Stephfood CLONE – Page 13 – Just another blogs.ryerson.ca site

Twice as Nice! BBQ Corn to Summer Corn & Rice Salad

When the summer hits, you really want to cook as infrequently as possible. On a hot week like this, I’m grateful for leftovers that I can use in another dish. This post revolves around sweet and juicy grilled corn on the cob, and how to transform the leftover kernels into a fantastic summer salad!

Last night’s dinner was pretty simple and yummy – some corn on the cob and mahi mahi (marinated in piri piri sauce) done up on our wee BBQ. Soo tasty and filling!

After dinner, we had two ears of corn left so I carefully cut the kernels off of the cob and cooked up the rice for my salad. This salad is a mix of sweet, fresh, salty and savoury. You can substitute any of your favourite fresh or grilled veggies, as well as any dressing you like. Keep in mind that the rice will absorb most of the dressing.

Try not to overcompensate by drowning the salad in dressing – that will leave your rice gummy and possibly with too strong a taste. The dressing I used is a mild blend of orange juice, very green tasting hemp oil, a wee bit of apple cider vinegar and fresh herbs. It gives a light coating and flavour without covering the smokiness of the grilled corn, the light anise flavour of the fennel, and the freshness of crisp vegetables.

BBQ Corn & Rice Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup mixed rice, cooked (I use a fun blend of brown, red and wild rices)
1-2 cups grilled corn kernels
2-3 tbsp fresh green onion (green part sliced, white part finely minced)
1-2 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
1 tsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
1/2 – 1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cucumber, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup orange juice
1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp hemp oil
2 Tbsp Piri Piri sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Combine the rice with the corn, onion, basil, mint and fennel. Toss with olive oil.
Mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Be sure to mix well enough that the garlic powder dissolves completely.
Toss the salad mix with the dressing. This can sit overnight if required.
Slice and mix in the rest of the veggies just before eating.

Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse!

Betelgeuse may be a star, or a movie dead guy, but now it’s also a great new beer from Mill St!

Mill St. Brewery is a craft brewery that has been around for over 100 years, giving Toronto a great assortment of fun beers. This summer, they’ve released three special brews:

Lemon Tea – a refreshing beer with a mix of lemon, Earl Grey and Orange Pekoe flavours.
Schleimhammer Roggenbier – not sure how to describe this one… heh… a little sweet, but not super thick… red?
Betelgeuse – a Belgian style Trippel, strong and sweet

A still from the movie Beetlejuice.

My favourite of the three has to be the Betelgeuse. I’ll start by saying that I’m no beer expert – I’m slowly going through different kinds of beer to see what I like and what I don’t like. So far, my favourite styles seem to be German & Belgian Wheat Beers (Wits, Heffeweizens, etc.) and Belgian Trappist beers.

The Mill St. Betelgeuse was a great addition to their roster, even if it is but a limited release. It’s a little sweeter than most people like in a beer, but it has such a nice round flavour that makes it a great beer to sip after dinner. This kind of beer is especially great on a cool evening… not exactly refreshing for summer.

If you’re looking for something more refreshing, you might want to try the Lemon Tea beer. If you like wheat beers, this one will fit alongside many of them. It offers a nice combination of citrusy flavours, along with a subtle tea aftertaste.

All three of the Mill St. seasonal brews can be found at various LCBO locations in Toronto. I’m not sure if they’re available outside of Toronto – let me know if you find it!!

What do I do with this? Garlic Scapes

This is a new monthly challenge that I’m imposing on myself, where I find an ingredient that I have never used before (or even better – have never even HEARD of before) and make something with it.

My first entry is the Garlic Scape. I first heard of this earlier in the year, but had never seen any in the market before. I actually tried to grow my own, but failed miserably.

I finally found some at the market this month.

Garlic scapes, or green garlic, are the stalks of the garlic plant, growing above ground. They’re sort of like scallions, but garlicky tasting and much more dense. To me, they seem like a cross between a garlic and a green bean. Raw, they are pungent and crunchy. When cooked, they are soft and mild.

My first big dish using garlic scapes was a simple pasta tossed with sauteed vegetables, garlic scapes, garlic scape infused yogurt and Parmesan cheese.

There are many recipes for garlic scape pesto, which I plan to try making soon. Sounds right up my alley!

Now that I’ve tried them, I’m a little embarrassed that I hadn’t heard of them before. Anyone that knows me should be ashamed of me!! This was a great find, and a really fun thing to put in summer dishes. I know they won’t be in season for much longer, so I’ll be buying them every chance I get.

Next year, I plan to try growing garlic again. I’m not too sure what went wrong this time around, but I think it’s because bulbs don’t overwinter very well here when in pots. I might try planting them early March with my daffodils.

🙂

Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad with Shrimp

Today was a very summery day, so I decided to make a summer meal.

We pulled the wee BBQ out from hibernation, cleaned it off, and sparked it up. I didn’t realize how much I missed grilled vegetables until we started eating… somehow everything tastes better grilled.

Today’s meal was not unusual for us – I think I went a little overboard making orzo salads in the last couple of summers. I thought J might never want to see an orzo again, but luckily the winter was enough of a break for him.

Yummy spiced grilled shrimp.

This orzo salad starred some simple grilled vegetables, some nicely spiced grilled shrimps, and an assortment of fresh herbs from my garden. This dish doesn’t have to be complicated. For once, I didn’t mix a handful of spices together or carefully follow a recipe step-by-step to make sure I didn’t mess it up.

This is less like science, and more like art. You take what you like, and toss it!

Over the course of the summer, I will be featuring a number of different orzo salads. I already know what my next one will be… Hopefully I’ll also find some other fun grain or legume salads. That’s something I’m missing from my database o’ fun.

My new thing is to mix chopped tomatoes and avocadoes and put it on top of a dish. It adds colour and freshness that I really like. I also finished the dish with a salt lightly smoked in wood from Chardonnay barrels. I forget what it’s called, but it is subtle and sooo good.

… and now we spot the elusive wild Orzo, in its natural habitat

Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad with Shrimp

Ingredients

250g Orzo pasta, cooked and well drained
1lb med-large shrimp, peeled
1 medium red pepper, quartered
1 medium orange pepper, quartered
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
1/2 medium red onion, halved
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 c chopped herbs (I used basil, parsley, tarragon, mint)
6 tbsp olive oil, divided (1 for the veggies, 1 for the shrimp, 4 for the dressing)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small avocado, peeled and chopped
8-10 grape tomatoes, halved
1-2 tbsp chopped green onion (green part only)
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Toss the vegetables in a bit of oil. (I use an oil sprayer to lightly coat them).
Grill until the vegetables are cooked through, and have nice grill marks. Take off the grill, allow to cool, and chop coarsely.
Toss the shrimp in a bit of oil (again, I use the sprayer for this), and the paprika and cayenne.
Put the shrimp on the grill, and grill until cooked through and have nice grill marks (only a couple minutes on each side).
In a large bowl, toss the chopped grilled veggies, shrimp, chopped garlic and chopped herbs with the cooked orzo.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together 4Tbsp of the olive oil with the apple cider vinegar. Add to the salad and toss.
Season with salt & pepper, plate the salad and top with the chopped tomatoes and avocado.

Deep South Spiced Rice & Beans

Deep South Spiced Rice & Beans (p.137, Classic Vegetarian Recipes) – Being “mostly vegetarian”, I try to find recipes that include legumes of some kind. This sounded like a good dish to try, as it incorporates beans and some fresh veggies. It’s a good one for the spring, because it isn’t heavy and saucey.

This is another dish I found in one of my old, dusty cookbooks. It’s a pretty good one, but really not that much unlike things I make on my own. I actually substituted black beans for the suggested kidney beans, because that’s what I had on hand.

I love the colourful peppers in this dish. I think it’s true that the more colour in a dish, the more you want to eat it. I know I eat some things that look pretty rough – some stews and things that have a mushy brown thing going on – but I do love to add colour with veggies and herbs.

What does this dish have that I don’t usually add? Cajun spice. Until recently, I didn’t really think about Cajun spice. Then I had to make some in a pinch because the jar I thought I had was gone… Then I came across dish after dish calling for the vague “Cajun spice” (come ON people, just tell us what spices to use!). Now armed with “my own blend” and some in my spice drawer, I am prepared for such recipes.

Go Team Steph! Daring Pâté and Bread

I have a bit of a history with pâté. Growing up German, I ate loads of Braunschweiger, which may be a liverwurst and not technically “pâté” per se… but kinda is pâté in its spreadable variations. I used to gross out my friends, who were normal and didn’t eat weird things like Braunschweiger.

One time in grade school, in particular, I had spooned some into a little lunch container and packed it with some crackers. Knowing what it was, and that people thought it was gross, I showed my friend Heather. She just smiled and made yummy actions. Confused, I asked her if she ate Braunchweiger… also confused, she told me she had thought it was chocolate ice cream. I totally grossed her out by telling her what it actually was. I never did figure out how she thought I kept the ice cream frozen in my bag.

Braunschweiger is one of the weirdest meat things that I missed when I stopped eating meat.

Raw Trout and Shrimp

I can’t say I’ve tried to replace Braunschweiger with something veg. I sampled a couple of vegetarian pâtés at the Veggie Food Fair, but I never really felt the need to buy them. Now that I am an occasional meat eater, I haven’t jumped at the chance to have meat pâté again.

Not sure why, but it just hasn’t been on my radar.

Then I got the Daring Cooks‘ challenge for June. Make a pâté – and like it! I chose to make the trout and shrimp pâté partly because it’s made up of seafood, and partly because the description claimed it was passed down through a variety of nameless people, and possibly their grandmas and their grandma’s neighbours or something. I like recipes that just randomly work their way through people.

Sourdough Ciabatta, made with Vinifera flour

The second part of this challenge is to make a bread, which is where the “Team Stephfood” silliness comes in. J is the bread maker in the house, and I’m very happy to leave that to him. We opted to complete this challenge together. For his part, he made a ciabatta bread with his sourdough starter and Vinifera flour. Vinifera is neat, because it’s made from the skins of grapes. It imparts a purplish hue (depending on how much you use, and what you mix with it), and adds a tart flavour.

Trout and Shrimp Pâté on Vinifera Sourdough Ciabatta

The bread was amazing, and added some complexity to the pairing. The pâté was very mild, and I thought it needed some extra zazz. The bread definitely helped with that.

I enjoyed this challenge. It wasn’t something I would have looked for on my own, which makes it a good challenge for me. I don’t know for sure that I will make this regularly, but we thought it was tasty and different. It definitely goes well with our ‘spread’ dinners.

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Blog Love Pt. 2 – 101 Cookbooks

This is the second in a series of posts that give props to blogs that inspire me.

Right now, I’m in Turkey on vacation, so instead of scheduling posts of my own cooking that I can’t respond to, I thought I’d show some of the blogs that keep me interested every week. The things I really like in a food blog include great recipe ideas, stylish photos, a sense of the personality of a blogger (I don’t want it to read like an instruction manual!) and a focus on fresh ingredients.

I watch a few blogs regularly, but there are a few that stand out as being at the top of the heap.

Today, I’d like to highlight a blog called 101 Cookbooks.

When I first started reading this blog, I found myself making recipes from it very regularly. I’ve even posted the results of some of my attempts. Heidi, who writes for 101 Cookbooks, focuses on natural, whole foods and the recipes definitely reflect that goal. The photos are lovely, with almost a cottage kitchen quality to them.

101 Cookbooks - Palak Daal — Palak Daal - from www.101cookbooks.com

Palak Daal Recipe

This recipe made me believe that, after a bunch of failed attempts, I could actually cook Indian food. Obviously, I had been using the wrong recipes before.

This recipe was easy to follow, and resulted in an incredible dish that inspired me to look for more good Indian recipes.

I think this was the first recipe I made from 101 Cookbooks. It definitely was not the last.

101 Cookbooks - Broccoli Pesto Quinoa — Broccoli Pesto Quinoa - from www.101cookbooks.com

Double Broccoli Quinoa Recipe

This is one of MANY quinoa recipes! Yaaaay! I love quinoa, and I was looking for a fun new recipe, and found lots of options. This dish makes a pesto out of broccoli, almonds and parmesan cheese – and lots of garlic.

This dish is super healthy and super tasty. As you can see from the pic, it’s a very fresh and green dish.

This is a perfect summer dish, full of yummy crunchy broccoli!

Blog Love Pt. 1 – The Naked Beet

This is the first in a series of posts that give props to blogs that inspire me.

I watch a few blogs regularly, but there are a few that stand out as being at the top of the heap.

The first I’d like to highlight is called The Naked Beet.

This blog meets all of my criteria, and I’m always excited to see the latest posts. The photography is beautiful and enticing, the writing warm and friendly and the recipes are interesting and sophisticated, yet don’t seem to be aimed at seasoned chefs. Here are some recent examples of posts that piqued my interest.

Enjoy The Naked Beet! I’ll highlight another great blog next week!

The Naked Beet - Za'atar Mountain — Za'atar Mountain - from thenakedbeet.com

The spice must flow (…or why Za’atar will be in your local market soon)

This entry was posted a couple of weeks ago now, but I still haven’t cleared it from my Google Reader. I look at it almost every day.

Insanity? Probably. But just LOOK at it! … and then read it.

If you are a fan of herbs and spices, as I am, this post will definitely incite some deliciousness.

This post talks about Za’atar, a blend of herbs and spices used primarily in the Middle East, but making it’s way into foodies’ cupboards everywhere.

There’s some socio-political intrigue involved as well, which makes you think about how important food is to history and culture.

Also, do you see the freaking pyramid of spices? Seriously!

The Naked Beet - Shrimp in Coconut Fusion Broth — Shrimp in Coconut Fusion Broth - from thenakedbeet.com

Spicy Shrimp in Thai Fusion Broth

This post has also been in my saved list for a while… I keep trying to find the right time to make this recipe!

This dish is a mix of Mexican flavours (Ancho and Chipotle chiles) and Thai flavours (lemon grass, coconut milk). I knew this would be right up J’s alley, so it’s on my “do it up” list. Soon. I promise.

Until then, I’ll just look at the pretty picture and drool.

Monthly Mélange: May 2010

Noodles!!

What, No Challenge?

May has been a pretty slow month for cooking. I was going to set a challenge for the month, but then I didn’t have time to cook much in the first week, and figured I’d wait until June or July to set another monthly challenge. There’s no point in having a month-long challenge when I’m not home to cook…

I did set a couple of short-term challenges for myself, though. As usual, I did the Daring Cooks challenge.

I participated in an ‘Adaptation’ challenge, where you pay homage to a recipe on another blog by adapting it and making it your own (and, of course, giving due credit to the original post). This was almost a cop-out for me, because I do this kind of thing quite a lot. That said, I like to give props to the blogs I enjoy, which you’ll see more in the coming weeks.

I decided to find and make a Turkish (or Turkish influenced) dish before my trip to Turkey at the end of the month. This ties into my spice of the month, so I won’t bla-bla about it here. Let’s get into the rundown!

Just say ‘No’ to Food Waste!

Always in the back of my mind, I am continuing with a less formal food waste challenge. I continue to “freeze my bits”, and try not to buy more fresh food than I can use. Sadly, a couple of husks that were once heads of garlic had to be sacrificed to the bog of eternal stench. Scratch that — it makes it sound like I compost, which I sadly cannot (yet). Indeed, when I do find a condo-appropriate composting option, I will have to name it “The Bog of Eternal Stench“, after the movie Labyrinth. My garbage will now be known as the “Almighty Trash Heap“, after a character in Fraggle Rock.

Margery, The Almighty Trash Heap (photo from muppet.wikia.com)

Monthly Spice
Sumac. A few weeks ago, I bought Sumac for no real reason. I just remember that I saw it used on something and that at the time I had thought I should get some. So I did. I later realized that I saw it on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, in an episode where they went to Istanbul. Ta-da!! Sumac is used all over the Middle East, but isn’t mentioned much here in North America. It has a bizarrely tangy and smokey flavour that you really can’t compare to other spices. Since buying it, I’ve seen a number of really great things I’d like to try with it (like Za’atar). This month, I used it in my mini-challenge to make “something Turkish”.

Party in My Mouth
I’ve actually been staying away from the sweet stuff, after last month, so there isn’t much to report here. Instead, I’ve been really excited about the new herbs growing in my container garden. Fresh is best, and I love running out to the balcony to snip a few stems for a meal. They add a freshness and intrigue to everything – dinners, drinks and even desserts.

I Made This!
J was pretty impressed with the Turkish inspired Encrusted Fish & Tomato Pilaf. This was the first time I’d tried breading fish, and it went really well! It was also pretty yummy reheated — not as crispy, but it kept the fish from drying out. Pretty fun. I think I have to vote for the Daring Cooks challenge again this month. The Crab Enchiladas were really impressive, and I liked roasting the peppers and tomatillos, making the sauces and playing with spices. Yum!

Mystery Ingredient
Fresh green onion. This is the first year I’ve tried growing onions, and I’m really enjoying having fresh green onions to top every dish. It adds a mild punchy onion flavour, freshness and a nice pop of green. OK, this sounds like my writeup about the herbs in my garden. It’s true, though! Right now, I’m trying to resist the temptation to pull the green onions right up. The longer I leave them, the more likely I’ll end up with actual onions at the end. Not sure I have enough space for it, but it will be interesting to see how things turn out.

Shameful Secrets
I gave away the rest of my Jelly Bellies. They were actually hurting me, and I had to let go (at least for a while). I’m sorry I didn’t give them all to you, but you weren’t there at the time. Mea culpa.

The next few weeks will be full of adventure, and no doubt I’ll have lots to post about when it’s done. So excited!! In the meantime, I have some fun posts planned.

Desperately Seeking Sumac

Crusted Tilapia and Tomato Pilaf with Asparagus

Soon, I will be off on an adventure in a strange land, eating exotic food and exploring things older than my country.

Dramatic, yes! J and I are off to Turkey, and while there I will be taking in all of the new flavours. In fact, I’ve decided to start early. I bought some sumac, which is used in some Turkish dishes, and I’m ready to explore.

What is sumac like? This sounds kind of silly, but it tasted like smokey fire roasted tomatoes and berries. Weird, no? That’s what I thought of while I was eating it. I think it’s also important to be able to smell it, which is why it’s great to top a dish with it. The smell is at the same time intoxicating and bizarre. Seriously, I can’t think of any other spice that is like this. I think I’m in love.

OK, so I don’t know what constitutes “authentic” Turkish cuisine. Most of the dishes I see include some lamb, which I’m not against trying but will not be preparing any time soon. I’m also not quite ready to make a table full of Turkish mezze. I did a little bit of digging, and found this interesting sounding dish consisting of breadcrumb coated fish and a tomato rice pilaf.

Is it Turkish? Not sure. It sounds inspired by Turkish food, at the very least. It also sounds yummy.

Finally! Fresh, in-season, Ontario asparagus!

I added some local fresh asparagus, and was ready to roll! How was it? I really liked the coating on the fish, and had lots left over (wish I had more fish to coat!). I had to cook the fish a little longer than the recipe called for, but in the end it was cooked perfectly. I thought that there was not enough sumac in the dish – the smell and taste of the sumac got a little lost in the breading. I added some extra to the bread crumb mixture, and ended up sprinkling it all over the rice pilaf.

Intrigued? You can find the recipes I used at the links below. I used tilapia instead of flathead, I used pecans instead of walnuts, I think I doubled the sumac in the coating and I cooked the fish a little longer than suggested… but yeah, really great recipes from a site that I think I will have fun exploring. Check it out!

Recipes from What You Having for Your Tea?

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