not enough days

so, i'm pretty certain that there needs to be 8 days in a week instead of 7. i'm not sure who i need to talk to about this, but it would certainly make things a lot less hectic around here.

this week has been one of the most insane since i started this business. on monday, there was an order of cupcakes for a friend's arbonne event at the hub. and then a delivery of gluten-free desserts to bramoso pizzeria - that's right my sweets are always on the menu there! then i was gearing up for the market with two new main courses. then i catered the public engagement session at the market last night - nothing too insane, dips, veggies, cupcakes and cookies for 100 people.

then i woke up really early this morning to make toasted coconut cupcakes filled with coconut custard & topped with chocolate buttercream. a neighbour picked them up at 6:45(!!!) to head in to the dal faculty club for an event this evening.

and there's still 2 more special orders, 2 more deliveries to make & 2 more days at the market before i can chill out. dear monday, i can't wait until we're reunited.

okee dokee, enough griping & back to what's important - the food!

this week was a pasta sort of week. i've had a lot of requests lately to make vegetarian lasagna. i have a vegan one on the menu but the vegetarians are craving the ooey, gooey gratification of melted cheese. this one is loaded up with parmesan, asiago, ricotta & mozzarella. the tomato sauce is packed with lots of hearty vegetables & parmesan. then it's layered with ricotta, swiss chard, kale, herbs & garlic.

then it's topped with more sauce, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella & asiago.

these ones were an epic undertaking.

small $10 large $20

the second main course is still in production. it's something i've made in the past & is back by popular demand - chicken parmigiana. i used boneless, skinless chicken breasts from shani's farm; marinated them in buttermilk, herbs & garlic; breaded them with a panko-parmesan mixture & roasted them in the oven. they're smothered in a non-traditional marinara sauce complete with roasted red peppers, spinach, herbs & a splash of balsamic. then topped with mozzarella, parmesan & asiago cheese & served with fettuccine. since i'm not finished yet, i don't have any current photos but here's what they looked like last time.

cheese-tastic!

small $10 large $20

the salads will be beet, broccoli, quinoa & sweet potato this week. the quinoa will be the version with radishes & asparagus. the rest will be the usual. if you ever have any ideas or suggestions please let me know - i'm getting so bored making these every week!

i've also been promising new flavours of bbq sauce for weeks, alas i have still not gotten around to making any. once the 8-day week comes in to effect maybe i'll have time ;)

the sweets are also the usual suspects. i just ran out of eggs though, so i don't think i'll have any gluten-free cupcakes tomorrow, but everything else will be there. i also made a little tweak to the goat's milk fudge. it had cow butter in it before, but i've noticed that a lot of the people interested in it have cow dairy allergies. so...

i got me some goat butter from planet organic - unfortunately rancher acres doesn't make it. it doesn't taste much 'goatier' but i did notice it has an even creamier texture now. i am so addicted to the stuff it's ridiculous!

ok back to the grind. see you all over the weekend.

ps: they ripped out the main staircase at the market & moved the information desk to right beside me - maybe now everyone will stop asking me where the bathroom is.

balls!

this week i picked up 20 pounds of meat from getaway farm & got to work making mountains of meatballs. there's either pork or beef & both new main course options are gluten & dairy free... and low-sodium in case you missed yesterday's blog post!

i started off with moroccan beef meatballs. they're filled with garlic, fresh herbs, sumac & cumin. they're bathed in a piquant tomato sauce with olives, dates, fennel seed, ginger, roasted red peppers, zucchini & kale. the side dish is harissa quinoa with toasted almonds, green onions & lemon. there's a lot going on with this one.

small $10 large $20

then i got to work on sweet & sour pork meatballs. i've made these once before & they sold like crazy! hopefully lightening strikes twice. so the balls themselves are based on a vietnamese banh mi - so lots of garlic, ginger, coriander, lime, chillies & a touch of chinese 5-spice.

the sauce is tomato based sweet & sour with a touch of tamari and thickened with cornstarch to keep it gluten-free. it's bright & colourful with bell peppers, carrots, celery & pineapple. then it's paired with basmati rice and a few green onions.

small $10 large $20

this week i also made a batch of hearty chicken stew with shani's farm chicken. it's packed with veggies too - potatoes, parsnips, turnips, celery root, carrots, celery, peas & herbs. the base is homemade, overnight chicken stock so it's loaded with flavour.

$7 for 500ml

the salad varieties this week will be beet, broccoli, sweet potato & regular potato. there won't be any ground-breaking changes, but there will be plenty of vegan & gluten-free options.

the sweets will also be the same this week. oh & a quick note on goat's milk fudge - it's made with goat milk but there is also cow butter in it, just so anyone with allergies is aware. hopefully this week i can get my hands on some goat butter and do a test run with that for next week.

ok time to boogie, i have two special order cakes added to my prep list today acckkkkkkk!

see you over the weekend... hopefully this storm is just weather network propaganda but i am happy my snow tires are still on.

a little healthier

as a chef, getting the seasoning right is kind of a big deal. i have only ever worked in restaurants where there were no salt & pepper shakers on the table and it was an affront to the kitchen to ask for them. i'm accustomed to tasting things over & over as i cook, adjusting along the way until it's just right.

that's changing.

don't worry, i'll still be tasting everything, but reaching for more citrus or spices or herbs instead of the salt to get things right. it's official, little red kitsch'n is going low-sodium.

i started doing biweekly deliveries of meals to a gentleman on a reduced sodium diet. enough food for lunch & dinner everyday, so i'm taking it pretty seriously. i like to think that my food was never 'salty' but i certainly never shied away from it either. diamond crystal kosher salt & i go way back but we're having a bit of a breakup.

the way i figure it, i'm not cooking in a restaurant anymore. people are enjoying my food in the comfort of their own homes & can add salt at their own discretion. everyone's palate is a little bit different... and these days it seems everyone's dietary restrictions are a little bit different. i guess this change makes my food more accessible to some without alienating any.

i would never in a million years use a knorr product or store-bought stock with are salt havens. the fact that everything i make is from scratch has always helped reduce the sodium in my meals, but now i'm making the conscious effort to not reach for the salt. it's a challenge & it's forcing me to be more creative. like when i cook vegan, i have to be more inventive & thoughtful because i can't just rely on cream or butter to make it taste delicious. i'm finding the same goes for salt.

so if you notice a bit of a difference in the taste of my food, that's why. we also build up a tolerance to salt in food. hopefully, we'll all ween ourselves off of it & not even miss it. but for now, i won't be offended if you add a little salt.

menu time

it has been another jam-packed week around here. i've added biweekly deliveries. last night i catered a cocktail party until the wee hours. and i still had all of my regular market prep to do. thankfully, i was pretty organized and only have frostings left to make - yay sleep!

you wouldn't know it to look outside right now, but summer is on its way. this week i incorporated a lot of my favourite bbq flavours into my cooking - cumin, lime, cilantro & chipotle. 

my bbq sauce selection has been nonexistent for the past two weeks so i restocked the chipotle lime. it's not crazy spicy but does have a bit of a kick & works really well with just about anything from burgers to chicken to salmon to... there are small & large jars available. 

small=250ml for $5 large=500ml for $7.50

my timing was spot on as well since this week's new main course is chipotle chicken. i super slow-roasted chicken with lots of herbs & spices. then i shredded the meat, removed any fat & mixed in lots of bbq sauce. it's served over rice with black bean & corn succotash and then everything gets topped with pepperjack cheese.

comme ca:

small $10 large $20

after a very long absence vegan chili has also made its way back on to the menu. it's chock full of flavour & you won't miss the meat. there are bell peppers, onions, garlic, chick peas, kidney beans, black beans, corn, chipotle, pickled chillies, lime & cilantro. it's packaged like a soup & you get great bang for your buck with this one.

$7/500ml

all the salads are packed up & ready to go. i made beet, broccoli & sweet potato which are all pretty much the same as usual. this week i threw a quinoa salad in to the mix as well. it has a lot of springtime flavours with radishes, asparagus, fresh herbs & lemon (vegan & gluten-free as well).

last weekend was my zaniest yet when it comes to cupcakes. 

easter was bananas! trouble is my brain is still stuck on easter & i think i baked too many cupcakes for a regular weekend - oops.

flavours are:

vanilla

lemon-blueberry

red velvet-raspberry

pink grapefruit

carrot-maple

banana-peanut butter

double chocolate

chocolate-mint

paleo chocolate-coconut

yeesh.

the rest of the assortment remains the same & don't forget the goat's milk fudge.

i just made 2 kilos of it!!! one brick is destined for obladee & i'll have the other with me at the market. i've been slicing it to order so it doesn't dry out. a slice is comparable to a mini cupcake & priced the same @ $1 each.

okee dokes, a few finishing touches & then sleep time. see you over the weekend!

joel plaskett

so i'm not quite 100% ready for the market & i blame joel plaskett for that. this sounds a little bizarre but let me explain. last weekend i decided to head to the market today (good friday) and skip easter sunday. however i bought my joel plaskett tickets weeks ago & wasn't going to miss his concert last night. i'm so glad i didn't, he put on a great show at the olympic centre - aka the place you can find me may 4-5 for the halifax crafter's spring sale.

by adding my night off to an already reduced week, it feels like i lost a day & a half of prep time. i'm sort of surprised at what i was able to accomplish. i'm just missing broccoli salad & large grapefruit cupcakes. not gonna lie, i was making frosting until 1 in the morning after the show. lucky for me, friday market hours are from 10-5 so i've got a few extra hours this morning. i'll be there at the usual time tomorrow from 7-4 & i'll make broccoli salad when i get home tonight :)

ok, so new on the menu this week is a giant batch of chicken pies. they're a slight variation on the usual chicken pies i make. i took the broccoli out & replaced it with root vegetables so it's more like a traditional chicken pot pie. so there's chicken (from shani's farm), bacon, leeks, turnips, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, b. sprouts & peas. it's in a rich chicken sauce with lots of herbs & a touch of lemon. then, just like usual, it gets topped with a puff pastry lid.

small $10 large $20

apologies, but in my haste this week i didn't take a single picture :(

i also made a fresh batch of beef stew using getaway farm beef. this one has all the usual fixin's and this batch i actually fortified with some guinness. i'm not a beer fan so it's definitely not an overpowering taste, but it does add great richness & colour.

just like all the soups, it's $7/500ml

there are three salads on the menu at the moment - potato, sweet potato, beet - and i'll have broccoli salad in time for the market tomorrow. they are all pretty much identical to last week. i completely sold out so i figured i'd try that mix again.

then for sweets, there are loads of cupcakes this weekend & they'll all be decorated with colourful easter treats...i may have gone a little overboard at the bulk barn last night. there'll also be cookies, cheesecakes, squares, brownies & goat's milk fudge. the fudge has been a huge hit & the cross-promotion with obladee has been fantastic for business!

ok time to finish up some odds & ends, pack the car & head in for the day.

hope to see you all either today or tomorrow.

happy easter!

spring has sprung

we may have woken to snow, but the rest of the day certainly felt like spring. 

it was pushing 30 degrees in my kitchen all day with the sun streaming in & look, the rhubarb's starting to pop up.

i'm not a rhubarb fan, but i love watching it grow. it looks like alien babies hatching! i think most of this year's crop will be donated to jitterbug sodas, i think they'll be able to put it to much better use than me.

the sunshine also put me in a salad kind of mood. i know i make salads every friday, but most weeks i hate doing it. this week was different, they were reminding me of bbq season, picnics & beach bods ;) i made sweet potato, regular potato, broccoli & beet.

the sweet potato is the usual concoction, but i added black beans & corn to give it even more of a southwest vibe.

it's vegan & gluten-free, same as the regular potato salad which has beans, fennel, radishes, celery & fresh herbs. the broccoli & beet salads are my standards. the beet has become the #1 bestseller & there was a bit of uproar last weekend when i skipped the broccoli!

$5/375ml container

this week i also restocked a couple staples. first up was a pretty monumental batch of beef shepherd's pies. it's made with getaway farm's grass-fed beef. the meat is cooked up with lots of veggies - onions, carrots, peas, corn, mushrooms - and a tangy 'bbq-esque' type sauce. then it gets topped with cheddar & green onion mashed potatoes. this one is really popular with young families because the kids dig it.

small $10 large $20

i also cooked a pretty massive batch of seafood chowder.

i don't know why i have an obsession with filling pots to critical levels, but i do. if only you could see how hilarious i look trying to get it from the prep table to the fridge without spilling or throwing out my back... good times. per usual, it's a clam broth base with mussels, haddock, smoked haddock & tilapia. i certainly miss the fish shop at the market, but there's goldwater seafood in the centre court now for all your fish needs.

$7/500ml container

there are loads of other soups & stews in the freezer right now too:

carrot/apple/ginger

curried butternut squash

beet, parsnip & pear

white bean, lemon & kale

miso mushroom

indian spiced cauliflower

roasted red pepper, tomato & sweet potato

baked beans

beef stew

turkey stew

chicken stew

i think i dozen flavours might be enough, but if you ever have a particular craving or earth-shattering idea, please let me know, i'm always looking for inspiration.

as far as sweets go, there's lots of everything - as usual. i think one day i might show up to the market without any sweets at all. it might be bad for business in the short term, but so many people don't even realize all of the savoury stuff i make because they're totally distracted by the table full of goodies! 

the goat's milk fudge has been a hit at obladee & there's been lots of twitter buzz. i make it in bread pans now so i literally sell it by the brick! i'll have some on hand at the market but it gets pretty soft at room temperature so make sure to ask.

this week i also whipped up a special order lemon-blueberry cake.

and it has lots of fresh blueberries hiding inside.

early in the week, i took the first baby steps in designing a REAL website where i'll be able to have ordering information, pricing, flavours & all that useful stuff in a convenient location instead of making things up off the top of my head!

it'll be www.littleredkitschn.com

& for now if you have any inquiries, e-mail me at jenna@littleredkitschn.com

ok that's all for now, see you over the weekend at the market & don't forget cupcake happy hour from 2-4pm on sunday.

happy spring!

last minute update

it's a little later than anticipated. for a change i went out for dinner on a friday night & needless to say, it's now looking like i've got a long night ahead of me.

on a more positive note, i went to boondocks out in eastern passage where peter boudreau, previously of the fish shop, is now at the helm. had myself some wings, saganaki & a getaway farm grass-fed beef burger. it's perfect for a nice mellow night with friends and it's going to be a great hangout in the summer when the patio opens up!

unfortunately now that i have food coma, i have to get back to work. there are still a couple salads & all the frostings to make. all the frozen grub is ready to go though.

this week's new main course is perhaps my favourite yet. i've been thinking about it for awhile and this week it all came together. i started off with 15 pounds of getaway farm beef brisket. then i braised it overnight in red wine. the next day i shredded it, like you would a pulled pork, and removed most of the fat. i sauteed off loads of mushrooms with a splash of balsamic vinegar. i cooked cubed turnips, parsnips, celery & sundried tomatoes in the beef jus. then i stirred in dollops of gorgonzola & kale. the end result looks like this:

then i topped it with a puff pastry lid & finished the whole thing off with a light eggwash. this is some serious stick-to-your-ribs good food.

large $22 small $11

also from the freezer i have:

pork & sweet potato pies

asian-inspired pulled pork

chicken, leek, broccoli & baco pies

turkey curry

turkey & dressing pies

chipotle turkey

beef shepherd's pies

fishcakes & baked beans

braised italian beef with polenta

swiss chard & artichoke pasta

vegan lasagna

vegan curry

lentil shepherd's pies

some items i just have left in the small size & some are almost out, so make sure to come early & get your orders in.

i also whipped up a new batch of the beet, parsnip & pear soup. this one is vegan, gluten-free & by far the most psychedelic item on my menu.

it's funny too because this one is a pretty unusual flavour, but it's become my best seller behind seafood chowder - who knew?

$7/500mL container

for salads this week, i brought back a couple of old favourites. the quinoa & sweet potato salads are making their triumphant returns.

the quinoa is the version with shaved fennel, kalamata olives, arugula, pink grapefruit & red onion. the sweet potato has the usual avocado, bell pepper, tomato, chipotle, lime & cilantro combination.  i'll also have the beet salad & i'm still on the face about the broccoli salad, maybe it needs a week off.  also, there's a little bit of a change with the salads to container has gotten a little smaller but the price is staying the same at $5. don't hate me, but they're A LOT of work!

and i guess i couldn't forget st. patrick's day. i'll have bailey's irish cream & guinness cupcakes this weekend & lots of green shamrock sprinkles. the other cupcake flavours are vanilla, pink grapefruit, red velvet, carrot, chocolate & paleo choco-coconut. i skipped the lemon & banana ones this week but they'll be back soon.

and don't forget, my goat's milk fudge is now on the menu at obladee. randy from rancher acres is actually going on vacation & won't be at the market tomorrow, but he is so thoughtful he's sending along the goat's milk i'll need with a neighbouring farmer and called me today to let me know - you don't get service like that at the grocery store!

ok back to work...probably going to need some super loud music to power through this one!

ps: i was really debating whether or not to come in on sunday. i have decided to brave it & go in. please, please, please make it worth my while & don't just spend the WHOLE day at the bar ;)