quick update

so due to pre-orders - i have unfortunately sold out of all of my chicken pies again - sorry.
also, i made up 10 couscous, 'puttanesca' and roasted veggie dishes minus the meatballs, for those who aren't crazy about lamb and are looking for a lighter option.

this is my uber-retro looking butter chicken - i'm totally digging the tacky clashing colours.

maybe i can find a matching outfit for tomorrow...

ok, that is all, good night.

cooking up a storm

i'm a little apprehensive about the saturday market and therefore may be overcompensating by producing ridiculous amounts of food.

i've finished 60 jars of bbq sauce - i still have more to jar but i ran out of jars!!! i also have a giant vat of butter chicken with butternut squash and chickpeas, and a slightly smaller vat of lamb & feta meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce with sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives - not quite sure how i'm going to organize the fridges to fit it all...

ok here's the menu for the weekend - i'll have plenty of the fresh stuff, fishcakes & beans, sausage and cheese curd penne, but there are only a few of each of the other options...let me know if i need to reserve anything - jennadurling@hotmail.com.

fresh

butter chicken (shani's), butternut squash, chickpeas, cilantro, roasted curried cauliflower, basmati rice (serves 2) $18

lamb & foxhill feta meatballs, spicy tomato sauce, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, lemon basil couscous, zucchini, roasted peppers & onions (serves 2) $18

garlic flatbread with tzatziki/raita (serves 2) $4

cucumber salad with dill, mint, tomatoes & pickled red onions $4

frozen

lobster mac & cheese, roasted tomatoes, leek bechamel, foxhill cheese curds, panko crust $20

fishcakes & beans, salt cod, savoury, molasses & maple $12

roast pork dinner, getaway farm heritage breed, creamy mashed potatoes, gravy, honey roasted carrots $12

quiche - lorraine (3 left) or florentine (1 left) $18

chicken, leek, broccoli & bacon pies, puff pastry $5

shani's sausage & foxhill cheese curd baked penne, parmesan marinara, swiss chard, caramelized onions small $7.5 large $15

shepherd's pie, getaway beef, cheddar mash, peas & corn $7.5

spaghetti & meatballs, marinara, foxhill parmesan, basil (serves 2) $10

acadian rappi pie (only 1 left) $12

corned beef & cabbage (only 2 left) $12

soups & stews

$5 each - 500 ml portion

vegan vegetable stew

cream of broccoli & cauliflower

beet, parsnip & pear

carrot, apple, ginger

curried butternut squash (1 left)

turnip veloute

french onion with guinness & cheese

roasted pepper, tomato & sweet potato

baked beans

beef chili

seafood chowder

beef & barley

marinara sauce - for pizza or pasta...

baked

cheddar & green onion biscuits

lemon meringue tartlets

snickers brownies

chocolate, vanilla, red velvet & carrot cupcakes

oatmeal, white chocolate & cranberry cookies

chocolate & coconut macaroons

oh dear, sometimes i don't realize just how much stuff i have until i sit and write it all down... hopefully i'll see you all at the market this weekend to help me downsize this menu!

yippeee!

it's official - i now have a spot at the market for saturdays!

i'll be located at the base of the stairs down by the fish shop, the giant flower place and selwood green.

i will now be at the market on saturdays and sundays - sorry to all friday market-goers. due to health department regulations, i would change from a market vendor to a food shop if i was at the market more than two days a week and therefore i would encounter an entirely new set of regulations (aka financial investment!). down the road i'd like to be there more, but for now the weekends will have to do. i'm sorry to all friday peeps but hopefully you can make it down over the weekend and maybe we can set up a delivery if that's not a possibility.

this week i'll be doing a greek-inspired lamb meatball dish, with a spicy sundried tomato and olive sauce, grilled zucchini & peppers, and lemony couscous as one fresh option.

the other will be butter chicken from shani's farm (oh yeah the lamb is from shani's too) with chickpeas, butternut squash, roasted cauliflower and basmati rice.

i'm also going to make some flatbread with tzatziki/raita to accompany the mains.

i have tons of frozen entrees and soup plus, of course, loads of baked goodies. i'll post a more in depth menu with prices tomorrow - but i currently have about 60 bottles of bbq sauce to attend to...

saturdays - yay!

that's so corny

for st. patrick's day i decided to make a corned beef and cabbage dinner - aka boiled dinner or jig's dinner. instead of using the nitrate, sodium and preservative laden corned beef found at the grocery store, i decided to corn my own beef brisket (from getaway farm).

corned beef and cabbage is most definitely not everyone's cup of tea - the entire concept is quite foreign to most actually. i, however, really love the stuff. at the whalesbone we did a take on jig's dinner (charlotte, the chef, is a fellow east coaster), the accompaniments were classic but the protein was always fish, and since then i have had it on the brain.

when i was leaving ontario, to return home and start up the little red kitsch'n, the urban element asked me to do a workshop featuring my 'east coast faves' (the urban element  is where i used to teach cooking classes). 

the menu read as follows:

chunky clam chowder with bacon, potatoes & dill

lobster rolls with homemade mayonnaise and butter rolls

salt cod fishcakes with molasses baked beans, fried onions & green tomato chow

beer-battered seafood platter with fries and homemade tartar sauce

donair pizza (classy, i know - but we made the meat mix, dough & sauce ourselves)

acadian rappi pie

corned beef and cabbage

apple, cheddar crumbles with maple whip cream

blueberry grunt with homemade vanilla ice cream

ambitious i know, but we accomplished it all in a 5-hr class and it was super fun!

however, when i was doing the shopping for the class and sourcing ingredients, i found it virtually impossible to find awesome corned beef, the salt cod was also very challenging in ottawa - it's interesting just how regional canadian cuisine is, i guess. it was only months later that i thought to myself 'i could totally make my own, and it would probably be way better.' and that is what i did.

i brined the brisket for 14 days - flipping it regularly, then rinsed the brine, braised it overnight and cooked all of the veggies in the braising liquid. the brine is where it's at. tons of coriander seed, mustard seed, dill seed, black peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and sugar - i also added a bunch of sweet paprika to emulate the funny pink colour in the processed stuff - but that didn't work at all (frown).

ps: i am as amateur as amateur photographers come, but this is my favourite photo yet - hooray!

now, i don't fancy myself a cheeseball and i don't want to sound too 'corny', but as i was making this and tasting the broth for seasoning, all i could think was 'this tastes just like my grandfather used to make when i was a little kid.' the flavours were exactly the same and i was pretty pleased. it's sort of cool that i'm making the same meal, in the same kitchen, just 20 years later.

my yard

it was really nice out yesterday - it made me a little angry to be inside all day...

here's what my yard looks like and where i plan on growing an epic garden!

view

more view

a rock

more view - lower garden

across the water

out to sea

green things

lower garden - raised bed

the church

more view

back window

daffodils growing in a construction zone

more daffodils

what keeps me warm

more view

more view

even more view

and the view continues

ok, last one!

what's for dinner this week?

in lieu of driving myself bonkers, for this friday i'm going to make the dishes that i keep getting requests for. it seems as though the chicken/leek/bacon/broccoli pies were one of the most popular things i've ever made. also the roasted red pepper/tomato/sweet potato soup resulted in a couple of disappointed faces this weekend when i ran out. so i'm going to whip a bunch of 'repeats' fresh for friday - and skip a brand new item, to preserve my sanity (and it probably wouldn't fit in the fridge anyway).

mains

chicken, leek, bacon and broccoli pie - braised chicken with melted leeks, smoked bacon and crisp broccoli, with reduced chicken stock, and a puff pastry lid (fresh for friday)  large $15 small $5

sausage and pepper penne, shani's organic sausages, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, swiss chard, foxhill cheese curds, parmesan marinara (fresh for friday)  large $15 small $7.50

fishcakes & beans, salt cod, onions, celery, potatoes, savoury, molasses baked beans (the fishcakes will be fresh for friday but the beans are frozen - i made them last week)  $12

quiche lorraine, double smoked bacon, foxhill aged gouda, caramelized onions (fresh for friday) $18

british fish pie, sea bass, arctic char, mussels, haddock - all from the fish shop - creamy mashed potatoes, crunchy veggies (fresh for sunday) large $18 small $9

frozen

lobster mac & cheese, leek bechamel, roasted tomatoes, foxhill cheese curds, panko crust $20

shepherd's pie, getaway farm ground beef, peas, corn, cheddar mashed potatoes small $7.50 large $15 (i only have one large left)

corned beef and cabbage (i corned it myself - low salt, no chemicals!), potatoes, carrots, celery root, whole grain mustard, getaway farm beef brisket  $15

rappi pie, shani's farm chicken, sweet williams smoked turkey, caramelized onions, potatoes, salt pork $12 (i only have one left)

roast pork dinner, getaway farm heritage tamworth/berkshire pork, mashed potatoes, gravy, honey roasted carrots $12

spaghetti and meatballs, getaway beef, marinara, foxhill parmesran, basil $10

soups, stews, chowder, chili

$5 each for a 500 ml container - 2 medium servings or 1 ginormous serving

vegan vegetable stew

creamy broccoli & cauliflower

roasted red pepper, tomato & sweet potato

carrot, apple & ginger

curried butternut squash

smooth turnip veloute

french onion, with guinness and parmesan

beet, parsnip & pear

seafood chowder

beef & barley

chunky beef chili

oh dear i was just rifling through the freezer and i'm getting low on butternut squash, chowder, beet, turnip, chili and baked beans (i just made them!) so if you are dead set on any flavour let me know:

leave a blog comment, message on facebook or twitter - i'm also setting up a business e-mail so i'll put that address up soon...

baked

the cheddar and green onion biscuits have been quite popular so i'll make them for both days this week.

snickers brownies

lemon meringue tarts

oatmeal, white chocolate and cranberry cookies

red velvet cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting

vanilla cupcakes with wild blueberry cream cheese frosting

chocolate, coconut macaroons

candy of some sort - probably sponge toffee

and maybe a surprise or two...

all four of the bbq/marinade/stirfry/dipping sauces will be in effect this week - maple bourbon, sesame ginger, chipotle lime, honey mustard

i'd also like to whip up a batch of tomato sauce for pizza & pasta, but that may not happen until next week... 

you say filo, i say phyllo

so i have absolutely no idea what the difference in spelling makes - perhaps someone with greek heritage could enlighten me. what i do know is that phyllo bakes up to delectable crunchiness, is a great receptacle for yummy fillings and works equally well in both savoury and sweet applications.

so for the dinner party i did on the 9th, i made up a little amuse bouche of mushroom and goat cheese phyllo triangles. it's always nice to have a little nibbly thing to start off a dinner - at beckta, when i worked garde manger, i had to invent one everyday and sometimes 3 or more for parties, i used to obsess over them and put myself in the weeds creating ridiculous concoctions, and ended up despising them... now they are something to take the pressure off. when you're entertaining, if you have a nice platter of something for people to snack on, you can tide them over and not be as stressed out and rushing to plate the first course.

i unfortunately don't have a picture of them once baked, but instead i'll show the process.

first off you have to make the filling and it is important to let it cool before assembling triangles - otherwise it's much trickier. i chose mushroom and goat cheese (something i've been making for years - my college roomies and i found the recipe online and thought it sooo sophisticated...), you could also do spinach and feta to make it like a spanakopita, or roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, olive and caper, or nuts and honey like an individual baklava bite, or vanilla custard and wild blueberries like a strudel (something i plan on whipping up very soon...). really just make what you like and it will be fantabulous.

i've been using cremini mushrooms of late. they're meaty, flavourful and budget friendly. they are baby portobellos - so, no dark gills, and a fancier name. shiitakes, oysters, maitakes, and king eryngiis would also be great but may prove a bit more difficult to find and a bit more difficult to stomach at the cash register...

it's important to not wash mushrooms - they'll absorb the water and that does not make for a good sear. simply brush them clean and saute in a screaming hot pan with an oil and butter combo (oil for its high smoke point and butter for its flavour). also don't salt them until they are finishing cooking - salt draws out the moisture and will result in boiled, rubbery mushrooms as opposed to caramelized, tender mushrooms.

then fire them into the food processor.

this is great - you don't have to stress and waste time cutting everything up all fiddly-like. with the help of a handy-dandy food processor, it will be a beautifully smooth puree of shallots, garlic, herbs and goat's cheese - so refined...

then chill and you're ready to assemble.

phyllo can be a bit of a pain. if it dries out it cracks and crumbles and can be devastating and rage-inducing.

but if you keep it covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel it's fine. once it's dry it will disintegrate in your hands, so it makes a world of difference to take this preemptive measure.   

then you have to stick 3 sheets of phyllo together (i'm sure 2 would work but 3 is what i do). individually they are so fragile that the filling would burst through. use butter as the glue. brush it lightly on with a soft-bristled pastry brush. for this batch i used brown butter - i thought the nuttiness would pair well with the earthy mushrooms - i haven't talked to the recipient yet, but i'll report back with her analysis...

my filling sometimes still bursts through, but makes for a tasty treat for the host/hostess - sort of like the extra, baked on cheese from a grilled cheese sandwich - in my opinion, the best part!

then i cut it into 6 strips. try to make them as even as possible - i am not very good at this, as evidenced by my brownie portioning skills as well...

put a little dollop of your filling at the base of each triangle. don't go overboard - this proportion is even a bit much, but i like a high filling to pastry ratio. any more would be hard to work with and totally explode once in the oven.

then roll it up.

then brush the tops with a little butter, although i think it would also be great with a sprinkling of cheese or turbinado sugar for something sweet (epiphany), and bake at 375 until golden brown and hot in the centre.

yum.

some people frown on the use of phyllo, thinking it so 'passee', i say "whatever". it's fun, yummy and makes for convenient consumption, so go for it.