Germination Nation

So, it's now April 4th, just 5 days since I planted my seeds and so much action has taken place!
The broccoli seeds seem the most aggressive, they all have sprouts about an inch high. I had put 2 seeds in each cell and they all germinated so I snipped off the 2nd sprout to allow the alpha sprout to do it's thang.
The leeks, tomatoes, basil and alyssum have also sprouted too but no signs of life from the pepper seeds or the lobelia yet. Now that most seeds have sprouted, I need to remove the lids of the trays and no longer need the additional heat source of the oil heater. now they just need water and light, and lots of it. I must check the seeds 2-3 times a day and ensure the cells are wet in the bottom and slightly dry on top. I must rotate the seed trays daily to prevent the seeds growing towards the light.....they love the light!
As they start to grow, I will need to move them to bigger pots, which I plan to construct/recycle from random things around the house like yogurt containers. Oh wait, I don't eat yogurt. Hmmm, plan B?
Construction of the raised beds is due over Easter weekend, as we can get some cooler weather crops out before the last frost. Super excited to see things grow but nervous about the abundant deer in our area who were walking all over the soon-to-be vegetable patch on Sunday. They appreciate home grown goodies too, apparently.

On the BBQ front, we've been using it like crazy. My latest love is a plain ol' salmon filet with salt pepper and olive oil. So simple, so tasty, so MMMMMmmmmMMMMM. Crispy salmon skin rules!
I served it with a side (under?) of the avocado and mango salsa I made a few weeks prior (click here for recipe). I also topped it with my homegrown cress seed. I liked it so much, I planned to make it the next night but mother nature decided to send down a windstorm that blew out the propane flames, even though the top of the BBQ was down. The up-side was that the wind dispersed the propane gas sufficiently to eliminate any chance of major explosion. So back to pan frying (and consequent washing up pans after) it was. Still yummy as pictured below:

Lettuce Begin the Growing

Since moving into our new home, PB and I have been eagerly planning our vegetable patch. We haven't been able to make any physical progress until now due to the ground being frozen and, let's face it, me not wanting to be outside in the cold winter air.

We have earmarked a location and are planning to have 2 raised beds approx 8ft x 4 ft as well as growing tomatoes and peppers on the deck in pots. We have to use raised beds for 2 reasons: the soil is very clay-y and also we don't want to interfere with the septic field underneath the lawn. I also think raised beds are neater and easier to maintain. PB cleared the area of debris (lots of rocks, some in the region of 100lb or more-he tired himself out by deciding to do it on his own while I was at work) and then I marked out the bed location as below:

We are aiming to be planting by mid May so now need to decide what type of wood to use for the raised beds and work on the planting/growing schedule and bed layout plans. We also need to deer-proof the beds as we regularly have deer moseying through the yard looking for tasty treats. The first couple of times we saw them we squealed in excitement and grabbed the camera. Now we just glance over and carry on with what we were doing.

I haven't done any serious gardening over the years but have dabbled a bit here and there with limited space, knowledge and time but still successfully managed some vegetable yields from throwing/sowing various seeds into a patch of earth with no care and attention except watering. If that can produce results, then taking some time this year to research vegetable gardening should be very exciting and productive as well as $$ saving. We eat lots of fruit and veg and some of it is not so cheap, especially peppers, salad greens and even onions are getting up there. The growing season on the East Coast here is a little shorter than in Vancouver, although I'm hoping it won't be as wet early on which ultimately ruined my tomatoes when I tried to grow them in 2010, and apparently everyone else in the Pacific North West, from what I gathered.

I've chosen a range of vegetables based on what we typically eat on a regular basis:

• Tomatoes -4 varieties including romas, cherry and some yellow ones)
• Bell Peppers
• Lettuce
• Leeks
• Scallions/Spring onions
• Snap Peas
• Carrots
• Swiss Chard
• Broccoli
• Parsnips
• Yellow onions
• Kale

All of these can be grown directly from seed into the soil once the frost has passed but as the growing season is shorter and I'm keen to produce a yield early, I'm starting some of them from seed inside in an inexpensive store bought propagator with individual peat pellets for each seed. On March 29th I set about planting the peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, leeks and a couple of bedding plants (lobelia and Alyssum). For germination, you need a soil temperature of about 70F. I put the propagators by the back deck sliding doors for good light and then set the oil heater close by.

After germination, I won't need as much heat but will need the light source. This is my first try at growing seedlings for transplant. I'm not using a soil thermometer or a heating pad or an artificial light. I'm just doing my best to create the ideal conditions with what I've got and sending them lots of love and encouragement ("Grow my pretties, grow!").

I plan to put out the tomatoes in pots or a large wooden planter in mid -May, and put the remaining seeds in the ground too and then the leek and broccoli seedlings will go in to the raised beds a couple of weeks later.

In the mean time, I needed a quick growing fix so I bought some cress seeds (mustard seeds) and put them on the kitchen shelf. In 2 weeks I had full pot of spicy sprouts to add to my salads or just randomly pick and eat.

I'm also planning a herb garden, some potted and some planted out. I want some inside too, on the windowsill for quick and easy harvesting mid meal preparation. Basil, cilantro, rosemary, oregano and thyme will do nicely.

Apple-icious

Sorry the other "Apple" groupies.... no, this post is not about the new iPad. No, I did not camp out for 4 nights to be first in line for it. This apple adventure was way less time consuming, a lot more fun, a whole lot cheaper and you can eat it. Homemade apple rings/chips have been on my foodie "to do" list for some time. Why I have not gotten round to this recipe I don't know and cannot come up with a reasonable excuse. Does something with one ingredient even constitute a recipe? Anyway, I tried making these from a sole survivor apple that had been languishing in the crisper for probably a few days too long but was still useable in some way...I was 75% certain. Now was as good a time as any to attempt the baked apple rings.
You need a good 2 hour window of time to make these as they bake low and slow. I'd like to try making a batch with several different apples next time and do a taste test. I *think* this apple was an Ambrosia but who knows. I sliced it various thicknesses with some paper thin and some a little thicker.
I laid them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the 275F pre-heated oven for 90 mins.
They turned out okay for the first try. The thin ones were borderline burnt but very crispy but my favourites were the ones that were still a bit soft and chewy. They were the ones that were 2-3 mm in thickness when slicing. The best tasting one was 2nd from the right in the middle row.
I'm wondering if sprinkling them with cinnamon and nutmeg would be good and if some kind of liquid glaze would help too, although they were a great snack sans sprinkles. Guess I'm going to have to plan an apple-a-thon and find out.

West, South, North, Eats

Yes another extended hiatus on the blog, and no the slow cooker post that I promised is not ready yet. The reason? What I made was delicious, I just don't recall exactly what I put in there so until I find my scrappy gravy splattered notes, the post will be on long term loan from the food library in my head.
Why the hiatus? Vacation, the best reason not to be blogging and the best reason to eat, drink and be lazy excessively without judgment. The trip was 10 days long and well deserved. PB and I have moved across the country, both started new jobs and moved house 3 times in the past 6 months. I have had no vacation since April 2011 and that was a family visit to the UK. Well needed and enjoyed but not quite the same as lying by the pool with BBQ's every night and lunches at the golf course patio. We left Nova Scotia in the middle of a snowstorm at 5am in the morning and flew to Vancouver, not a short trip all in all, with 2 flights and a 4 hour time change to absorb. After some fab friend catch up time and a pedicure from the lovely Ms D, it was beddy byes by 8pm. The next day was spent re-connecting with friends, co-workers and family before jetting off to Phoenix, Arizona for 6 days. Foodie highlights from the west coast included a pot luck with my former co-workers who generously provided an amazing spread including sushi from my favorite sushi place (Genji), home made chicken curry (C-A! I need the recipe!) and my very own chocolate bundt cake with mint choc icing that was allergy free courtesy of Maple Maniac (Hugsies MM!).
Travelling to Arizona was quick and painless, despite being charged for all checked luggage by the american airline, and soon we were in the desert amongst the cacti and scorpions. We settled in to the house quickly and found our spots by the pool. We cooked at home about half of the time and ate out the rest. Of course I had been pining for a visit to Trader Joes, one of my favourite US stores. They have a fab range of natural foods and great prices. I was in heaven and did at least 5 laps of the store seeing new things every time around. For example, a box of 30 Emergen-c sachets is $8.50 vs $18.99 here. I stocked up. Big time. They, along with all the other grocery stores in the US sell wine and beer. And to top that, it's way cheaper than home and a much wider selection including my favourite wine from Erath winery in Oregon. Shockingly, beer made in Nova Scotia and exported and shipped to Phoenix is cheaper than the cost of buying at home. True story.
BBQ meals were simple and delicious, PB's legendary bruschetta, peppercorn steak and plain ol grilled chicken. Delish. The best meal out was Saporo sushi. They have sushi happy hour, what a great idea! Not only do you get cheap drinks but you get almost a full menu of sushi and appies to choose from too. We squeaked in 5 mins before happy hour (click here to see the menu) ended and filled the table with mouth watering items such as tootsie rolls (a yummy crab roll), sashimi, spicy tuna rolls, lobster gyoza and tuna tartare.
And then it was all over, we jammed our suitcases with wine, snacks, banana chips and toasted sesame oil from Trader Joes (it was $2.50 a bottle!) and 4 boxes of emergen-c, and hoped the luggage handler gods would be on our side. A long 2 leg flight home via New Jersey and we were back in NS at 2am in the morning ready to sleep, detox and lose the 5lb holiday food, beer, wine and pool lounging bloat we both gained.
Happy to say both PB and I have recovered from our holiday food overload (but it was all so good!) and back to our usual balanced diet. Tonight I planned to cook a new meal, in part inspired by a cook book I received from the Condiment Queen for my recent 21st (HA!) birthday. It's called "Power Foods" and is a mixture of a mini food encyclopaedia and a recipe book. Lots of things caught my eye, so many fresh flavours, bright colours and tempting foods.
I saw a recipe for a black bean salsa with chicken but I was craving fish so bought cod instead and then added a few more ingredients to the salsa. The other component of the meal was from a different recipe, one for salmon, served with a cilantro sauce. The bright green sauce jumped off the page and it was a perfect match for the cod and the black bean and avocado salsa.
For both the sauce and the salsa, you don't need to be exact with ingredients. The only ones I would add a bit at a time would be the lime juice and salt. Add a bit and taste. Over liming and salting is hard to correct unless you want to make 10 x the portions of salsa.

Black Bean, Avocado and Mango Salsa
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2-1 mango diced
1 avocado, diced
juice of 1-2 limes
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1-1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Ex. virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and let sit while you prepare the cilantro sauce.

Cilantro Sauce
2inch piece ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 shallots, diced
juice of 2 limes
bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tbsp neutral tasting oil such as canola
1 tsp brown sugar ( I used Sucanet)
salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients together in food processor until smoothish. I say smooth-ish because my large food processor was really too big for the quantity so there were some flecks of cilantro but I thought it added to the texture and presentation.

Pan Seared Cod
2 fresh thick cod fillets, about 150g each
1/2 cup spelt or wheat flour
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Mix all dry ingredients together to make a herbed flour dredging mix.
Put oil and butter in frying pan and heat to med high.
Dredge fish in flour mix and place in pan.
Cook fish about 3 mins per side until just cooked through and coating is slightly crisped.

PB and I use this dredging method when we make pan fried chicken and fish. There is no egg wash so it's not a heavy batter. In fact, when you eat it, it's not even like it's coated, it just helps crisp up the edges. Just be careful not to burn the flour as you cook.

Serve the fish over or under the cilantro sauce with the salsa on the side. You'll see from the pic at the start of the post how bright the sauce is, almost fluorescent. It was a big taste bud hit and will be a staple on the regular dinner menu rotation. This would also make a great summer entertaining dish. I think the sauce would work well if added to the salsa or as a lighter dressing for fish taco's in place of guacamole. But who doesn't love guacamole? So have both!

P.S. yes the plate is chipped in the photo.....but I think it adds character to the dish

low and slow

new slow cooker post coming soon...it'll be worth it but it'll take time... just like a slow cooker feast!

"Heart-y" Roast

Guess what?? This post does not involve chicken!
Yes there has been an abundance of chicken lately, and while I have still been eating it a lot, in a variety of forms I must add, no new recipes have been put forth.
This past Saturday though, PB and I had an early Valentines day celebration as both of us were working Sun, Mon and Tuesday evenings so our opportunity to celebrate on the day itself was non-existant. We had decided to get each other a card and small gift each and to cook a meal together. Incidentally, we got each other the same card...no big deal, that's they way we roll!
PB has a knack for one pot wonders and a lot of experience with roasts, as when he was working up North a lot, this was one of his perennial menu items so he honed his technique significantly. We went to the grocery store that afternoon and looked for a nice cut of beef but didn't see a suitable one so we asked at the meat counter and picked up a thick 2lb joint of sirloin tip. The plan was to roast it with chunky cut veggies, simple one pot style with tonnes of flavor. Don't get me wrong, this recipe is tres simple but it's delicious and sophisticated and worthy of entertaining, which we will do next time we make it. You can use any veggies you like. We had on hand potatoes, carrots, onion and red pepper. Sweet potatoes and parsnips would also work well. We did a couple of key things that, IMO, made this roast a success:
1) PB's knowledge of meat cooking time, without the use of a thermometer
2) Parboiling the potatoes and then mixing them with the other raw veggies to create a potato coating of sorts
3) The shallot/garlic "paste" we made as a crust to the joint.
4) Salt. Lots.
5) Love. Lots. (cheesy, I know)

So without further ado, here is the recipe in full (that we created):

"Mucho Impressivo" easy roast beef
approx 2lb sirloin tip roast ( try to get a fat one, not a flat one)
combination of roasting veg
2 shallots, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
couple of handfuls of mushrooms, sliced
olive oil, unspecified drizzle amount
butter
salt
pepper
more salt

Put oven on to heat to 400F.
Cut potatoes into chunky chunks (Yes that is the best way to describe it) and par boil until just softening.
While they are parboiling, cut up other veggies....chunky.
Rub olive oil over the joint, season, and then rub the shallot and garlic all over it.
Sprinkle rosemary on top and rub the coating in more.
Place roast in pan.
Place chopped veggies in a large bowl and drizzle in olive oil and then season generously. Stir 'em up.
Add potatoes to bowl of veggies and stir it all up so the outer layer of potato gets on everything.
pour out veggies to surround the beef. Looks good, doesn't it? Looks like this doesn't it?

Roast at 400F for 45 mins if you like your roast rare in the middle like we do.
After 45 mins, remove beef and place on cutting board, covered in foil to rest for 10 mins.
Pan fry sliced mushrooms in a bit of butter and oil and season to taste.
Turn oven up to 450F and let veggies cook for 10 minutes more until ready to serve. slice beef and put mushrooms over the top, or to the side. Whatever you want to do.

If you followed these instructions, this is what you should have right about now:

Oh I forgot to mention, you don't really need gravy. The juices from the meat and the richness in the vegetables is flavour enough. However, if you have some red wine handy, you could de-glaze the veggie pan and mix in the meat juices and you'd probably have a divine jus to top it all off.
So remember, easy recipe, BIG respect from guests. Just don't let on how easy it was.

Super simple supper

Last night, PB and pondered over what to have for dinner. We don't run a chock a block fridge and pantry and besides seasonings and canned tomatoes and beans, we basically buy our groceries each week based on our specific meal plan and then it's gone. The only organic waste we have is that of peelings or inedible components such as avocado pits( lots of these), chicken bones and brocoli stalks. We have zero food wastage as we usually plan very well and we are both good in the kitchen so can improvise well with very little. Last night was one of those nights. We had protein in the form of chicken breasts which we had recently stocked up on at Sobeys BOGO event. Pretty good deal and we buy about 20 chicken breasts and then portion them up into freezer bags, 2 per bag, so we can use them as needed. But that was as far as the plan had gone. I scoured the fridge door and cupboards for inspiration and decided to make stuffed chicken breast with pesto. Super simps, fast and really tasty. We had carrots and peas on the side which we simply steam, and that is the usual side dish for most meals, or we use broccoli... gotta get those greens.
I pounded out the chicken breast with my *new* meat mallet I bought earlier and then put a tablespoon of red pesto in the middle, topped with torn basil leaves and then rolled them up.
I heated olive oil in a frying pan and seared the rolled breasts on each side until browned, about 30-60 seconds per side. I didn't have any picks or string to tie them with so I started browning them on the seam side down to try and seal it but when I turned them, the seal looked weak so I just held the breasts with the tongs as I browned the other side.
I then squeezed a random lone lemon half over them and baked them in the oven at 375F for about 25 mins, which turned out to be a little too long, 2o mins would probably have sufficed.
When done, I drizzled the juices from the pan over the chicken and voila...dinner is served.
I used red pesto but you could easily do this with green pesto and on another day, I would like to make my own pesto. I also imagine the addition of goats cheese to the filling would be amazing.
Here is the summary of the recipe:

Pesto stuffed chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp red or green pesto
few basils leaves, torn
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper for seasoning

Heat oven to 375F.
Flatten chicken to approx 1/2 inch thick.
Place pesto in middle, with basil and roll up chicken (secure with pick or string if possible)
Sear chicken rolls in pan over med-high heat.
Place in baking dish, pour over lemon juice and bake in oven for 20 mins or until cooked through.