What's Cooking?

Grilled Asparagus

 

It's spring and I hate asparagus. Not even sure if that's how you spell asparagus. However Mr. Chef really likes the stuff and the kids like it or will at least eat it. I think it's just ... not good. As luck would have it, there is a patch of asparagus growing right next to our rhubarb habitat - another (is it a veggie?) thing I don't like. Bleck. So why am I talking about asparagus if I don't eat it? Well - I invited some friends over for a dinner party on the Friday of May 2-4. Being such a great hostess I kindly volunteered Mr. Chef to do all the cooking and he got me back by cooking a fantastic supper filled with foods I don't eat. Including Grilled Asparagus. One of our guests is also a chef and he just "loved how the texture changed so beautifully with the grilling". I'll take his word for it. It's still not my thing. At least we had filet mignon and beer - two things I will eat.

Leftover Tuesdays 5 - Biscuit topped Chicken Pot Pie

 

My original recipe idea for Leftover Tuesdays this month, hosted by Pam at Project Foodie , was originally going to be Leftover Waffle Bread Pudding. I made a big batch of waffles yesterday in anticipation, had the bowls out and ready to go, consulted with Mr. Chef about bread puddings - and realized I was out of milk. I decided to ride my horse first and hit the store on the way home. When I got home - no waffles. Mr. Chef said "The kids were hungry". Really - you're a chef! COOK something, already. At any rate, I had to come up with a back-up leftover plan. Luckily I had roasted a chicken last night and had some leftover chicken. I put some thought into it and decided to have Biscuit topped Chicken Pot Pie. I've had the usual pot pies, made with pastry, but I was in panic mode tonight and wanted a 30 minute meal. Biscuits seemed the way to go. I'm pretty sure my kids have only had biscuits twice in their lives so it was time to introduce them again. A nice glass of iced tea, and we had a great meal. I should talk about the half an apple in this recipe, which is also technically a leftover. My oldest son only eats half an apple - ever. Don't know why. So when he set his half an apple on the counter beside me, I decided to chop the leftover up and toss it in the stew as well. I'm not sure if it added anything but it made me feel better. Thanks again to Project Foodie for hosting this month - look for the Roundup at the end of the week. And a big thanks again to David at Cooking Chat for coming up with this great food event!

Sweet Tea, or Real Brewed Iced Tea

In Kentucky we had iced tea but it was called Sweet Tea. Up here in my neck of the woods (Canada) we just call it Brewed Iced Tea, as opposed to the powdered stuff. Whatever it's called - I'm hooked. This is a very simple recipe for Sweet Tea and the amounts can be adjusted to how much tea you want

 to make and how sweet you want it to be. I don't know if it's an 'authentic' sweet tea recipe but it tastes good!

  

Strawberry Cake

 

I find strawberry picking a very Zen activity. Which is fine, really, that I can do something in this crazy life of mine that brings me such peace. Except that I've now become the strawberry version of the zucchini neighbour. You know the type - plants an ENTIRE package of zucchini seeds in the spring, brings it over by the bushel load and eventually becomes the most feared person in the neighbourhood. That's me, with strawberries instead of zucchini. I get caught up in picking them and have to give most of them away. You wouldn't think that people could actually hate strawberries, but given enough of them they do. This brings us to Strawberry Cake. Strawberry season is almost here in southern Ontario and I still have a freezer full of last year's berries. Well, not full exactly, but I still have many strawberries. Mr. Chef usually uses them to make a fruit sauce for our waffles but even he has been a little challenged by the sheer mass of all that fruit. Strawberry Cake is something I had heard of but never tried. A little panic, a bit of internet searching, and plain old cheapness brought me to this cake recipe. It calls for frozen strawberries, some jello, and a boxed cake mix. Peasant food at its best.

Baked Penne

 

This is the first time I've made a baked pasta, I think, other than lasagna. I was looking for something quick as I had to make supper when I got home from work. The beef and pasta craving came on, and this is what turned out. Many of the recipes I came across for quick baked pasta called for canned something or other. If you've read my site before then you'll know that I'm not a fan of canned something soup, or pretty much processed food of any kind. At any rate, the original recipe called for a can of tomato soup, but I a.) didn't have any and b.) didn't want to use any. I made up my own pasta sauce, loosely based on my mother's "Don't you EVER post my pasta sauce or you will be disowned" spaghetti sauce. I did include the secret ingredient, but I won't tell you which one it is. Now - there is cheese on the top of this. I can't tell you how much because my hyperactive 5 year old and his adoring 2 year old sister kept running off with the plate of grated cheese. They'd run off, I'd grate more, and before I knew it we had used a whole 600g block of cheese. I'm pretty sure there isn't a pound of cheese on the baked penne.

Health and Fitness Support Forum

For anyone interested, I have set up a support group discussion forum at: http://forum.whats-cooking.ca/ Okay, right. I did set up the forum, but it's actually the support group my sister started. She is a health and wellness bully ... I mean advisor. Her current group has about 4 people in it, and she nags, chases and yes, bullies, all of them into working out and eating well. I'm sure they had no idea what they signed up for. She also cooks and takes them grocery shopping ... there is no escape. I've joined the forum too. When one of my co-workers (who is 17 years old) sees me eating an apple and says: "Since when do you eat fruit?", I figure it's time to change my diet. Writing down what I eat has been a real eye opener and has made me realize that I have the worst diet on the planet, even though I am one of those skinny types (yes, had to put that in, just so you all know that 'skinny' doesn't equal 'healthy'.) (Who am I kidding? I've been dying to say that.) What's with the picture below? I just thought it was pretty, and very peaceful. Not everything is as it appears; this was taken from the top of the mountain near Lexington, Kentucky. An accidental encounter with light on leaves. However -- two degrees to my right is the roaring freeway, racing across the valley. Peace is just a matter of angle.

  

Dutch Baby - Oven pancake

I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever eaten one of these. I was looking for a 'yummy' breakfast recipe, as per the request from my hyperactive 5 year old, and came across these Dutch Babies. It occurred to me, while the 5 year old bounced around my kitchen talking non-stop, that I could see why the Dutch would actually eat their babies. Then I read the recipe and decided it was an oven baked pancake, or an oven baked crepe. This dutch-baby recipe has no leavening in it other than eggs; this seemed to be the usual recipe, although I did find some that had some baking soda or powder in them. I decided simple was better (and cheaper). The recipe originally calls for 4 eggs but I've changed this to 3 or 4 eggs. We have our own chickens here on the farm, and our eggs are REALLY large - so I use 3 eggs. But if you are using grocery store eggs, you'll probably need 4 of them. I guess there's a 'method' to making these, which believe it or not I followed, so my suggestion is to actually read the instructions for guidance. I'm not sure what would happen if you didn't follow 'the method', but I wouldn't want to be responsible for any breakfast disasters.