Yummy!

When our local bulk foods store introduced tamari almonds as a new product, they offered it at a sale price and so, naturally, I bought some.  Frank and I both liked them, but when I went back for more, the introductory offer was over, and plain, raw almonds were on sale, instead.  Well.

These are so easy to make, and so good!  Here’s how it’s done:

1 lb shelled, raw almonds

1/3 cup tamari sauce (or soy sauce)

kosher salt to taste (optional)

Place the almonds in a bowl and pour tamari sauce over them.  Mix it around well, and let stand for at least several hours (I left them overnight).  Stir occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Scoop almonds out of the bowl with a slotted spoon (maybe even a runcible spoon, if you’re a fan of  The Owl and the Pussycat, or know a Dolomphious Duck) and spread them evenly on a cookie sheet.  Reserve the remaining tamari sauce.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and shake them up to keep them from sticking to the sheet.   Sprinkle the remaining tamari sauce over the almonds and return to the oven for a further nine to ten minutes.

Let the almonds cool on the cookie sheet and if you like, toss with a little kosher or other coarse salt.  (Good luck with the letting them cool bit; I discovered that they taste pretty nice warm, too!)

Some of the ingredients

In the last little while I have been gifted with food by two of my friends.  Karen gave me tomatoes and a cayenne pepper from her garden.  Elisabeth gave me tomatillas from the farmer’s market where she sells her fibre, yarn, and marvellous handmade mittens, among other things.

Inspiration struck, and this stew was the result:

Sniffle Stew (so called because both Frank and I had sniffly noses after eating it, and also because I think it would be great when you have a cold)

Action shot of the stew cooking -- what great colours!

3/4 to 1 lb pork tenderloin cut into 1″ cubes

3/4 lb tomatillas, quartered

1 large tomato, chopped coarsely

1 acorn squash, peeled and 1/2″ cubed

1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

1/2 cayenne pepper, finely diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth (I used instant powdered broth, oh horror)

And the spices: 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp cumin, and some salt to taste.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pot, and brown the pork tenderloin on all sides.  Add the squash, garlic and chicken broth and simmer for about ten minutes.  Add all the other ingredients and simmer about another ten minutes, until the tomatoes and tomatillas have made a sauce.  We have leftovers, so this amount should feed three to four people.

This would be lovely without the meat (and just use a little water or veggie broth for the liquid), so is perfectly adaptable to being a vegetarian meal.  Almost any meat can be substituted for the pork tenderloin, by the way — I think this would be especially good with chicken, and also yummy with stewing beef.

The meal got the Frank stamp of approval, so the leftovers won’t be cluttering up the fridge for any appreciable length of time….

Just out of the oven they are too soft to handle

Last night Frank had a hankering for something chocolatey and since he begged so nicely, I whipped up some chocolate lava cakes for him (I admit, I had some, too — they’re not just for breakfast anymore!).  These are really quick and easy to make and taste so decadent.  (Well, I haven’t worked out the calories in them — but I’m sure they taste decadent because they are decadent!  They’re a blow-your-diet dessert.)

Prep takes about 15 minutes, and baking about 12 minutes.  Then you have to let them cool for another 10 minutes or so.

Here’s what you need to make them:

• 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4/5 C non-hydrogenated margarine (or butter) – I find this easier to weigh than to measure in a measuring cup; it’s 180 gm or a smidge under 6 1/2 oz by weight
• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/4 C Splenda (or sugar)
• 1 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease 10 large muffin cups (or use 16 ungreased small silicone muffin cups, like I did)
3. Melt margarine together with chocolate chips (microwave on high for 3 minutes, let sit about 3 minutes, and stir — microwave a minute longer, if required)
4. Beat eggs together with Splenda and mix in flour
5. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture (I use a rubber spatula)
6. Fill the muffin cups
7. Bake at 350F for 8 to 12 minutes (in my toaster/convection oven it took 11 minutes).  The cakes should be somewhat firm on the outside, but still slightly runny in the middle.

After they’ve cooled a bit, they’re wonderful plain or with whipped cream or ice cream.

Gooey chocolatey goodness

Can you see a difference?

Yesterday I made bread (see loaf on right).  Today I made bread again (see loaf on left).  I know that it’s a poor carpenter who blames his tools, but I blame the bread machine for the disaster on the right.  It didn’t work properly on the whole wheat program.  So, after a good night’s sleep and with renewed resolve, I tried again with the white bread program.  As you can see, all went well.   However, there was still this “loaf” (more of a “brick”, actually) of sub-standard bread on the counter.  “Pas de problem“, as they say in the province to the east.  “Bread pudding au chocolat!” as we say in this house when we’re trying to sound classy.

Bread pudding is one of those comfort foods with many variations.  You can put dried or fresh fruit in it, jam or jelly, or even gummi bears, if that strikes your fancy. You can serve it with a bit of cream, a whiskey or rum or bourbon sauce, whipped cream, or caramel topping out of a jar. I like to make mine with chocolate chips. Here’s how I do it:

Yumminess

Butter an 8″ square baking pan.  Cut stale (or merely disappointing) bread into rough cubes, anywhere from 1/2″ to 2″ in size.  Put enough of the cubes into the pan to generously cover the bottom.  Sprinkle with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate chips (enough to cover the bread).  Follow this with another layer of bread.  Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar over the top, and dot with bits of butter.  Beat two eggs in a large measuring cup, and add enough milk to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.  Pour this over the bread mixture.  Smoosh the bread down into the liquid a bit, to make sure that every cube absorbs some moisture.  Let this sit for about twenty or thirty minutes.  Bake 45 minutes in a 350F oven. Eat some while it’s still warm.  C’est tout!

The challenge ingredients

Every now and then, Frank (my husband) likes to set me a cooking challenge.  Since I love to cook, I enjoy this a lot.  Sort of Iron Chef Ottawa, without any competition.  Frank buys what he figures are weird and wonderful ingredients, and I make a meal out of them. The rules are that I can add whatever I like, but can’t omit any of what he picked out.  Yesterday he chose the following: wonton wrappers, a celery root, a papaya, some jalapeno peppers, a can of water chestnuts, a can of lily buds, and some stewing beef.

I really wasn’t sure about the lily buds (I’ve never tried them before), but I was familiar with everything else.  I let the list of ingredients marinate in my head overnight, waiting for inspiration to strike.

Today I hauled out the food processor and began.  First I made a papaya relish (papaya, green onion, jalapenos, a squeeze of lime and a clove of garlic all pulsed together into a slightly chunky sauce).  Then I cleaned out the processor bowl and shredded the celery root and a small white turnip.  Mixed them together with a dressing made of mayonnaise, lemon juice, a little salt and pepper, and a bit of milk to thin it out to the proper consistency — voila, celery root slaw.

Everything ready to serve: wontons on the left, beef in the background, slaw in the blue bowl and papaya relish at the front

I shredded up a little green cabbage and fried it together with the lily buds (which were very salty and otherwise pretty tasteless), some Tian Jin preserved vegetable (salty, garlicky dried cruciferous veggie of some sort) and some chopped pickled ginger (the sushi kind) and a bit of hoisin sauce.  Once everything was soft and wilted, I stuffed the wonton wrappers with it, and fried the wontons in a lightly oiled pan.  I figured that the freshness and sweetness of the papaya relish would be a nice foil to the salty, fried wontons.  I braised the beef in a little water and Worcestershire sauce, and added the water chestnuts near the end of the cooking time.  Served with some brown rice, it was all pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Plated and ready for the table

What I’d do differently: I don’t think I’d bother with the lily buds again; they added salt and a little texture, but I would go with fresh bean sprouts — cheaper and probably healthier.  I’d undercook the beef a bit; I left it too long while waiting for the rice to cook, and it was a tad chewy.  I’m not a big beef fan and don’t cook it very often, so my inexperience was against me here.  I’d add more pepper to the papaya relish — these particular jalapenos were much milder than some others I’ve had from the same grocer.  A little more heat would have brightened up the flavour.  On the whole, though, I was pleased with how everything turned out.  Frank seemed to be, as well, and is looking forward to having leftover wontons with relish for supper tonight.