Campfire Roasted Root Vegetables

Another camp fire thanksgiving special!

This one is easy, but I warn you, most of the ingredients were not measured, we made this at the campsite so it was very much thrown together.

Ingredients

• 8-10 brussell sprouts cut in half
• 1 baby turnip 
• 4 small-medium sized carrots. (we used the various colored ones we found at farm boy to add to the mix)
• 2 parsnips
• 4-5 whole shallots
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 bulb garlic, each clove cut in half's or quarters
• fresh rosemary to taste
• fresh thyme to taste
• fresh sage to taste
• fresh oregano to taste
• salt & pepper to taste
• drizzle of honey or maple syrup (about 2-3 Tbsp)
• sprinkle of brown sugar (about 2-3 Tbsp)
• a few knobs of butter

Chop up all of the vegetables into similarly sized chunks. Place in a roasting pan and toss in herbs, garlic, and salt and pepper.

Drizzle honey on top and sprinkle with brown sugar. top it all off with a few knobs of butter, and cover with foil.
Thrown it on the camp fire (or in the oven probably around 350-375F)
Stir occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. remove the foil when they seem about 3/4 done. Cook until all of the vegetables are golden brown

And don't forget to enjoy a nice cold beer while they cook! We found this awesome pumpkin beer, and it was just so seasonal and wonderful we couldn't help but buy it.

Enjoy!

Snowy Mashed Potatoes

So what is the ONE thing that no thanksgiving dinner can go without?!
Mashed potatoes of course! I have the ultimate recipe!!

This is a family recipe that will always be a part of my thanksgiving dinner! Like I mentioned in my last post, Dan and I went camping for Thanksgiving and let me tell you, it was well worth the chilly nights snuggling with the dogs. If you have never done Thanksgiving by the camp fire, you are truly missing out.
I made these potatoes ahead of time and brought them with us to cook over the camp fire, the smokey taste that the camp fire added was wonderful. FYI they also freeze well.
Now like many family recipes... these mashed potatoes are far from healthy, but for a holiday meal, that doesn't matter.

Ingredients 

This makes a huge batch, but trust me, the left overs will be gone before you know it.

• 12 medium russet potatoes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg separated
• 1-8oz package of cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1 bulb roasted garlic
• a dash of paprika 

Boil potatoes until softened, then drain. Mash the potatoes.
Mix remaining ingredients together except egg, using only 1/4 cup of the butter. Add to the potatoes.
Add 1 slightly beaten egg yolk and mix thoroughly.
Beat egg white until stiff then fold into potatoes.
Place the potatoes into a well greased, 10 cup casserole dish. Sprinkle some paprika on top and cubes of the remaining 1/4 cup of butter.
Cover with foil (at this point it can be refrigerated, or frozen)
Bake for 30 min on 350F or until heated through.

 

Enjoy!

Roast Autumn Vegetable Soup

A little more fall cooking!! Dan and I went camping for thanksgiving, this soup was not only the perfect light lunch before a huge dinner, but also a great way to warm up in the cooler weather. I made this ahead, and brought it with us.

For some reason, food made or even reheated over the fire tastes so much better.

Be creative with this soup, use any autumn veggies you like!! Throw in some different kinds of squash, pumpkin, anything you like!

Ingredient

• 1 medium sized butternut squash
• 1/2 an acorn squash
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 bulb roasted garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 leek, white and light green part only thinly sliced
• 2-3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup light cream
• salt & pepper to taste
• Sour cream, to serve
• Dried parsley, to serve
• ground nutmeg, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350F
Chop the squash and sweet potatoes into large chunks. Place the squash and sweet potato on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 35-40 min or untill softened and slightly browned around the edges.

Heat the 2 Tbps of olive oil in a large pot. Cook the onions and leaks and ground cumin for 2 min. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 3 min more, stir frequently. Add the roasted squash and sweet potato and the stock.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 min.

Add roasted garlic and puree with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Add cream and season with salt and pepper. Reheat gently on the stove without bringing it to a boil.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with parsley and nutmeg.
Don't skip out on the sour cream on top, it adds a lot to the flavor not to mention the presentation.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Rigatoni

There is nothing quite as wonderful as fall cooking. I love everything about fall, the temperature, the weather, the leaves, the food... especially the food.
This is the first fall dish I have made this year, and is there a better ingredient to use then pumpkin?

This pasta was incredibly simple, and equally delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced
• 1 kg pumpkin, diced
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 500g rigatoni
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• parsley (optional)
• Parmesan cheese

Toast pine nuts in a toaster over for a few minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on them as they will burn very quickly.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the leek, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 min. Add the pumpkin and nutmeg, cover and cook for 8 min.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, and drain.
Add the cream and 1/4 cup of water to the pumpkin and bring to a boil. Cook while stirring occasionally for 8 min or until the pumpkin is tender. Mix the pasta and sauce together and toss in half of the pine nuts.
top with remaining pine nuts, some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and parsley.

Enjoy!!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Okay so Post #2 of cookies, so I am sure you can imagine what our kitchen looks like right now. Filled with dozens and dozens of cookies. Can you ever really have enough though?
These oatmeal cookies are incredible. There is something about warm soft and chewy homemade oatmeal cookies that store bought just can't beat.
This again is my moms recipe! She gets credit for a lot of my favorite recipes.
Try these cookies, you will be hooked.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup margarine or 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with 1tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups of oats (not quick oats)
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F
Mix sugar, margarine, milk, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Form dough into 1 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 min (or until edges begin to brown)
Remove the cookies (still on the parchment paper) immediately from cookie sheet.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are one of those all time childhood favorites. This is my moms recipe for chocolate chip cookies, to date I have not found a better recipe.


Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla (though I usually use 2)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F
With a hand mixer combine margarine, brown & white sugar, and vanilla till creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Combine flour, baking powder & soda, and salt, then add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Using a spoon drop batter onto an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 min or until sides are starting to brown a little bit.

Now poor yourself a giant glass of cold milk and enjoy

Pesto Baked Tomatoes

More goods that came of our farmers market trip.

These are very simple but full of flavor and a great side, or salad topper.

Pesto Baked Tomatoes 
preheat over to 425F

• 2 large ripe tomatoes
• 1/3 cup of pesto (recipe here)
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan 
• 1 large garlic clove- sliced
• pepper
• olive oil

Drizzle olive oil over a baking sheet. Cut tomatoes into thick slices and place them in a single layer on the oiled baking sheet. Place some garlic on to each tomato slice then spread some pesto ontop and grind some pepper over top. Top each tomato with some grated parmesan. Place the tomatoes in the oven for 20 min then broil for a 1-2 minutes until slightly browned on top. Let the tomatoes stand for 5 min. I am warning you,  these are a bit messy and don't come off the pan in a perfect shape but they are definitely tasty and worth it.

ENJOY!

Sesame Ginger Green Beans

On Sunday we stopped at a farmers market close to where we live. I love going to the market, the produce just taste so much better.
Anyways Dan and I bought a whole bunch of veggies, one of those things was green and yellow beans.
Fresh green beans are the best, and just remind me of summer as a kid picking them out of my grampa`s garden. Last night I wanted to cook with them but decided to try something more then just steaming them.

  

Sesame Ginger Green Beans

• 1 lb fresh green and yellow beans
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 large garlic cloves- minced
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 large yellow onion sliced into match sticks
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce (T&T sells vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds

The trick to stir frying is to cook fast, and at a high heat.
Before you even turn on the stove, make sure everything you need is ready, so you can just throw it in.
Clean you beans and set aside.
Place a wok on the stove and turn the heat on to med-high to high. Let the wok heat up for a minute or so then add your vegetable oil. Next toss in the onions, garlic, and ginger and allow to cook for 30-45 seconds keep stirring while they cook. Add the beans and cook for 2 min stirring often. Add the water, cover and let cook for another 5 min. Add the oyster sauce and salt, cook for another 2 min. Turn off heat, add the sesame oil and seeds. Toss one last time and serve. Garnish with more sesame seeds.
This dish was a really quick and simple side dish, and the left overs made a fantastic lunch the next day.

ENJOY!

The Best Potato's You Will Ever Have!

   

Okay so I have a confession...

I LOVE POTATO'S! In any shape or form. Mashed, roasted, fried, boiled, baked. you name it!

Well I have yet  to find an absolutely delicious recipe for roast potato's, 

Until now!

Parmesan Roast Potatoes 

Preheat the oven to 400F

• 6 medium potato's
• 4 tbsp  olive oil 
• 2 large garlic cloves - minced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 5-6 tbsp parmesan 

Wash and dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Poor the olive oil and garlic over the potato cubes and toss to coat.
Mix the garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and parm together. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the potatoes and use your hands to mix and coat the cubes.

Place in a greased baking dish/pan and cook for 45min- 1hour or until brown and crispy (take them out 2-3 times while cooking and shake them around a bit to prevent them from sticking.

ENJOY!

Peach Cobbler

Peaches are in season and I couldn't resist buying a basket of them. But with only 2 people in the house and having peaches so perfectly ripe I was worried about them going bad. What better way to use peaches then peach cobbler.

The only thing that I was missing that would have made this absolutely perfect was vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients
serves 4-6

• 12 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 

• 1 cup all-purpose white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/3-1/2 cups boiling water

MIX TOGETHER:

• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 Preheat oven to 425 F

To easily peel peaches cut a small x into the flesh with a pairing knife

 

Then place the peaches into a large bowl and poor boiling water over top. Have a bowl of ice water ready and after the peaches have sat in the boiling waiter for 40sec-1min take them out with a slotted spoon and place them in the ice water. The skin should now be loose and easy to pull off.

In a large bowl, combine pealed chopped peaches, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a baking dish. Bake the peaches in preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

My peaches were really juicy and ripe

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with a fork, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined. 

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with cinnamon sugar. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. 

Sushi Sushi Sushi

Yum I love sushi, and making it is so much fun! This was my very first time making sushi. Dan and I had been planning a trip to Japan which had been booked for this past April, just a few weeks after the devastating earth quake hit. We ended up canceling our trip in hopes of going at a later time. We are hoping to have the chance to go this coming year but until then, this sushi will have to do!

Who says sushi has to have fish? Vegetarian sushi can be so delicious, making your own sushi is a great way to mix and match different veggies and sauces and have a better variety then you will find at a lot of sushi places.

What you will need

• Sushi rice *picture below*
  
• Nori (sea-weed wrap)
• Inari abura age (marinated tofu pouches)  *picture below*
  
• Kewpie (this is that mayo stuff they use in sushi) *picture below*
• Siriacha hot chili sauce *picture below*
• Blackened sesame seeds (optional)
• Panko crumbs
  
• Vegetables of your choice (I suggest)
  

• cucumber
• carrot
• avocado
• sweet potato
• green onion
• asparagus
• enoki mushrooms *picture below*

Dan and I went to T&T before making our sushi. T&T is a huge Asian grocery store in Ottawa, it has everything you will ever need for any sort of Asian cooking. We love this store so much that every time we go we set aside a few hours so we can really explore everything they have. If you live in Ottawa you have to check this place out.

How to make sushi rice
(we had to double this recipe)

• 1 1/3 cups japanese short grain sushi rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 postcard size piece of kombu (optional)
• Vinegar mixture
• 4 tbsp japanese rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Place the dry rice in a sieve and submerge in a large bowl of water. Wash the rice thoroughly then dump the milky water. Repeat this step until the water stays clear, drain the water and let the rice stand for 30 min.
If you are using the kombu break it into a few large pieces.
Place the washed rice and water in a pot and add the kombu. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. do not lift the lid at all while rice is cooking. Once the rice has come to a boil turn the heat down to low (or 1) and let simmer for 10 min. Once the rice is finished cooking you can pick out the kombu and throw it out.
Heat the ingredients for the vinegar in the microwave for 30 sec. Make sure the salt and sugar are dissolved, but do not let it boil.
transfer the rice to a large bowl and a little bit at a time add the vinegar mixture while stirring the rice. Continue to stir the rice until it has cooled to room temperature.

How to make Spicy Mayo

• 1 Tbs mayo (if you don't have Kewpie regular mayo will work too)
• 1 tsp Siriacha hot chili sauce

Mix the two together and adjust the spiciness if desired

Vegetables
For vegetables like carrots, cucumber, and sweet potato you want to cut them into matchsticks like this

The two vegetables that I steamed were the sweet potato, and the asparagus. I felt this made for a better texture in the sushi though I am sure they would be delicious raw as well.

Now for the fun part, Making the sushi.
Set yourself up a little station so that everything is easily accessible.

That fish was for Dan's sushi not mine.

get yourself a bowl of water for your hands, cover your sushi mat with plastic wrap so nothing sticks and place a single sheet of nori, shiny side down on your mat.
Wet your hand in the bowl of water (so the rice doesn't stick) and grab a hand full of rice and spread it out thinly on the nori. Make sure at least one edge is rice free this will seal it together when you roll.
Now pick some fillings and lay them on the rice

 tofu, avocado, asparagus, carrots, cucumber, enoki, mayo, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

This was an attempt to remake a roll I had recently *Spicy Avo Bit Roll*

Avocado, spicy mayo, panko crumbs.

The next step is to roll, this is not something I am great at. Do your best to roll it tightly, dip your fingers in water and use that to wet the flap of nori that is not covered in rice, the wet nori flap will help seal the roll, if it is not quite sticking rub a little more water on it. The rolling takes practice so don't be discouraged if its not perfect the first time. This was my first time making sushi and by the end I felt like my rolls were much better then the first.
Cutting the rolls. Wet a cloth and wipe down the blade of a serrated knife before each cut, this will give you a nice clean cut.

Tofu Pouches
These tofu pouches are so tasty, every time I go out for sushi this is the first thing I order. You can also cut these up and put them in a roll.
This is a very simple piece and usually just has rice inside.
Wet your hand in the bowl of water and grab a bit of rice and gently form it to it will fit in the pouch.

Idea's of different rolls to try
Cucumber, avocado, and asparagus
Sweet potato, panko, and mayo
Mango, panko, and mayo
Asparagus, spicy mayo
cucumber, carrot, asparagus, sweet potato, green onion, enoki, tomago.

Dan was given this beautiful sushi set as a gift and we got to use it for the first time.

Here are some pictures of the finished results.

 

 Here is our massive sushi feast, we made WAY too much and I think we will be eating sushi for the next month. At the top is my veggie sushi and bottom is Dans fish sushi.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

I haven't had a chance to blog much lately, but i guess that tells you how busy and fantastic our summer has been! We went camping recently and I was really hoping to blog some of the camping food we made but I somehow managed to forget my camera at home. We will be going camping again on Thanksgiving weekend and I will definitely be blogging our camp cooking for that.

So I was watching one of those shows on the food network about guys who go around looking for the biggest greasiest worst food they can find and try to eat it all. I can't quite remember which one (I hate those shows), anyways I just had it on in the background and they mentioned something about jalapeno poppers, yummm and of course the craving hit me like a tonne of bricks.
Who doesn't love jalapeno's smothered in cream cheese?
Later on Dan and I were watching Master Chef (we are addicted to this show) and they had a challenge to make the best grilled cheese and tomato soup combo (again YUM right!!).
Well as you all probably know by now Dan is brilliant  and he put these two things together and decided we should make a Jalapeno Popper grilled cheese for dinner last night. I owe him for this one! What a delicious idea.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

Ingredients
Makes 2 sandwiches

• 4 slices of good sourdough bread
• 3 fresh jalapenos
• 3tbs cream cheese
• 3 slices Monterey jack cheese
• butter or margarine 

Cut your jalapenos in half lengthwise and place them cut side down on a baking sheet. (if you would like it to be on the spicier side leave the seeds in for this part, if you want a little spice but not too much, seed them after you cut them) We took the seeds out and really didn't find it that spicy at all, I will probably leave some in next time.
Turn your oven on to BROIL and put the pan with the jalapenos in for 10-15 minutes or untill the skin looks black.
Take the jalapenos out of the oven once the skin is blackened and place the peppers in a zip lock bag and let them cool until you are able to handle them.

 

In the mean time, butter one side of each piece of bread (this is the side that will be on the pan.) On the opposite side of one of the pieces for each sandwich spread a thick layer of cream cheese.
Once your jalapenos are cool, take the skin off (it should come right off after sitting in the bag) and lay them flat ontop of the cream cheese we used 3 half's per sandwich.
Next put a slice and a half of jack cheese and your other piece of bread.
Place your sandwiches in a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook each side until golden brown.

We had ours with a salad and some ancho chipotle dressing.

Now enjoy your ooey gooey, crunchy, spicy sandwich. 

This may possibly be the simplest thing I have ever blogged but I couldn't pass up putting it on here! Try it, change it, keep it the same, what ever. That is the beauty of cooking. Anything you make can be altered and tweaked to make it yours. If you do try any of my recipes please comment I love to hear what people think even if (especially) if you changed something or if you found a way to improve it.