Week 16: Sourdough and yummy muffins

This week will be a quick post because Luca is napping and I have some cleaning to do. I decided to try one of the recipes from the Guilty Kitchen blog I found last week and it was excellent. I made the Brown butter whole wheat blueberry muffins and they were super yummy even though I forgot to add the sugar to the batter! It was not until the muffins were in the oven and I was putting stuff away that I realized I had not noticed the sugar sitting over there on the counter. The reason these muffins were still great was the little bit of crumble topping you put on them. With this added bit of delight you do not even need to sugar. I have included a link to the blog instead of rewriting it all here because of my lack of time. 

Brown butter whole wheat blueberry muffins

Blueberry and buttery goodness.

Also this week I made some sourdough. After living with the starter in our bedroom for a week it was time to see how it turned out. First I made some yummy sourdough pancakes. These had a very nice texture and just a hint of the "sour" flavour. Later that day I made some bread. The bread itself was very yummy although we could not taste the "sour" we would expect from sourdough bread. I was using a red fife flour that has a strong, distinct flavour so that might be the reason. It is curious because the starter itself had a very sour smell to it so??? I have decided that I will try it again in a month or so when it has warmed up a little and see if that helps.

Whole wheat sourdough pancakes with maple syrup.

Sourdough in the works...

Just a quick post to say that the sourdough starter has been put together and is now sitting in our bedroom beside the baseboard heater. It will still be a few more days before I will know how well it worked but we are getting excited, especially since the Youtube video I watched for the directions talked about sourdough pancakes!!! Here is a pic of what it looked like on Day 1. The nice lady on the video said it would be ready to go in a week so I am hoping that I will be baking some bread Sunday.

Week 15: Sicilian Scallop Salad

I thought I should provide some more background as to why this challenge is important to me. As I said before I found that I was not loving cooking any more and that is a shame especially when I love food and when we have more cookbooks then your local Chapters and I always want to buy more. 

This is our stack of cookbooks. Amazing that we sometimes can't come up with something to cook for dinner.

So far I have found that I am starting to love being in the kitchen again and most of my "free" time is spent surfing the net for new recipes, ideas and watching food network shows on Youtube;-) During my travels this week I happened across the following blog http://guiltykitchen.com/ The first thing I realized is that my blog is super lame compared to this one. She has made family and food into an art form, very inspiring. I also realized that I had found yet another resource for great recipes. I will be trying some of these out in short order. Now on to this week's dish.

One of the cookbooks that we have owned for years is from the Moosewood restaurant. This week I took a crack at the Sicilian Scallop Salad. It was a simple, yet yummy salad that would be perfect for a warm summer evening but also worked for a cool, cloudy spring night. Here is what you will need

Salad
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of dry white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
1 lb of sea scallops, large ones, cut crosswise
Mixed greens
1 red pepper, cut into rings (I cut it into lengths)
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned (I used blood oranges)

Dressing
1 cup of fresh orange juice (again I used blood oranges)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Chopped basil for garnish (chiffonade worked well)

Start by adding the wine and garlic to a saucepan and bringing it to a boil. Drop in the scallops and cook for about 5 mins. When the scallops are done remove them and reduce the sauce by simmering for about 10 mins. You want about a 1/4 cup left over. Set aside and cool the reduction.

Place the greens on a plate. Artfully arrange the peppers and the pieces of oranges. In a small bowl mix the orange and lemon juice with the oil. Add the reduced liquid and salt and pepper. Toss the scallops into the mixture and mix well. Ladle the scallops onto the greens and drizzle some of the dressing over the salad. Top with the basil and enjoy.

Mark's thoughts: Very nice salad. The blood oranges added a nice sweet quality which might not be for every one. I was amazed at how well the oranges and the basil went together. 

Jamie's thoughts: Liked it, wasn't super filling. Totally agree with Mark's comment about the oranges and basil going together. We will be eating this all summer;-)

Scallops and blood oranges how can you go wrong with that?

Weel 14: The "real" week 14 post

So after consulting the calendar I realized that I had got a week ahead of myself with my postings so this week is actually week 14. Not that is really matters, I guess, but might as well stay on track. This week I made a yummy Kabocha Squash Cake with Brown Sugar Cream once again from Epicurious. Here is what I did

Brown sugar cream

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large egg whites

I did not have enough whipping cream so I fudged it with the help of my super handy Merillat app on my iPhone which gives you all these substitutions, etc for cooking. I basically added some butter to some milk.

Dissolve the gelatin in 1Tbsp of water and let it sit for 10 mins. While the gelatin is sitting around stir the cream and sugar in a pot over medium heat until the sugar is all dissolved. Add egg whites and whisk until the mixture thickens. They say about 12 mins I whisked for about 10 and was feed up so I quit. Add gelatin and whisk some more. Pour mixture into a bowl and chill overnight. 

Now for the cake. 

2 cups 3/4-inch cubes peeled seeded kabocha squash (from one 3-pound squash)
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup lager (mild-flavored beer)
1 large egg
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add the squash, milk, vanilla bean and vanilla bean seeds to a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Partially cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until squash is very tender (20 mins). Drain and puree squash. This makes a lot of puree, so freeze the extra for another day.


Place 1/2 cup of the puree into a bowl. Add sugar, beer and egg and blend. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and beat to blend. Evenly distribute mixture among six 3/4 cup greased ramekins and cook at 375'C for 18-20 mins. 


I doubled this up and used larger ramekins and it still worked well. I also popped the cream sauce in the microwave just before we ate the cakes to heat is up a little.


Mark's thoughts: A nice surprising light dessert. The cream was excellent although I would even eat the cake without it. 


Jamie's thoughts: She liked the cake and cream but thought that it could use some more cinnamon.


Sherry's thoughts: Yummy, loved the cream sauce.


Josh's thoughts: Delicious, he could not even tell it was made with squash;-)

Cakes just out of the oven waiting to be eaten.

Weeks 12, 13 & 14: Making up for lost time

So I have been a little delinquent with my blogging and with my cooking but in one meal I feel like I made up for a bit of that. For this meal I made my own mozzarella cheese and made a so-so salad and I super yummy orzo dish. I will start with the cheese;-)

After watching some food show on Youtube and seeing someone make their own mozzarella cheese I thought "I can do that!" When I did a little search with the old Google machine I found out that not only can I do it but I must be an idiot for waiting 36 years to try it. There are countless recipes, etc out there but I decided to follow the one I found on Youtube. It starts with cheese curds and is so simple it should be illegal. I bought my curds from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks (http://www.cheeseworks.ca/) at our local farmers market. Little Qualicum makes awesome cheese so it stands to reason their curds would be good too. 

Yummy cheese curds. Where is the poutine?

To start I heated up some salted water to somewhere between 75-80'C. It is best to do this in a big pot and heat up more water then you think you will need. In a mixing bowl place several cups of the heated water and drop in your curds. After they have been sitting in the water for a few minutes they will get nice and soft so you can start mixing them together.You want to keep your water nice and warm so add more water as needed from the extra you heated up earlier. The guy on Youtube used his hands and covered them with several layers of plastic gloves I was smartass and used a wooden spoon and it worked just fine. Once you have got all your curds into one nice clump you can take it out of the water and form it into a nice round ball or multiple balls. When you are happy with the size and shape of your mozzarella drop it into a bowl of cold water to give it a firm exterior. You are now ready to enjoy your cheese.

Mozzarella hanging out in cold water bath (left) and about to be eaten (right).

Now on to the Sugar Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad I found on Epicurious. This salad seemed like it would be good and maybe it would if all the ingredients were in season and not from Mexico and China! Here is the recipe

1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon fat-free chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon walnut oil (who has walnut oil? I used olive)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

For the sauce you mash the walnuts with a mortar and pestle then add to a bowl and whisk in the lemon juice, oil, broth, cayenne and dill and add some salt and pepper to taste. 


They wanted me to quickly boil the snap peas, for 2 mins, and then shock them in some ice cold water. I did this because the snap peas were from China and clearly not fresh but I think in the summer I would just use them as is. Now throw everything into a bowl, toss and serve. 


Mark's thoughts: Not the biggest dill fan so I would leave it out next time. Overall not that good although would be willing to give it another shot in the summer with fresh veggies.


Jamie's thoughts: Looks good but the taste was disappointing. Tasted oil probably needed more nuts.

Now that I look at the picture it looks like puke on veggies.

Now on to the main course, Orzo with Grilled Shrimp, Summer Vegetables, and Pesto Vinaigrette which I also got off of Epicurious. I should really try to find another recipe resource;-) This dish was money and really how could it not be with these ingredients


8 ounces orzo (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
2 medium zucchini or summer squash (about 9 ounces total), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 red or yellow bell pepper, quartered
3 tablespoons pesto (store bought or homemade what ever you have will work)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 pound uncooked large prawns, peeled, deveined
2 heirloom tomatoes (8 to 10 ounces total), cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves plus sprigs for garnish
1 8-ounce ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (made by me!)


This is essentially a pasta salad where you could change any number of the ingredients and still have a winner. The sauce is excellent and would go well with any type of summer dish. 


To start cook the orzo then cool it down with cold water, toss with some oil and set aside. Next you are going to grill your veggies, whisk some oil and vinegar together and brush onto you veggies. Drop them onto your BBQ and grill away. The length of time needed will depend on the veggie. Once they are done chop into bite size pieces. In another bowl, whisk pesto, lime juice and remaining oil and vinegar to create your vinaigrette. In yet another bowl, toss your prawns and a couple of Tbsp of the vinaigrette. Grill your prawns quickly and throw into the bowl of orzo. Add all the rest of the ingredients and toss in the remaining vinaigrette. Serve and enjoy.


Mark's thoughts: Excellent summer dish that has endless variations.


Jamie's thoughts: Really yummy!

Delicious! Note the nice big chunk of fresh mozzarella in the upper left.