Rustic Garden Vegetable Pork Loin

This started out being a clean-out the fridge/garden kind of recipe, but ended up being one I will make again and again!

Ingredients:

4 tbsps olive oil

1  1/2 lb boneless pork loin

2-3 tbsps fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1 cup cubed eggplant

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup water or white wine

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

2 tbsps capers and some of the brine

4 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a skillet and brown the pork loin on all sides, then remove to a plate.

Add another 2 tbsps of oil to the pan along with the balsamic, capers, mushrooms, red pepper and eggplant.

Toss for a couple of minutes and add the water or white wine. 

Nestle the pork into the veggies, top with garlic, salt and pepper, spinach and parsley.

Pop into a 350 oven for 35 minutes. Spoon some veggies and liquid on top and put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Let the meat sit 5 minutes before slicing.

Toasted Coconut Cream Filled Muffins

Last year we were in Nova Scotia, Canada and had the very best muffins we have EVER had. They were the Coconut Cream filled muffins at the Windmill Café in Berwick.

Oh.. My.. God!!! They were the BEST and ever since I have been trying to replicate them. Impossible...but I have come up with these muffins which are pretty good although not like theirs. So if the Windmill would like to share their recipe that would be awesome : )

Anyways, here's mine 

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1  1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 tsp vinegar)
2 tsps vegetable oil
2 tsps coconut or vanilla extract
1 cup toasted shredded coconut

Filling:

3 tbsps cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup 10% cream
1 cup coconut milk
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp coconut or vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted coconut (divided, keep 1/4 cup for topping)

Start with the filling so it has time to cool. Sift together the cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan and add the cream and coconut milk. Whisk in the egg yolks. Set the heat to medium add the butter and whisk 4-5 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and add the extract and 1/4 cup toasted coconut. Cover for 30 minutes. Remove lid and stir, then chill 60 minutes.

For the muffins whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs, coconut milk, buttermilk, vegetable oil and extract together. Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Fold in 1 cup toasted coconut.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners and fill to about halfway. Add approximately 2 tbsps coconut cream filling then top with more batter.

Sprinkle tops with the remaining 1/4 cup toasted coconut.

Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes.

Makes 15 medium size muffins which are good, but not Windmill Café good.

So if you can share their recipe that would be great!

The 1785 Inn Pumpkin Cake Roll

Been making this cake roll for many years and it always turns out great!

Not sure where I got the recipe (safe to say from my friend Dianna) but there is a 1785 Inn in North Conway New Hampshire that it probably originated from.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting:

1 cup icing sugar
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs for 5 minutes on high speed. Gradually beat in the sugar.  Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Fold into the pumpkin mixture.

Spread the batter in a greased and floured 15 X 10 X 1" baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Sprinkle the batter with the chopped walnuts.

Bake in a 375 F oven for 15 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and turn it out onto a clean dishtowel that has been dusted with icing sugar.

Immediately (and carefully) peel the parchment off the cake, if that's what you used.

Then roll the cake with the dishtowel from the short end up. You can make the cake to this point and keep it rolled with the towel and in a plastic bag for a couple of days.

When ready, beat together the frosting ingredients.
Unwrap the cake and spread the frosting on it. Reroll the cake.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Again this can be done the day before you plan on having it. 

And when you're ready remove the cake from the fridge, dust with icing sugar and serve. A little whipped cream doesn't hurt either ; )

Serves 8-10

Kale and Tomato Gnocchi

One day I may up my gnocchi game and try homemade, but for now I'll stick with store bought.

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon
1 lb gnocchi
1/2 tsp sugar
2 cups diced canned tomatoes
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 - 1  1/2 cups chopped kale and/or spinach
a few chopped basil leaves
3 garlic cloves minced

Begin by cooking the bacon in a skillet until crispy, remove from pan and drain off all the bacon fat except for about 1 tablespoon. To the same skillet add the diced tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar. Deglaze the pan and cook on medium heat 5 minutes.

Chop the bacon and return it to the pan.

Boil the gnocchi as per package directions. Mine was 3 minutes so at the same time I also added the kale/spinach mix to the sauce and cooked it an additional 3 minutes.

Have the basil leaves chopped and the garlic minced so that when you rinse the cooked gnocchi you will toss them with the sauce, add the basil and garlic and serve warm.

This serves 2-3

I may just have to pick up another package of gnocchi!

Marinated Goat Cheese Appetizer

Looking for an appetizer for Canadian Thanksgiving ?

Ingredients:

8 oz (300 g) goat cheese log
2-4 tbsps olive oil
1/4 tsp zest of lemon
some fresh basil, parsley and thyme
a pinch of red pepper flakes
ground pink Himalayan salt and black pepper to taste

Place the goat's cheese in a dish. One the length of the cheese log would be nice, but I had to cut mine in half to fit my dish..no matter.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons olive oil over the cheese then add julienned basil (purple if you have it) and parsley, lemon zest and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Tuck in a sprig or two of fresh thyme. Drizzle some more olive oil over all and add some salt and pepper to taste.

Ok, I think it's pretty!

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Then remove from fridge about 1 hour and serve with a fresh sliced baguette, rusk toasts or crackers.

Garlic and Tomato Pizza

Hockey night means pizza night. Season opener tonight between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Mighty Montreal Canadiens! (Well "mighty" might be an exaggeration, but we love them no matter what.) 

To a good season and GoHabsGo !

Ingredients:

2 tbsps tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbsp dry oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp fennel seed

1 tbsp dried tomato flakes

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp dry oregano

1/2 tsp salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

your favourite pizza dough

1 - 1  1/2 cups mozzarella

Mix the first 10 ingredients together and let sit a couple of hours if you have the time, giving the flavours a chance to meld together. And it gives the dried tomato flakes a chance to plump up, but I imagine you could use sundried tomatoes here as well.

Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and add the tomatoes, oregano and salt. Cook on medium heat 5-10 minutes. You want them to soften but still keep their shape. Remove from heat and add the minced garlic.

Spread the sauce on the pizza dough. At this point you could add pepperoni, mushrooms, whatever you like on a pizza. But I just topped the sauce with the mozzarella.

Next add those fragrant cherry tomatoes and don't leave any garlic behind in the fry pan!

I added a few slices of sweet red pepper along the edges.

Bake at 510 F (on a pizza stone if you have one) for 8-10 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes and enjoy!

Chicken Wrap Shawarma

Of course I don't have a vertical rotisserie where I could slice the meat off as it cooks, but I tried to incorporate all the flavours of the shawarma in this wrap.

Ingredients:

1  1/2 lbs boneless chicken strips

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsps lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric

vegetable oil
1 onion sliced
tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, plain yogurt or tzatziki sauce
3 large pita

Combine the marinade ingredients and add the chicken strips. Leave in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

Heat a large skillet and add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook on medium high heat 4-5 minutes, flipping to brown all sides. 

Once cooked through remove from heat, place in a covered baking dish and keep in a warm oven on lowest temperature. Place the pitas on top for a few minutes.

Add the sliced onion to the skillet and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Lay the pitas on the counter and fill with chicken, fried onions and your favourite toppings.

Fold the bottom end up and roll the pita. Wrap with kitchen paper to hold.

Serves 3