A Fry To Remember....

I confess that I'm a fry junkie..what's more indulgent than a big ol' basket of hot, salty, greasy fries with a nice cold drink? Even better served with a juicy burger or a tasty sandwich of some sort. So when I stumbled upon this incredible recipe for chickpea fries from the Rouxbe Cooking School website, I knew I had to try them. The fact that they have chickpeas in them makes me think they must be pretty healthy...right?

We actually made these last saturday night as part of our saturday night feast that we decided to make since we had no other plans. We also made incredible Po'Boy sandwiches with deep fried breaded oysters, see picture below, which was also incredible but I'll save that to blog about another day. Needless to say it was an incredible meal to remember which also prompted me to head straight to a yoga class the next day. But oh SO worth it.

Chickpea Fries with Romesco Sauce

by Dawn T at Rouxbe Recipes

1 clove of garlic

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp fresh italian parsley

1tsp fresh rosemary

1 1/4 cups chickpea flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

31/2 cups cold water

1 Tbsp kosher salt

olive oil for frying

parmesan (optional)

lemon wedges for serving (optional)

Romeso sauce for dipping (optional)

Line a 13" x 9" -inch baking tray with non-stick aluminium foil (or use a good non-stick tray) and set aside.

Next, finely grate the garlic and zest the lemon. Next, finely chop the parsley and rosemary and set aside for later.

In a large pot over high heat, combine the chickpea flour, cornmeal, water, garlic and salt. Whisk gently to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the mixture begins to thicken and bubble, reduce the heat to medium and switch to a rubber spatula. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. Next, add the parsley, rosemary and lemon zest and continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes.

Once done, pour the batter onto the prepared baking tray and quickly spread the mixture out evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours or until completely chilled and set.

To prepare the fries, first gently flip the tray over onto a cutting board. Cut the mixture lengthwise into equal sections and then cut across into pieces approximately 3" -inches long.

Next, slowly heat approximately 1/2" -inch of olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Once the oil reaches about 375˚F you are ready to start frying.

Fry the chickpea fries until they are golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Once done, remove them from the oil and set onto a cooling rack lined with paper towel. Sprinkle with kosher salt and or/freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste.

The fries before they got fried

Frying the fries

Here is the Oyster Po' Boy sandwich we ate with the fries, recipe to come another time...

another shot of these lovely fries...

and even this guy liked the fries..Success!

Apple Butter Bonanza

So it's a long weekend and it's pissing rain...what a perfect weekend for some canning I say. Although I wouldn't normally say that since I've never canned before however I had the food network on in the background this morning and saw out of the corner of my eye on "Chuck's day off" that he was whipping up a batch of apple butter and I suddenly thought what a perfect rainy day project!

Unfortunately I did not actually catch how Chuck, if that is in fact his name was making the apple butter since I think I got distracted somewhere between a dog needing to go for a walk and a 1 year old boy spilling milk all over the place. But a quick google search came up with many recipes to choose from including basic how-to canning instructions for the canning illiterate.

So after comparing many online recipes and canning instructions I decided to base my apple butter on the recipe from Simply Recipes.

Apple butter makes a perfect spread for toast, grilled sandwiches or crackers. Or even better give as a gift next time you visit a relative or friend.

Apple Butter
adapted slightly from SimplyRecipes
(makes about 4 jars)

4 lbs of granny Smith Apples
2 cups sugar
2-3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1. Cut apples into quarters and place in pot with water and vinegar.

2. Boil for about 20 minutes or until soft.

3. Remove apples from vinegar/water solution and puree in a blender or food processor.

4. At this point I strained the puree to get ride of the remaining seeds and skin from the apples.

5. Place puree back in a pot and add spices, lemon juice and lemon rind. Boil, stirring frequently for 1-2 hours or until dark in colour.

Now the Canning begins!!

Proper canning instructions can be found here but basically what I did was place 4 jars without their lids in a 420 degree F oven for 20 minutes and I washed the lids with soapy water.

Next I placed the apple butter into the jars straight from the oven and I screwed the lids on tight.

Then I placed the 4 jars into a big pot of boiling water which was deep enough to cover the lids for about 10 minutes.

According to online resources I checked the lids were now sealed. And the lids were not "popping" and so I assumed they were officially canned properly.

Dad's Cheese Scones

One of my all time favourite breakfast foods is scones...soft and fluffy on the inside with a little crunch on the outside, hot from the oven with some melted butter and sweet jam slathered on. It's always a nice way to wake up, especially if someone else has made them of course.

My dad loves to cook up a full breakfast on the weekends and scones is one of his specialties. Whenever I go to my parents for a visit he always whips up a batch of muffins or scones for us and it's always fantastic. You can tell by the recipe below that it's a goody due to the discoloured and stained paper. 

So even though I'm a terrible baker I finally decided to borrow his recipe and give it a go. I shredded in some sharp white cheddar cheese to make them savoury but you could easily use the recommended currants that the recipe suggests. This recipe is pretty foolproof since they worked out well even for me. Enjoy!

Cheese Scones

from the archives of Richard Wey

1/3 cup butter or margarine

13/4 cup flour

3 Tbsp sugar

21/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup shredded cheddar (or currants)

4 to 6 Tbsp cream (I used homo milk)

1 egg

Using 2 knives and a medium size bowl, cut the butter into the bowl until crumbly. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Stir in beaten eggs and currants (or cheese). Add cream gradually and mix in. 

Using a floured surface, knead about 12 times. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut in shapes and put on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Brush each with a beaten egg. 

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Garlicky Roasted Squash

A few weeks ago while I was visiting my family on Vancouver Island for Thanksgiving, I brought over a bunch of squash to add to the feast, see pretty picture above. I'm trying to recall what type of squash these were but alas I was completely distracted by the dazzling array of colours of the bounty of produce at the Burnaby Farmer's Market and so I regret that I did not noticed their names. 

Anyway, after some discussion on how to prepare the squash we decided to roast them very simply but in a tasty way that cannot be beat. I was inspired by my sister Ashley's method of roasting butternut squash which I've drooled over on many an occasion. A big thanks to my other sister Melody for doing the grunt work of all the chopping! The most labour intensive part without a doubt. 

Roasted Squash (serves 6-8 people)

Cooking time: about 45 minutes

3 small squash cut up into 1 inch cubes

coat with olive oil

6 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Variations: add fresh thyme, sage or other fresh herbs. A bit of maple syrup to make it sweeter perhaps?

Combine squash, olive oil to coat and minced garlic in a large baking tray. Add salt and pepper to your preference. Cook at 375 for 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 

Fresh Pasta

Sorry for the delay in posts people...I've been run ragged these past few weeks with my return to work, really hoping I can get into the swing of things soon though. So unfortunately its been mostly take-out and quick as possible type meals during the weeknights lately but I'm sincerely hoping to change that soon with a little better planning. Any suggestions?

Anyway, we made this fantastic fresh pasta last weekend when we had some actual time, so I decided to take some pics and show the results. There's something very satisfying about making fresh pasta from scratch..it just tastes better somehow.

We have a really old fashioned pasta roller given to us once which requires two sets of hands since it cannot be bolted to a table..so one person to hold the pasta maker still and the other person to feed the pasta through. A little labour intensive I'll admit, but after some practice it can be done quickly. If you're lucky enough own a pasta roller that can be bolted to a table I suspect this job may be slightly easier.

I used Gwyneth Paltrow's fresh pasta recipe from My Father's Daughter which called for what I initially thought was an outrageous amount of eggs...TEN! I can feel my arteries already starting to clog! But I can say for sure the results were well worth the rise in blood cholesterol.

For a sauce we used this quick tomato sauce and then grilled some prawns on top and finished it off with with freshly graded parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. What could be better I ask? Add a glass of red wine and it's a feast.

Fresh Pasta
From Gwyneth Paltrow's My Fathers Daughter


2 organic large eggs
10 organic large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups 00 pasta flour
or 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour,
plus more for kneading and dusting

Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in a bowl. Put flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork slowly bring in flour and knead by hand until a nice dough forms. Add more flour if needed.

Next take you pasta machine. Cut dough into 8 pieces and roughly form rectangles and dust each rectangle with flour. Start on your widest setting and gradually go from widest to thinnest. Eventually put through the linguini setting or whatever side of noodle you prefer.

Place on a counter or wrap with plastic wrap. Cook soon after.

Happy Birthday To My Little Bear!

I just wanted to share the cake I just made for my little guy's first birthday. I'm kinda just a little proud of myself. This may be the first cake I've ever made, and yes it was from a box and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Thank you Mr. Duncan Hines! In my defence I didn't feel like spending my last day of mat leave slaving away in the kitchen. Can you blame me?

Tomorrow I head back to work where I sincerely hope I will remember how to do my job as an EEG tech. My good friend Ashley Faris told me a year ago that I couldn't forget it even if I tried. I sure hope she's right. So wish me luck tomorrow on my first day as a full-time working mom.

I started this blog while on mat leave to as way to maintain my sanity and do something for myself. And so even though I'll be busy while I'm back at work I hope to still share my cooking adventures with you all in my spare moments. Please don't forget to leave comments! It always brightens my day:)

Take care all!

xox Lorelei

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

So it's no secret around here that I'm a big Jamie Oliver fan,  I may have mentioned him once or twice. So you can just imagine my excitement when my good friend Lena told me that he has a new show called Jamie's 30-minute meals. How exciting is that?

The main idea of his show is to be able to cook a full meal in well under 30 minutes. And by meal he actually means a main course, a side, usually a salad and a dessert as well. After watching several episodes I think it may be slightly ambitious to think I could do all that in under 30 minutes while also watching a 1 year old so I decided to start small and cook a main course from one of his episodes cauliflower mac and cheese - a healthy twist on the comfort food classic. 

So I gathered my ingredients and set things up beforehand like he suggests - kettle full of water and set on boil, pans out, chopping block and knives ready and food processor out and ready to go. I was ready as I would ever be. So I set my timer and went to work. I was fairly surprised when I managed to get the dish into the oven in about 11 minutes flat. Wow! I didn't think I had it in me. And it was cooked and ready to eat in about another 15 minutes as well. So it is possible to make a meal quickly afterall.

I made a few variations from Jamie's recipe - he puts crispy bacon into the topping which I omitted, although I'm sure that would make the topping even better. He also used creme fraiche which I could not find at my local grocery store and so I substituted in plain, thick greek yogurt. Also, I apologize big time for giving measurements in weights but unfortunately that is what Jamie did on the show. Sadly I don't own a kitchen scale and so I approximated the weights based on the weight given on the front of the package. 

Nonetheless, the end result was a yummy, creamy mac and cheese with a healthy twist  of added cauliflower. I ended up making 2 small pans and froze the second pan (uncooked) for another evening when I don't have 30 minutes:)

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (serves 6)

adapted slightly from Jamie Oliver's 30-minutes-meals

200g cheddar

a handful of fresh basil (fresh oregano or thyme would also work well)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

250g plain greek yogurt

about 2 cups starch water from the pasta

4 slices old bread

salt and pepper

1 head cauliflower (quartered)

1 package whole wheat macaroni

1. Fill Kettle with water and turn on. Once water is boiled add to a pan with quartered cauliflower and the package of macaroni. Cook together until pasta is almost cooked. Remove pasta and cauliflower and keep starchy water that it cooked in.

2. Meanwhile, make the bread topping - In a food processor place your bread, 1 clove garlic, handful of basil (or other fresh herb), olive oil, pepper and pulse until you have a nice crumbly like consistency.

3. Place cooked pasta and caulflower into a baking pan and next use a potato masher and quickly mash the cauliflower slightly to break it up.

4. Add to your pasta in the baking pan the 250g yogurt, 200g cheddar also grated in the food processor (if you have that attachment), 1 clove minced garlic and add 1 cup of the leftover starch water that the pasta cooked into. Stir until you have a nice creamy consistency. Add more starchy water if you need it. I used about 2 cups I think.

5. Spread crumb topping on top and cook at 375 degrees until the cheese starts to bubble.