Curried Lentil Soup
Added on: Sunday December 7, 2008

Last weekend, I helped cook an Indian meal at my friend's house in Newfoundland. One of my favourite dishes was the soup that we started with, this curried lentil soup. It was garnished with a spoonful of chutney butter (recipe below), which moved this soup from good to great.

• 3 T. butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 T. fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
• 1 1/2 c. brown lentils or yellow split peas
• 8-10 c. chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 2 lemons
• 1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
• Salt & Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno pepper, and bay leaves. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook 2 minutes more.

2. Add the lentils and 8 cups of chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Halve the lemons, squeeze the juice, and add both the juice and the remaining lemon rinds to the soup. Continue to simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes. If the soup seems to be too thick, thin with additional chicken stock.

3. Remove the bay leaves and lemon rinds from the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender, and return it to the pot, stirring to combine. Add the cilantro and keep the soup warm over low heat.

Chutney Butter

• 1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 c. sweet mango chutney or Major Grey chutney

1. In a food processor, blend the butter and chutney together until smooth. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a generous dollop of chutney butter. Serve immediately.

Custard Eggnog
Added on: Monday December 22, 2008

For custard-lovers everywhere, this is one of my favourite Christmas recipes. Normally, eggnog has lots of fat in it, but this version is much lighter. Imagine how impressed your family will be when you serve them homemade eggnog!

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4 extra-large eggs + 2 egg whites
• 8 c. skim or 1% milk, hot
• 2 t. pure vanilla extract
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 c. dark rum (Alan swears by Mount Gay rum) optional

1. Whisk the sugar, flour and salt together in a large pot. Add eggs and egg whites; combine thoroughly. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until the custard has thickened enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Before serving, stir in the vanilla, nutmeg and rum, if using. Pour 2 cups of custard into a blender, add 2 cups of ice cubes and blend until frothy. Repeat with remaining custard. Serve immediately.

Potato Pancakes
Added on: Friday November 7, 2008

Who can resist these crispy potato pancakes? This recipe is simple and you don't have to drain the potatoes after they are chopped in the food processor. I have two regrets about making these – I didn't have any sour cream to top them with and I didn't make a double batch!

• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 2 eggs
• 3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 1 t. kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
• 4 T. breadcrumbs

1. In a food processor, chop onion finely. Add eggs and blend. Add potato chunks and, pulsing on and off, process the mixture until there are no large chunks of potato left.

2. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add potato batter by the tablespoonful, flattening the pancakes with a back of a spoon. Flip and cook the other side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding oil between batches, as necessary.

3. Top with sour cream. A really wonderful treat would be some of the delicious smoked salmon that Bob brings in for the store, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of fresh chives.

*I used a piece of paper towel to soak up the little bit of extra moisture in the potato mixture.

Smoked Trout Dip
Added on: Wednesday May 21, 2008

Over the Christmas holidays, I picked up a package of smoked trout, at my local Clean Food Connection in Mount Albert. The trout was beautiful, the skin coming off very easily, and the dip turned out well. The first time I made it, I didn't add any capers, and I found myself adding capers to the top of each cracker. The next time I made the dip (for New Year's Eve), I added chopped capers to the recipe and it was fantastic! Even if you don't think you like capers, they add that extra something that make people love this dip.

• 1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 whole smoked trout, skin removed, flaked into pieces
• 1 or 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 T. fresh dill, chopped
• 1 T. capers, finely chopped
• 1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and trout. Add the rest of the ingredients. Serve with crostini or crackers. This dip is very good the day you make it, but it is even better the next day. Serve with rice crackers or crostini.

Tzatziki
Added on: Monday June 9, 2008

I love this dip in the summer time! The Clean Food Connection does sell prepared tzatziki, but why not try making it yourself? The hardest part of this recipe is trying to remember to let the yogurt and the cucumber drain. If you don’t have cheesecloth at home, you can use a thick paper towel to drain the yogurt in. Once the liquid is out of the yogurt, the yogurt will basically peel off the cheesecloth or paper towel. If you want the tzatziki a little runnier, keep a cup or so of yogurt out and add it in at the end.

Yesterday, I made this tzatziki, along with homemade pita breads, lamb burgers, homemade falafel, and a tomato, cucumber, and red onion salad. It was a feast that everyone was happy to be a part of – even my kids! I love dipping pita or veggies in tzatziki, but I particularly love eating it with warm dishes, such as the lamb and falafel.

This recipe is a revised version from “The Barefoot Contessa Parties Cookbook”. Ina Garten’s cookbooks are some of my absolute favourites, and they are always a great place to look when you are searching for a really good rendition of a common recipe.

• 4 c. plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 English cucumbers, unpeeled and seeded
• 2 T. + 1 t. kosher salt
• 2 T. white wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 2 T. good olive oil
• 1 T. minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 1 T. minced fresh dill
• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve and set it over a bowl to drain. Grate the cucumber and toss it with 2 T. salt. Place it in another sieve and set it over another bowl. Place both bowls in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Transfer the thickened yogurt to a large bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumbers as you can and add the cucumbers to the yogurt. Mix in the vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1 t. salt, and pepper. If you have time, let sit in the fridge for a few hours before you serve it or you can serve it right away.

*If this is your first time draining yogurt (referred to as yogurt cheese sometimes), you will realize how easy it is to do. A delicious treat is to mix drained yogurt with a spoonful of local honey. I sometimes do this with plain, fat-free yogurt and once it is drained, it is hard to believe that it could be fat-free. Delicious!

Zucchini Fritters
Added on: Monday November 24, 2008

These fritters are like savory vegetable pancakes. For a weekend breakfast, layer each fritter with slices of peameal bacon and fresh tomatoes.

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. paprika
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 c. zucchini, shredded
• 1/2 c. red pepper, diced
• 1/2 c. green onions, sliced
• 1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
• 4 slices peameal bacon
• 8 slices vine-ripened tomatoes
• 4 T. rapeseed or sunflower oil

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, and sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and milk. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth, lump-free batter.

2. Place the zucchini, red pepper, green onions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add enough batter to bind the vegetables together.

3. Heat 2 T. of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Drop 2 T. of batter in the pan for each fritter. Add more oil to the pan, as needed.

4. Serve 1 or 2 fritters with a slice of bacon and slices of tomatoes. Serves 4 people.