beans, and accented by his secret ingredient (coffee!), it would cook away on the stove top all day long. This was pure comfort food at it’s very best, and was always served with hot buttered toast and a sprinkle of Cheddar. As much as I love my Dad’s version of meat heaven, when cooking for myself and my husband, I prefer to go vegetarian. Not only do we only eat meat once or twice a week for health reasons, it really helps our wallets remain nice and plump. If you prefer a meaty version, go ahead and brown a pound of beef (or chicken, pork or turkey even) along with the first ingredients.
The biscuits in this recipe, I must admit, were inspired by Ree Drummond’s (The Pioneer Woman) Steak with onion-blue cheese sauce. I love the combination of flavours, and since I just happen to have a sourdough starter hanging around my fridge, I had to combine them. What? I haven’t told you about my sourdough starter yet? Silly me, I will in an upcoming post for sure!
Vegetarian Chili
1 1/2 Tbsp. Canola oil
1 Large sweet onion, diced
4 Green onion stalks, minced
1 Large zucchini, diced
1 or 2 (depending on size) bell peppers (preferably red, yellow or orange), diced
1 large or 2 small clove(s) garlic, grated
1 1/2 cups corn niblets
2 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce), minced
1 Tbsp adobo sauce
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
19oz can Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
19oz can Black Beans
19oz can Red kidney beans
28oz can diced tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced (about 1/2 cup) (optional)
1. In a large, deep saucepan, sauté onions (both kinds), peppers, garlic & zucchini on medium high heat. Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. When most of the liquid has evaporated, add in the corn, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add in can of tomatoes and all beans. Bring temperature up to almost boiling.
4. Turn down to low and simmer lightly for 2 hours.
5. If using, stir in cilantro right before serving.
6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of grated cheddar and some caramelized onion and bleu cheese sourdough biscuits (recipe follows).
Caramelized Onion & Bleu Cheese Sourdough Biscuits
1/2 Sweet onion, sliced
2 Tbsp Brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
1 3/4 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp melted salted butter, divided
2 tsp rosemary (use fresh if available, if dried pulverize in a mortar and pestle)
150g Bleu Cheese
1. In a saucepan on medium high heat, add onions and sugar.
2. Sauté until onions have browned and all sugar has disappeared, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
3. In large bowl pour sourdough starter and melted butter. Stir in onions and cheese.
4. Stir in all dry ingredients (including rosemary) until just incorporated.
5. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. You may have to add additional flour to achieve a good consistency. You want the dough to still be slightly sticky.
6. Add the remaining melted butter into a 9x11x1 1/2 in. baking pan.
7. Pat the dough down to 1/2″ thick and cut or form into desired shapes.
8. Coat each biscuit on both sides and place, lightly touching each other, in baking pan.
9. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 425°F for 12-15 minutes.
10. Serve with some stick to your ribs chili.
I hope this recipe finds you well and allows you to cuddle up with a loved one while you wait out this cooler weather. Maybe don’t cuddle too close though….or get some Beano at least.
Because I live in a temperate area of the globe, much of the “height” of summer produce doesn’t arrive here until quite late in the season. Last week at the farmer’s market, we scored some super fresh ears of corn. We’re talking mere hours after they’d been picked. I didn’t have them on my shopping list, but I had to have them. There is nothing like the sweet, crisp flavour of freshly picked corn.
When I was a kid, my parents grew bicolour corn in our small garden. My mother was adamant that the corn be picked no sooner then when the pot of water began to boil. If it was picked any earlier than that, the corn would quickly begin to lose sugar, a process I like to call starchification (FYI, not a real word). This is technically not true nowadays, though. Corn hybridization has made the sugars in some varieties of corn very high. In the industry, the higher sugar varieties are known as Sugary Extender (se) and Supersweet (sh2), which includes the infamous Peaches & Cream and my favourite, Honey ‘N Pearl. These varieties can be stored from as little as 2 days to as much as 10 days.
I still prefer to eat it as soon as I can get my hot little hands on it, or cook it and freeze for a later date, which is exactly what I did for this recipe. Obviously, frozen corn is cheap and abundant, so this soup could be made all year round. I’m a bit of a food snob though, and prefer my produce fresh (or frozen at the peak of freshness) and eaten as soon as possible.
As the summer draws to a close (tomorrow September 22 at 5:18 pm EDT!), I’d like to leave you with this final taste of those warm summer nights. But as the end of summer and the beginning of fall are the same day, I’m celebrating with a little bit of both. A light, summery soup served with some hot from the oven biscuits, perfect for cold fall evenings! They pair beautifully together, and these biscuits are versatile enough for any soup.
Corn & Black Bean Soup with Spinach & Feta Biscuits
1 Large Vidalia Onion (or other sweet onion)
3 cobs of sweet corn (cooked and kernels removed, which is about 4 cups of corn)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 19oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 key limes, juiced (or 1 regular lime)
1 L sodium reduced chicken broth (or homemade)
1 avocado, diced
1. Sauté onions, garlic and red pepper in canola oil until browned (you want that caramelization for flavour.) Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.
2. Add beans & corn. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.
3. Add stock, bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Add lime juice.
4. Add cilantro and stir in, removing from heat.
5. Serve with avocado and biscuits (recipe follows).
Spinach & Feta Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
175g feta cheese, crumbled
200 g spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced very fine
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1. In a large sauté pan, sauté spinach, garlic and green onions until softened. Add basil at very end and remove from heat.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.
4. Combine the buttermilk, oil and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk together until completely combined.
5. Combine the milk/egg mix with the flour. Gently, stir in the spinach mixture, feta cheese and pepper.
6. Spoon into greased muffin tin (should make an equal dozen).
7. Bake at 375°F for 22- 25 minutes.
8. Serve warm with your delicious soup.
Because I was too lazy (and it was too dark at that point) last night to break out my DSLR and take real photos, and I have very limited time today between dropping my preschooler off and picking her up, I present to you a summary of every food blogger’s first “Fall/Autumn” post that involves something with pumpkin.
Autumn.
Fall.
Sweaters. That smoky smell in the air. Scarves, so many awesome scarves. Boots of unimaginable cost, but they’re so PRETTY! Boots with heels, and slouchy boots, boots that hurt your feet and boots that make it hard to walk. Hunter galoshes on every foot (seriously…is it time for that to not be a fad yet?).
Continue reading “Pumpkin Waffles” →
So, I’ve told you about my cookbook. I hope you are as excited as I am. Maybe you’ll even buy a copy, or send one to a friend..or your sister, or that distant aunt you never visit. You know, they might like it too.
But I’ve been neglecting you, my long-time readers, friends and loyal commenters. So I figured, before I leave on Wednesday for a long awaited trip to California for the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games, I had better leave you with something delicious.
Continue reading “Chocolate Chip Plantain Cookies” →
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Hi! I'm Elizabeth. I like fitness, bad ass tattoos, food, bacon, chocolate, taking lots of silly pictures and my spawn. Check out my FAQ for all the usual Qs or send me an e-mail and tell me all about your cat and your Aunt Sally's amazing apple pie. |
