E's 3rd Birthday

I won't even apologize for a lack of posting.  Our lives have changed enough that posting isn't a priority anymore.  But, every so often, I get inspired to post; mainly to document something from our lives.

It's strange how one day you're announcing the birth of your firstborn...and then the next it's his/her 3rd (10th...20th..25th..) birthday.

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

A few days ago, we celebrated E's 3rd birthday.

I finally got to use the cupcake cake form that Giz decided should live at my house.  I used Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe.  I was worried that the batter was too liquidy and would fall apart once removed from the pan, but everything came out perfectly.

Actually, this was her second birthday cake, since we had an early birthday celebration in Toronto, with a Minion-themed family birthday party.

Our friends came over for dinner on her birthday and I tried out a new recipe, 20 Minute Skillet Chicken and Spinach Parmesan.  It was a yummy recipe that I would definitely use again.

Polish Sorrel Soup

Saturday was market day and Toronto is definitely a great place to visit the markets.  One of my favourites is the Evergreen Brickworks Farmer's Market.  It's more than just a market - it's an experience and it's impossible to leave there without feeling enriched somehow.  The vendors are all first class, extremely friendly and great educators.  It's not possible to go to the market without struggling over which slow food vendor you want to satisfy your taste buds with.  This should only be my worst first world problem.  On the trip to the market my friends and I talked at great length about the amazing breakfast crepes and how long the lineups were but so worth the wait.  Frankly, there isn't a vendor there who isn't worth the wait - seriously

When we were in Poland it was always pretty easy to find unique soups with a bit of a sour twist to them.  I had no idea what the main ingredient was but found out it was sorrel.  I found a recipe for this interesting  Polish Sorrel Soup  from Barbara Rolek, Eastern European Food Expert.  Barbara is my "go to" person for all things Eastern European.  But, let me tell you - this is not a grocery store item one finds easily.  I had all but given up when, as I walked through the market....voila .... sorrel!!! I'm sure the vendor thought I had really lost it; who gets so crazy over finding sorrel.  For those who aren't familiar with this ingredient I looked it up on Wikepedia:

 "Sorrel soup is a soup made from water or broth, sorrel leaves, and salt.^[1][2] Varieties of the same soup include spinach, garden orache, chard, nettle, and occasionally dandelion, goutweed or ramsons, together with or instead of sorrel.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} It is known in Ashkenazi Jewish, Belarusian,^[4]Latvian,^[6] Lithuanian, Polish, Russian,^[1][2] and Ukrainian^[3][5] cuisines. Its other English names, spelled variously schavel, shchav, shav, or shtshav, are from the Proto-Slavic ščаvь for sorrel. Due to its commonness as a soup in Eastern European cuisines, it is often called green borscht, as a cousin of the standard, reddish-purple beetroot borscht.^[1][4][3][5] In Russia, where shchi (along with or rather than borscht) has been the staple soup, sorrel soup is also called green shchi.^[7][8] In some cookbooks it is called simply green soup.^[2]

Sorrel soup usually includes further ingredients such as egg yolks or whole eggs (hard boiled or scrambled), potatoes, carrots, parsley root, and rice.^[1][2][9] A variety of Ukrainian green borscht also includes beetroot.^[8] In Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian cuisines, sorrel soup may be prepared using any kind of broth instead of water.^[1][2] It is usually garnished with smetana (an Eastern European variety of sour cream).^[1][2] It can also be akosher food. It may be served either hot or chilled.

Sorrel soup is characterized by its sour taste due to oxalic acid (called "sorrel acid" in Slavic languages) present in sorrel. The "sorrel-sour" taste may disappear when sour cream is added, as the oxalic acid reacts with calcium and casein."

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large peeled and sliced carrot
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 peeled and cubed medium potatoes
• 1 chicken or vegetable boullion cube
• 1/2 pound fresh sorrel, washed, stemmed as for spinach and chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh dill or parsley
• 2 hard-cooked eggs cut into quarters

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes

• Total Time: 65 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings Polish Sorrel Soup

PREPARATION

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, place 6 cups cold water, carrots and parsley. Bring to a boil and add bay leaf, potatoes and boullion cube. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter and sauté sorrel for 10 minutes. Transfer to the soup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Remove bay leaf. Fork blend sour cream with flour and temper with a few ladles of hot soup. Transfer tempered sour cream to soup, stir well and simmer until thickened and just under the boiling point. Adjust seasonings.

1. Portion soup into heated bowls and garnish with chopped dill or parsley and egg quarters.

We finished all the shopping and it was time for our crepes - delicious as always and really quite filling.  I have a friend who is at the market every week.  He's an Italian from Venezuela who has this passion for all things Spanish.  If that didn't confuse you, he's now planning to go to Morocco and expand his offerings with Moroccan flavours.  Jose Arado who is the owner and main chef at Pimenton   is a total joy to be around and has a forever smile on his face and a big hug waiting for you when you come his way.  I hadn't seen him in a while and was very excited to treat me to one of his creations.  Don't forget, I'm full from the crepe but Jose's enthusiasm is spell binding and there's no way to say no.  He brought me this dish of organic greens with Spanish chorizo sausage topped with a soft cooked egg over the top and a home made hot sauce that was entirely "to die for".   Of course I ate it knowing full well I was going to be full beyond belief.

If you didn't click on Jose's site above make sure you do and watch the you tube video. You'll see an array of Jose's creations, his presence at the market and get infected by the amazing Spanish music and his love of food.  Enjoy!!

Lentil Kale Potato Soup

I think "R" is starting to influence my cooking.  I find myself looking for lentil recipes more often and, in fact, when I got an email from him with a picture and a link to Hummusapian's recipe for Lentil Kale Potato Soup, I was in the process of creating my own lentil dish.

Growing up in a European meat and potato focused home, a lentil would never have made it into the grocery bag.  To this day I'm sure my mother would shrug her shoulders if I asked her what a lentil is.
The superstar quality of this fibre and iron rich bean is worthy of paying attention to.  Spend a few minutes browsing through the Lentils Canada site.  So much information and great recipes too.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 cup dry lentils (not red), rinsed and picked over
4 cups vegetale broth + 1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1 large potato, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped finely (or half a bag of thawed from frozen kale)
salt and pepper to taste

Instruction

1.  Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery and carrots and sauté until softened, about ten minutes.
2.  Add lentils, broth, water, salt, garlic, cumin and coriander.  Stir together and bring to a boil.  Once soup has reached  a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
3.  Add chopped potatoes and simmer, covered for 15 more minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
4.  Add kale and simmer covered for 5 more minutes or until kale is wilted.
5.  Remove from heat and stir in red wine vinegar.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This is one of the better pictures "R" has taken of late.  The plate is actually centred in the photo.  I tried to salvage the clarity but we need to work on the photography skills.

Bacon and Leek Quiche

When Psychgrad and I initially talked about sharing a food blog many years ago I don't think either of us thought it would open us up to as much experimentation as it has.  We also never really thought that the name - Equal Opportunity Kitchen would be as literal as it has become.  What I mean when I say that is that over the years, we've spent a fair amount of time talking about food, about ingredients, trying new things and pushing our limits.  I laugh at "R"'s attitude initially which was seriously about eating just about anything and if it was mac and cheese or cereal, it didn't really matter to him.

Slowly, "R" became more discerning about what he chose to eat and went from boiling a pot of water to make the mac and cheese to looking through recipes, to trying his hand at doing some of the cooking at home.  The best is that now "R" is an ongoing contibutor to the blog, fussier about what he eats and critical of how blog posts are written.  He certainly hasn't come out and said that he'd like to be the active contributor to the blog but then I'll get a link and some pictures with some direction about making sure it's all well represented on the blog.    I'm pretty sure that he secretly checks the blog reasonably often to see if we're posting enough and/or if I've posted one of his creations.

Today's post for  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bacon-and-leek-quiche">Bacon and Leek Quiche is another of "R"'s dinners.  I know he studies the recipes, creates a shopping list, goes out to do the shopping and prepares the whole thing himself.  He's not the guy that sits on other peoples' efforts.  He's a doer - a great attribute.

CRUST

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
4. 1 large egg yolk
5. 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons ice water

FILLING

1. 1 pound thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2. 3 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
3. 1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
4. Salt and freshly ground white pepper
5. 8 ounces cave-aged Gruyère cheese, shredded
6. 4 large eggs
7. 2 large egg yolks
8. 2 1/2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half

1. In a food processor, pulse the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse until the pastry is moistened. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until smooth. Pat the pastry into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°. On a floured surface, roll 1 disk of the pastry to a 12-inch round. Ease the pastry into a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom without stretching. Trim the excess and use it to patch any holes. Refrigerate the tart shell for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
3. Line the tart shells with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shells for 30 minutes, just until dry. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake the crusts for about 15 minutes longer, until they are dry and golden. Transfer the tart pans to 2 sturdy baking sheets.
4. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain the bacon, leaving 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan. Add the leeks and thyme to the skillet, season with salt and white pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the bacon and cheese.
5. Divide the bacon-and-leek filling between the tart shells. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the egg yolks and heavy cream. Season lightly with salt and white pepper. Pour the custard into the tart shells and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through for even baking, until puffed and lightly browned. Transfer the quiches to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the rings, cut the quiches into wedges and serve.

I would eat this.

Roast Chicken and Spinach Panini

Not that long ago Psychgrad and "R" were having visitors for a few days.  I was asked what an appropriate gift would be for them.  Who knows??  But ... rather than ask them which is probably what I should have done in the first place, I said "get them a panini press, I'm sure they'd love it".  This was not a "my bad" situation but rather one of those moments that I probably should have thought about whether or not they had the space to store another appliance.  What I thought about was how simple and yummy it would be to create new flavours rather easily and open up a new sandwich world.

Well, I wasn't wrong!  "R" seems to have taken to panini making rather passionately and tells me that he's already made  Prosciutto and Pesto , Pear and Brie , Toasted Whole Grain Apple and Cheddar , and  Roast Chicken and Spinach

To me, the beauty is really in the flavour - choosing great combinations, putting them on wonderful bread and letting the magic create.  Ultimately, don't they all pretty much look alike?  I can't usually tell an Italian panini from a Cuban sandwich in appearance, but taste, well, that's a whole other story.

"R"'s Roast Chicken and Spinach Panini  looks absolutely "to die for".  I'm really not sorry I suggested this gift since I am planning a trip in the not to distant future and would be more than happy to have "R" demo several different sandwiches for my eating pleasure.

I want this right now!!!

Eggplant Caprese Stacks

Where has the time gone.  Seriously, I always have really good intentions about getting a post completed today.  Everyday is "today" and I guess you know the rest of the "good intention" story.  

We're in sunny California and so grateful to be out of the gripping cold that has this firm grip on the north east.  My brother arrived the other day and brought with him what he calls his "new favourite cookbook".  He's determined to cook every recipe in the book.  Maybe we'll see a "Wheat Belly, The Musical" opening on Broadway.  He's already  tried several of the recipes and suggested that we would absolutely love them.  We took the challenge and decided to try one for dinner.

We were pleasantly surprised.  My brother, who is affectionately known as the health nut of our family always has new natural remedies for everything that ails.  When he brought his new favourite we all admitted a little skepticism.  I take it back - this book is the bomb!  Who even knew that ground flax works as efficiently as bread crumbs.  Now I know!!  I would make this recipe again - it's wonderful and we're going to continue with the recipes in the book.

Makes 4 servings

1 eggplant cut into eight 1/2" slices
1/4 cup ground golden flaxseeds
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix (see recipe below)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tomatoes, each cut into four 1/2" thick slices**
16 large fresh basil leaves
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into 4 equal slices

Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a shallow bowl or dish, combine the flaxseeds, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the seasoning mix, and salt.  Place the egg in another shallow bowl or dish.  Dip a slice of the eggplant into the egg until both sides are moistened.  Dredge in the flaxseed mixture to coat.  Place the breaded eggplant on a plate.  Repeat until all the slices have been coated.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp of the oil until hot.  Cook the eggplant, covered, for 8 minutes, turning once, or until browned on both sides and tender when pierced with a fork.  If needed, add 1 Tbsp of the remaining oil during cooking  Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.  Place the tomato slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and sprinkle each with 1/2 Tbsp of the remaining Parmesan.  Broil for 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove and set aside.

On 4 plates, place the 4 largest eggplant slices.  Top each slice with a broiled Parmesan tomato, 2 basil leaves, and a mozzarella slice.  Top with the remaining eggplant slices, a Parmesan tomato and 2 basil leaves.

Italian Seasoning Mix

2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 Tbsp dried marjoram
1 Tbsp dried garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container

Lentil Moussaka

It would appear that I'm officially in the dog house.  Why you may ask?  Well favourite son in law has been cooking up a storm over the past while and I've become the designated blogger for his creations.  "R" has been "gently" reminding me that he's not seeing enough blogging happening.  He's right - we've been either busy for real or procrastinating.  At least Psychgrad has an excuse - between sleep deprivation, a toddler and a newborn, having a shower is a luxury.  

This time when "R" gave me one of his "gentle" reminders, the tone had changed somewhat.  He compared my not posting his cooking to continuously withdrawing from your bank account.  Eventually you're in the red.  Ugh!!!

With Christmas around the corner and Hanukkah in full swing, one might think that we'd be making lavish meals and incredible desserts.   Not so much.  Truth be told, I'd rather have a vegetarian moussaka than cheesecake anyway.   This dish is the full Canada Food Guide all in one dish.  Although a tad time consuming, the result is just so satisfying that it pays to take your time enjoying it.

*** Did I mention that "R" couldn't remember where he got the recipe from so if we've insulted anyone by not giving them credit for their recipe - my humble apologies,

3/4 cup whole green lentils

1 eggplant sliced

4-5 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large carrot, diced

4 sticks celery, finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp dried mixed herbs

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 tsp soya sauce

freshly ground pepper to taste

2 medium potatoes, cooked and sliced

2 large tomatoes, sliced

Sauce

2 Tbsp vegetable margarine

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 3/4 cups milk

1 egg, separated

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp nutmeg

fresh herb sprigs to garnish

• In a saucepan, cook the lentils until soft but not mushy.  Drain reserving the liquid in a separate bowl.
• Fry the eggplant until lightly browned, drain on a paper towel
• Saute the onion, garlic, carrot and celery with a little of the lentil liquid.
• Simmer with the lid on , stirring occasionally until the vegetables soften.
• Add lentils, herbs and diced tomatoes simmering for 4-5 minutes.  Add the soya sauce and ground pepper.
• Place a layer of the lentils in a large casserole dish and cover with half of the eggplant.
• Cover the eggplant with half the potato slices and all of the tomato slices,
• Repeat with the rest of the lentils and the other half of both eggplant and potatoes.

For the sauce:

• Melt margarine and add flour.  Lift the pan from the heat stirring vigorously to create a roux while making sure the flour is well incorporated.  Slowly add milk, stirring constantly to make sure you achieve a smooth consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to add the egg yolk and nutmeg.  If you don't cool the sauce, you'll have cooked egg - not pretty.
• Whisk the egg white until still and fold into the sauce.
• Pour the sauce over the moussaka covering the whole surface.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.   Garnish with herbs and serve.

Chef's notes:
Don't overcook the potatoes otherwise they'll just fall apart.
Use a large enough casserole that's reasonably deep to avoid spill overs

Potato and Spring Onion Soup

Life has been incredibly busy in so many good ways.  The only problem with being so involved in many things is that making meals sometimes just takes a back seat.

We spent this past Thanksgiving long weekend at the cottage.  This was our second annual effort at the cottage and it was incredible.  The leaves are in full colour and temperatures are changing  A 20 lb turkey had hardly any leftovers and the whole family togetherness was so meaningful.  We laughed alot this past weekend.  My sister makes her own wine so needless to say wine was in great supply.
My friends used to say to me that being a grandparent is the best club in the world to join.  Intellectually it's easy to understand so agreeing with my friends was pretty natural.  I just returned recently from visiting Psychgrad, "R" and the babies.  I would often sit, play with or watch the grand babies and think to myself "you know, it really IS the best club in the world".  Nothing makes me laugh as hard, worry as much or love as deeply as being able to be part of their lives.   It amazes me how much work being a parent of a toddler and an infant is.  I guess as time goes by we forget, especially so when it's a labour of love.

"R", with all his teasing is really an amazing husband and dad.  He's always looking for new and healthy combinations and loves his soups   He loves the hearty and thick soups that are a meal in a bowl.  R's new recipe came from Saveur ; Potato and Spring Onion Soup and it looks like a keeper.

A thick slice of fresh rye bread and this soup for dinner would for sure do it for me.  Tell me you wouldn't want a bowl?  The pureeing, although it makes a lot of soups look alike is a great way to pack the veggies in especially for a toddler who doesn't like vegetables AT ALL.

 

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches spring onions (scallions), trimmed
4 tbsp. sunflower or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION 

1. Cut scallions in half crosswise, dividing white and green parts. Coarsely chop white parts and set aside. Finely chop green parts and set aside separately.

2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and chopped white parts of scallions and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until soft, 8–10 minutes. Add potatoes and stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft, 30–35 minutes.

3. Allow vegetables and stock to cool slightly; then, working in batches, purée them together in the jar of a blender or the work bowl of a food processor until very smooth. Return purée to pot and cook over medium heat until hot. Adjust seasonings. Garnish soup with reserved scallion greens.

Sawata

Actor Boy has this idea that doing a theatrical piece with his mother is an interesting work to create.  We started this voyage with a simple improvised stage piece that we (he did most of it) performed for small theater festivals locally and on the west coast.  It was reasonably successful and we had alot of fun comments about how cool for a mother and son to go on stage together.

Not enough.  Actor Boy decided we should do another piece.  Our ancestry is from Poland so his idea was to travel back to Poland and research our geneology and find our Polish roots.  It's been quite a ride and I just returned from our second trip to Poland.  The first trip in November 2013 was about research.  We drove all around Poland's countryside, went to both my parents' home towns, were able to find documents and history, met alot of people and ate alot of Polish food.  It was good.  This trip was slightly different.  We spent 2 weeks in a theatre that was entirely black (they call it a black box theatre - imagine that), working on creating a piece of work, or part of it and then performing for a couple of audiences who would give us feedback and suggestions.  We would start early in the morning and work until about 8 p.m. and start all over again the next morning.  That shattered any notion of this being a trip to a foreign country being even remotely romantic.

The one thing I managed to salvage for my own interests was learning more about Polish food.  Most local food is heavily meat laden but since I was travelling with 6 other people, most of whom were either vegetarian or vegan we didn't spend much time sampling local meat meals.  I did learn to take some meat meals and adjust them and learned a whole lot about salads.

My favourite salad, a potato type salad is called Sawata.  I had to come home and make it right away.  It's a little time consuming with all the tiny chopping but so worth it and I even found some shortcuts.

Ingredients

3-4 potatoes boiled in their jackets and cooled
3-4 hard boiled eggs
2-3 dill pickles, diced small (I used Vlasic pickles)
peas and carrots - I used 1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots - worked great
(if you prefer you can boil 4 carrots with the potatoes, dice small and add canned,drained peas at the end)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 heaping Tbsp dijon mustard
3-4 Tbsp mayonnaise

Directions

1.  Boil potatoes and cool before peeling
2.  Dice potatoes, eggs, dill pickles really small and add to bowl
3.  Add 1/2 bag or more (1 1/2 cups) frozen peas and carrots
4.  Add mustard and mayo and gently combine all finishing with the chopped parsley.

So so good.  This salad is a staple for all Polish celebrations.  There's really no set way to make it and I've seen it with boiled parsnip in it as well - equally as good.

Cream of Potato Soup with Garlic Scapes and Swiss Chard

I mentioned in my last post that my favourite son in law will occasionally send me an email asking for new recipes.  I'm glad that he enjoys cooking and actually he's pretty good at it.  What I particularly like about R's style is that he doesn't cut corners.  He reads the recipe, gives it consideration, makes sure he has all the ingredients and if he doesn't, goes out to get them and spends the time and gives the energy into creating his works of art.  A good attitude goes a long way so I'm always happy to help resource what he's looking for.

This time R sent out an SOS because they had an overabundance of scapes.  I went through my Pinterest boards and sent him about 6 or 8 links to chose from.  After consideration, he chose
Cream of Potato Soup with Garlic Scapes and Swiss Chard.

Now, in my last post I also mentioned that R goes to great lengths to get to me.  For That Girl's sake
I'm sharing R's response to me after he sent me a link and a picture and suggested I post it on the blog..

Your last post was mediocre. It didn't capture the emotion or the spirit of the salad. In order to mitigate the the risk of another mediocre post, I am instituting creative control on all future posts about my meals. Please prepare the post for my approval within three working days. Also, I want 80% of the revenues related to posts about meals I prepare.

In spite of the fact that I'm leaving the country tomorrow for a couple of weeks I did promise R to have this up before I left.  When he told me that this soup was a total keeper I was thrilled and am happy to share it with you.  It does look pretty delicious, if I say so myself.

Sorry R, I don't have 3 working days for you to execute your creative control .  AND, you can have 100% of all the revenues since there aren't any.

2 Tablespoons Butter (or olive oil for vegans)

5-6 Garlic Scapes

2 cloves regular garlic, minced

3 russet potatoes unpeeled, diced

4-5 Cups homemade vegetable stock (enough to cover potatoes)

1 bunch of Swiss Chard, stemmed

1 stem of fresh Oregano

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1/2 of a Lemon

Kosher Salt to taste

Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup of Sour Cream (optional, but highly recommended)

Saute Garlic Scapes in butter for about 2 minutes. Add minced Garlic and diced potatoes. Stir and saute in butter or olive oil another 2 minutes, add some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Add vegetable stock, bring to boil. Turn to low and cover- let simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, check to see if potatoes are done. They should easily be pierced with a fork. It's okay if they are a little over cooked because they are going to get pureed anyway. Add fresh Oregano, parsley, and chard. Let simmer on low another 5 minutes. Turn off heat. 

With an immersion blender, puree the potato soup, leaving some lumps. 

Season with Juice of 1/2 a lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream.

Garnish with any combination of the following: fresh parsley, chive flowers, fresh ground black pepper, crispy bacon crumbles, or crunchy onions.

The picture would look even better if you used the good camera and not your Iphone :)

Quinoa Chickpea and Feta Salad

My favourite son in law "R" (he's also my only son in law) and I have this rather interesting relationship.  The banter between us (zinging is probably a better word) is pretty ongoing.  He loves to get to me and two of his favourite topics are usually around our well known mayor Rob Ford or how dedicated we are to posting on the blog.  He probably cares very little about each topic and when I give it right back to him, he'll turn to whoever happens to be in the room and say "you see what I have to put up with".

Occasionally I'll get an email from him asking if I have any good recipes.  He's always attracted to the healthier vegetarian recipes and he'll review what I send him and surprisingly will find something that interests him and he goes ahead and makes it.  Pretty impressive.

Recently he went on one of his rants saying he'll be doing a guest post and make sure he puts both Psychgrad and me to shame.  The rant goes something like this:

R:  I haven't seen you post anything lately.  What's going on???

Me:  I posted not long ago.

R:  I take pictures and nobody ever puts up what I make.

Me:  You want me to put up something you made?

R:  Well, don't you think you should be? .... you get the idea.

I recently sent him a blogpost for Quinoa Chickpea and Feta Salad and he made it.  I asked him where the picture was and he actually had taken a picture and sent it to me.  WOW!!  So "R" here's your post. Your salad looks pretty darned amazing.

1 cup quinoa (beige or red or black)

1 cup water

1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

1 1/2 chopped unpeeled cucumbers

1 pint cherry or baby heirloom tomatoes, halved

1 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup sliced baby spinach leaves

1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

To taste Salt and pepper

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, simmer until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, spinach and about half of the feta.

Gently toss in the cooled quinoa; do not overmix or stir.

Whisk vinegar, salt, honey and smoked paprika in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle over the combined salad ingredients; toss gently. Add vinaigrette; avoid overdressing. Top with feta; serve immediately.

Tuna Patties

Norene Gilletz's  The Pleasures of Your Processor is only one of the "Norene" cookbooks in my collection.  I've said it before - I raised my kids on her recipes and I can't remember ever having a fail. Her recipes are easy to follow and easy to execute (not the killing kind).

The hardest part of this whole recipe is opening the cans of tuna.  For meatless Mondays this is a treat and also approved by "baba" who has sworn off meat.  I've actually heard alot of my contemporaries tell me their parents have more difficulties digesting meat.  Try these as an alternative and the great thing is that they're freezer friendly.


1 medium onion, halved
2 - 7 oz tins tuna, drained
4 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
oil for frying

Process onions until minced, about 6-8 seconds.  Add remaining ingredients except oil and process until mixed, about 10 seconds.

Shape into patties.  Heat oil to a depth of about 1/8" in a large skillet.  Brown on all sides over medium heat.  Drain well on paper towels.

Yield:  6

Note:  If you want to avoid the oil, prepare in a teflon skillet and a little spray.