Garlic Cauliflower and Mushrooms

Golden tender-crisp cauliflower and earthy, rich caramelized mushrooms. The perfect side to steak or pork chops!  

Ingredients:

1 lb mushrooms, whole or halved if large

1/2 cauliflower, cut in florets

1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbsps beef broth

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

2 tbsps fresh chopped parsley

3 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet and sauté onion on medium high heat for 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.

Add the cauliflower florets to the pan and cook 8-10 minutes. Pour broth into the pan, cover and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add rosemary, garlic and 1 tbsp of parsley and toss for 1 minute. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4 topped with remaining parsley.

Easy Sweet Potato Brownies

Just adding sweet potato to a brownie mix makes them more healthy right? 😉

Ingredients:

519 g box brownie mix 

all ingredients required on package 

1/4 cup mashed sweet potato 

(I may try 1/2 cup sweet potato next time)

Make up the brownie mix then blend in the mashed sweet potato. 

Grease an 8 X 8" square pan. Pour the batter in and bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes. 

Cool in pan before cutting into squares. No need for frosting but a scoop of ice cream on top might hit the spot 😉

Quinoa Fall Salad

Healthy quinoa, salty halloumi and pops of sweetness from cranberries and apple make this salad a fall favourite!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 medium apple, chopped or sliced

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup cubed and fried halloumi

Dressing:

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbsps maple syrup

1 1/2 tsps dijon mustard

salt to taste and a few grinds of black pepper

Simply whisk the dressing ingredients together then, when ready to serve, toss with all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

And if you are interested in making your own halloumi check this out:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2021/09/homemade-halloumi.html

Homemade Halloumi

During our Covid-19 lockdown I decided to try making cheese. Ricotta was the first cheese I tried. Google homemade ricotta recipes, it's super easy to make. This halloumi required a little more time and attention but was well worth it. I got the ingredients in a cheesemaking kit from u-main.ca. You can order a kit through them or find all the ingredients you'll need online (from Amazon of course!)

Ingredients:

4 L milk

1/4 cup unchlorinated water at room temperature

1/2 tsp calcium chloride

1/4 g vegetarian rennet at room temperature

1 1/2 tsps cheese salt, or to taste

You'll also need:

thermometer

cheesecloth

cheese mold (see note below about homemade molds)

These are the directions I got with the kit:

Dilute the rennet in 1/4 cup water and set aside.

Pour the milk into a large pot. Using a thermometer, heat the milk on medium to 30°C, stirring slowly, then turn off heat.

Pour the calcium chloride in, stir 5 times. Pour the rennet mixture in, stir 5 times then let sit.

Make sure the temperature keeps at 30°C, cover the pot and let sit for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes stick tip of knife into curd and lift to see if the liquid underneath is yellowish-greenish. If it's still whiteish let sit another 30 minutes.

Now cut the silky block to the bottom of the pot, cutting 1 cm squares, then cut those squares into triangles. Let sit 5 minutes.

Heat the curd slowly over 30-40 minutes, increasing temperature by 1° - 2°C every 5 minutes until it reaches 38°C. While heating slowly mix from top to bottom as curds become smaller.

At 38°C turn off heat, cover and let sit 30 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, line a colander with cheesecloth using clothespins to hold it to the colander and place over a large bowl. Spoon the curd into the colander.

Once the curd has drained, divide it into three parts and place each part in a mold.

NOTE:

This mold came with the kit but I have read that you could use a tin can with top and bottom removed, sitting on a sushi mat to drain.

Use an unopened tin can in a ziplock bag as a weight on top of the cheese to help with the draining process. Let sit 1 hour.

At about 40 minutes start heating the whey in the pot to reach 85°C then turn off the heat. Carefully unmold the cheese (this is so cool eh?!) and submerge in the hot whey using a large spoon. They will sink but after 15-30 minutes, once cooked, they will float.

Remove to a colander to drain another 5-10 minutes.  (Reserve the whey for breadmaking)

Slice or crush the halloumi and sprinkle cheese salt on each piece. You may get creative here adding red pepper flakes, mint, black pepper or oregano.

Eat as is or brush with olive oil and grill.

I used a mixture of 2 tbsps olive oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice marinating the halloumi in this for 30 minutes before pan frying.

Store halloumi in the fridge for 1 week, or if submerged in brine, 2 weeks.

Halloumi making was a little time consuming, but during lockdown all we had was time!!

Roasted Red Pepper, Tahini and Garlic Sauce

Dairy free, oil free with protein rich tahini... this could be our new favourite pasta sauce!

Ingredients:

5 red bell peppers

1/2 cup tahini

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 tsps minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

pinch sugar

juices from roasting the peppers (about 1/2 cup)

450 g penne pasta

fresh parsley or basil to garnish

So, to make roasted red peppers...easy peasy.

Place the whole peppers on a baking pan and broil them about 5 minutes per side until nicely charred all around. Then put them in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Once cooled pull out the stem and seeds and the peel will easily come away from the flesh.

Place your freshly roasted red peppers in a food processor along with the tahini and cherry tomatoes. Whirl on high until blended.

Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. I used the liquid left in the pan from roasting the red peppers here, but this can be substituted with water or broth adding enough liquid to reach the sauce consistency you want.

Pour the sauce into a saucepan to simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Then serve over the pasta or toss the pasta with the sauce and garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil.

Serves 4-6

Adapted from: zenandzaartar.com

Lemon Buttermilk Pie

Light and lemony custard paired with blueberry compote in a sweet graham crumb crust.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

6 tbsps butter, melted

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsps flour

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or milk + 3 tsps vinegar)

1/4 cup butter, melted

zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsps lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

Blueberry Compote:

1 cup blueberries

2 tbsps lemon juice

zest 1 lemon

2 tsps sugar

For the crust combine graham crumbs, sugar and 6 tbsps melted butter and press into a 9" pie plate. Chill in refrigerator. NOTE: If you want a deeper pie use an 8" pie plate. The cooking time my increase a little.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until light yellow and fluffy. Incorporate the flour then add the buttermilk, butter, zest, juice and vanilla. Pour into the crust.

Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 325°F and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes or until set. The center may still be a little jiggly but will be ok once cooled.

For the blueberry compote combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Cool.

Once the pie and compote are cooled slice the pie and serve with a heaping spoonful of blueberry compote.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

These orzo stuffed peppers make a hearty main dish but are equally good (or even better) as a leftover lunch! 

Ingredients:

4 large bell peppers

1 Italian tomato, chopped 

a handful of cherry tomatoes

2 tbsps olive oil

1 medium onion, grated

1 carrot, grated

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp dry oregano

3 tsps minced garlic

1 cup orzo

1 cup water

1/3 cup alfredo sauce (or more water)

a pinch of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 - 2 cups beef broth

Prepare the peppers. Cut the tops off and reserve their "hats" for later. Cut out the seeds and membrane and sit them in a baking dish.

Purée the tomato and cherry tomatoes to make 1 cup. (Or use store bought tomato purée)

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the onion 2-3 minutes. Then add the carrot and stir for 1 minute. Add the ground beef, garlic and oregano and cook until no pink remains. Finally, add the tomato purée, alfredo sauce and water and bring to a boil. Stir in the orzo, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer 10-15 minutes or until the orzo is tender.

Remove from heat and add the parmesan cheese. Fill peppers and top them with their hats. Pour the broth into the baking dish.

And bake at 400°F for 1 - 1 1/4 hours, basting with broth and pan juices a couple of times. Keep a foil cover on them for the first 45 minutes of cooking time then uncover for the remaining 15-30 minutes.

Serve with a nice side salad.