This recipe is gluten-free, and while it looks like it contains a few steps, [...]]]>
This recipe is gluten-free, and while it looks like it contains a few steps, once all the ingredients are ready to go, it comes together fairly quickly … and you get to resurrect your boy-scout skillz when you truss the pork! Pork these days is a fairly lean, mild flavoured meat, and makes a good alternative (for those who eat meat) from chicken.
The quinoa used in the stuffing does double duty as a “starch” side dish, so all you need to pull of a complete meal is pair with a veggie or salad — you could even go crazy with a spinach/peach/red onion salad if you found some nice peaches!
Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Spiced Quinoa (printer friendly recipe)
Please remember that Maple Leaf is continuing to run this contest for the next month or so, and you can vote daily for the recipes you “like”. Should I be fortunate enough to win, I’ll be donating the winnings to the Mustard Seed food bank here in Victoria.
You can find the contest at the Maple Leaf Prime page on Facebook. Thanks for your support!
( EAVB_RCCOLGZPDW )
]]>There’s been a tamale cart at most of the Wednesday [...]]]>
There’s been a tamale cart at most of the Wednesday markets, with GREAT tamales, and for a few weeks now, I’ve been enjoying them. Last night, however, the cart wasn’t there, and don’t you know I got a craving for tamales.
Normally these are not something to whip up on the fly — they take a good hour to steam once they’re assembled, and some assembly time if you decide to make mole sauce from scatch, but….
NEVER FEAR!!! THE PRESSURE COOKER IS HERE!!!
So, with instant masa (worth the price of a bag!) , some mole sauce from the freezer, and the pressure cooker, you too can have tamales from start to finish in under an hour. Hey, they may not be pretty, but no more cravings 
Step 1: Mix the masa (I use this instant Masa Mix …) and soak the corn husks
Step 2: Make the filling — tonight, I sauteed some finely sliced chicken thighs, garlic, onions and tossed in some mole sauce from the freezer.
Step 3: Assemble the tamales (a dollop of the masa on the husk, a small dollop of chicken, roll up and fold the bottom under)
Step 4: line them up in the pressure cooker, open side up, and cook at high pressure for 12-13 minutes, then sit off the heat for another 8.
My pressure cooker has a steamer basket that fits inside — excellent for making tamales, cheesecakes, or anything else you might need to steam in a hurry!
]]>Tonight’s post is another easy dinner, that you can throw together with mostly on-hand pantry items (depending on your pantry), but can also be modified to meet whatever flavour profile you’re hankering for, or adapt to whatever seafood you have available.
These [...]]]>
Tonight’s post is another easy dinner, that you can throw together with mostly on-hand pantry items (depending on your pantry), but can also be modified to meet whatever flavour profile you’re hankering for, or adapt to whatever seafood you have available.
These little fritters are also great for folks who are on carbohydrate-restricted diets, as they make use of nut flour rather than grains — making them gluten-free to boot!
For tonight’s dinner, we went with slightly fresher flavours of lime, ginger and basil, and rounded out the fritters with a few grated carrots for added colour and nutrition.
The choose-your own adventure part? You can substitute the prawns I used here for finely chopped seafood of pretty much any that is moderately firm — scallops, fish, shrimp, even lobster if you’re feeling extravagant! You can also substitute the almond flour for any other nut meal, or even a flour such as chickpea flour for a texture more like tortillitas. The veg are versatile to, subbing carrots for shredded zucchini, or even finely chopped, seeded tomatoes.
Finally, you have control over how you want to cook these — avoiding oil, you can bake them in the oven on parchment, 400 degrees, 10-12 minutes. I’ve panfried these, but you could also drop into simmering broth and have them like dumplings in soup!
We opted here for more asian flavours, but if you’re inclined, you could leave out the ginger, and basil, and add cumin, coriander and cilantro for more Mexican flavours. Hey, they’re your fritters! Its your Monday night dinner adventure!!!
Seafood Fritters
- 1 lb. prawns, shelled and finely chopped
- 1/2 small onion, finely diced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 6-8 basil leaves, chiffonade
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Drop by 2 tablespoon scoops into a heated, oiled skillet, flattening slightly as you form the fritters. Cook 4-5 minutes per side, turning only once. Serve warm.
P.S. there were a number of requests for a cocktail post — stay tuned for a post tomorrow for an cocktail post on what to do with the other half of the lime from tonight’s dinner!
]]>We’ve had dreadful weather lately, and braving it out on the barbeque in the rain and the wind, hoping that summer would magically appear! Well yesterday, the sun was out, and everyone rushed out in shorts and tank tops, madly pursuing summer activities, and I was thinking [...]]]>
We’ve had dreadful weather lately, and braving it out on the barbeque in the rain and the wind, hoping that summer would magically appear! Well yesterday, the sun was out, and everyone rushed out in shorts and tank tops, madly pursuing summer activities, and I was thinking we might even get to enjoy grilled pizza (and even eat it in the patio!) for our Sunday dinner.
Well we woke up this morning to rain … again. Grilled pizza urges were suddenly dampened, and I found myself turning to winter-ish food cravings. So tonight, we’re having black bean chili for dinner.
For a smaller amount I make this up in a 4 quart pressure cooker. Yes, a pressure cooker Virginia. You can easily double the recipe in a 7-8 quart pressure cooker.
…For those of you with childhood memories of the jiggle-top pressure cookers, and tomato sauce all over the ceiling, have no fear! The modern versions have built-in safety valves, so they self-correct far before the point of explosion! They are also very efficient and I far prefer my pressure cooker to a slow-cooker. I find it preserves the texture and the flavours of individual ingredients far better than a day of stewing in the slow-cooker… Back to your regularly scheduled programming
Chili is pretty easy to pull together, but I find there are a few things that help amp up the flavours and make a big difference.
- As with most dishes, take a bit of time to develop the flavours of the onions and garlic at the beginning
- Toast the spices before adding the meat, that way the meat browns even more with the spices. You can do this all right in the pan, with the onions and garlic you’ve already sauteed. The toasting really helps deepen the flavours.
- A little bit of cocoa powder added to the pot adds a great deal of depth — think of a mole sauce!
- Smoked paprika! Once you start using this stuff, its hard to stop
The other favour you can do yourself here is cook your own beans from dried. I know the canned beans are convenient, but dried beans are much more economical, AND you can control the amount of salt in your meals. I cook the beans for about 30 minutes at high pressure — no soaking, no muss, no fuss! You can also freeze cooked beans in a little of the cooking liquid, and add them just like you would use canned beans.
You can certainly make this in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan or a Dutch oven, but you will need to increase the cooking time. The advantage of the pressure cooker, is that you can go from start to plating (including chopping) in under an hour, and still have about 20 minutes to enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail while the pressure cooker is doing its thing!
]]>Sunday Night Black Bean Chili
- 1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1 medium onion, choppped
- 1 large celery stalk, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried epazote (optional)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 pound ground bison (or substitute about 8 ounces organic tempeh, crumbled, to make this vegan)
- 1/2 large sweet pepper
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 cups cooked black beans
- 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (try and find an organic, no-salt added)
- 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and celery over medium heat in a pressure cooker until the onions are just starting to brown. Add the garlic and spices (thru to smoked paprika) and cook until you can smell them starting to toast. Add the meat and cook until the meat is almost cooked through. Add the remaining spices and herbs, and all other ingredients, leaving the beans on the top. Add up to 1/2 cup water.
Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and bring up to pressure. Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes, until all the flavours are melded. Bring the pressure down, and serve with corn muffins, garlic toast (or however you like it!)
Serves 4 hungry people.
We often have things like roast chicken, lasagna, rack of lamb, or a hearty stew, but with the weather perking up (its starting to feel sort-of like springtime!), I was feeling a little Mexican inspired, and decided to use pulled pork and let dinner do most of the cooking on its own.
Pulled pork is typically associated with Southern style BBQ, but it is actually quite a versatile meat, and if its cooked relatively plain, the succulent nature of the meat shines through, and you can sauce it as you go, for bahn-mi type sandwiches, traditional BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, kimchi soup with ramen noodles or more! AND, its one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can go with, as you use pork shoulder (butt roast) which needs a low and slow approach.
This takes some time, and a little foresight, but only has a couple of steps, and the oven does all the work! Try it sometime, sit back, relax and breath in the delicious smells through the afternoon.
Tonight’s pork tacos saw the pulled pork lightly sauced with a reduction of the cooking liquid, placed on top of homemade tortillas, and topped with some tomatillo sauce I put up last fall, guacamole and a dollop of creme fraiche. With a 3 lb or so piece of pork-shoulder, you will have plenty for tacos, and lots left over to use through the week.
]]>General Purpose Pulled Pork
- 3-4 lb pork butt roast
- 1 T ground coriander
- 1 T ground cumin
- 1 T sea salt
- 1 T ground pepper
Combine the salt, pepper and spices, and rub over the pork roast. Let sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours (or overnight). Just before cooking, Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Drain off any accumulated juices, place in a 5 quart dutch oven with a lid. Pour in about 1/2 cup – 1 cup of liquid. You can use beer, apple juice, or stock. This time around, I opted to use a bit of whisky in the basting liquid.
Toss the whole works in the oven, and check on it every 60-90 minutes, basting the pork roast as you go. Keep in the oven for about 4 hours until the fat is starting to melt, and the meat shreds easily with two forks. Let stand for at least 20 minutes before shredding. Skim most of the fat off the basting liquid, and use to moisten the pork if needed. Season lightly with salt and pepper as you toss in the liquid.