Pea Soup, the Right Way

When I am writing this blog, I usually make use of Google to help me find links to the recipes. Every time I start typing Nigella into the search, I always laugh. Google has this feature called auto complete, and when you start typing something, Google has a drop list that includes some possible searches you are looking for. When you type in Nigella the first three auto completes are as follows:

1) Nigella Lawson

2) Nigella Lawson recipes

3) Nigella Lawson breasts

I could see how her recipes are the most searched thing about Nigella, but her breasts came in second? Not that I am saying they should have been first, I'm just saying it makes me laugh that that's an actual popular search amongst people. If I were Nigella I don't know if I would feel more offended or proud.

Back in October I unsuccessfully made Nigella Lawson's Split Pea Soup. The end result was more of a gruel than a soup. This is not Nigella's fault, this was my own. I didn't have enough chicken broth for the soup and the dried split peas absorbed more than I thought they would. The gruel was not aesthetically pleasing, and the texture was hard to stomach, but the taste itself was not bad.

After reading the post, my friend C had mentioned that she had loved that recipe, she even drew five stars beside the recipe in her cookbook, and that it was too bad that I didn't enjoy it.

Yesterday morning I opened an email from C which read "When you made Nigella's pea soup, did you not like the taste or was it something else? I was thinking of making it for supper tonight for when you come over, but if you hated the taste I could make something else"

I wrote back saying the soup itself tasted good, but it was my poor execution that was the problem so I would be more than happy to have the soup. Then I also said I would be taking pictures of it and posting about the soup made the right way.

The pictures were taken by me, but all the food was made by C.

The soup:

Nigella calls this "Yellow Split Pea Soup with Frankfurters". If you are opposed to the use of hot dogs in the soup, you could use chopped ham instead. I personally like the franks, the picture reminds me of sharks circling around their prey. The soup is also pretty healthy (franks aside), the ingredients are celery, carrot, onion, broth, split peas and some seasonings.

If the soup isn't filling enough on its own, you could serve it alongside some bread. One thing I love about C is that she has the patience to bake and there is never a shortage of baked goods in her house.

C made Nigella's Potato Bread, which was still warm when we ate it. Really, is there anything better than fresh, warm from the oven, homemade bread? I could have ate the whole loaf myself, I didn't, but I wanted to.

I noticed in the recipe Nigella didn't do this, but C brushed melted butter on top of it when she pulled the loaf out of the oven. It made the bread shiny, but also the crust tasted of butter, and who doesn't love that?

Lemony Snickets

I was thrilled to receive The Cook's Book of Everything for Christmas. I had been eyeing it up at Chapters for a while, although when it comes to cookbooks there is very little I don't have my eye on. This particular book really does have a recipe for everything. It also has an herb and spice guide which is very informative.

My grocery store has this one produce aisle, I call it the miscellaneous aisle. That aisle is home to a random assortment of vegetables or herbs that can be unusual. The problem I have with this aisle is that I can't always count on a certain item to be there. For instance, I have seen Thai basil in the aisle on occasion, but not every single time that I shop there.
When I was walking down that aisle recently I saw lemongrass, an item that I have never noticed before at Sobeys. I went home, forgetting about the lemongrass, and opened my new cookbook. No joke, I opened it up to a recipe for lemongrass beef. Not seeing this as a coincidence the next night I picked up some lemongrass and made the dish.

Lemongrass Beef

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbs grated ginger

4 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely chopped

1.5 tbs vegetable oil

600 grams lean beef fillet, thinly sliced (I didn't know what they meant by beef fillet so I just used steak)

1 tbs lime juice

1-2 tbs fish sauce

2 tbs kepap manis

1 lg red onion, cut into small wedges

200 g green beans, sliced

To make:

1)Mix together garlic, ginger, lemongrass and 2 tsp oil in a large, non-metallic bowl. Add the beef, toss well to coast, then cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes

*note: when working with lemongrass, peel off the outer leaves*

2) To make the stir-fry sauce, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce and kecap manis. (Kecap manis is a thick, dark sweet soy sauce used in Indonesian and Malaysian cooking. If not available, simply stir a little soft brown sugar into regular soy sauce until it dissolves) Sobeys did not have kecap manis, so I used the soy sauce and brown sugar combo

3) Heat the wok (or large skillet) over high heat, add 1 tbs oil and swirl to coat. Stir fry the beef in batches, 2 -3 minutes, or until browned. Remove from wok and set aside.

4) Heat the remaining oil in the wok over high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a further 2 minutes, then return the beef to the wok. Pour in the stir-fry sauce and cook until heated through.

Delicious! I have never worked with lemongrass before, and I have to say their smell reminded me of lemon wet-naps. Some people might find that to be an unattractive quality, but I love wet-naps so I didn't think this was a bad thing at all. I was skeptical of first of how lemony the lemongrass would make the meat taste, but there was a very strong citrus flavor to it. Not exactly like lemon, but lemon with a hint of herb.

The other night I used actual lemons in another recipe from The Cook's Book of Everything.
Chinese Lemon Chicken
Ingredients:
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs Chinese rice wine
1 spring onion (scallion, or green onion), finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped ginger
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
100 g (1 cup) cornstarch
oil, for deep frying
Lemon Sauce Ingredients:
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp cornstarch
To make:
1) Cut chicken into slices. Place in a bowl, add the soy sauce, rice wine, spring onion, ginger and garlic, and toss lightly. Marinate in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.
2) add the egg to the chicken mixture and toss lightly to coat. Drain off the excess and coat the chicken pieces with the cornstarch. The easiest way to do this is to put the chicken and cornstarch in a plastic bag and shake it.
3) fill a wok one-quarter full of oil and heat to 190 C (375 F), or until a cube of bread dropped in the oil turns golden brown in 10 seconds. Add half the chicken, a piece at a time, and fry, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes. Or until golden brown. Remove with a wire sieve or slotted spoon and drain. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Reheat the oil and return all the chicken to the wok. Cook until crisp and golden brown. Drain the chicken. Pour off the oil and wipe out the wok.
4) To make the lemon sauce combine all the ingredients.
5) Reheat the wok over med heat, add the lemon sauce and stir constantly until sauce thickens. Add chicken and toss lightly until the chicken is covered in the sauce.


Sadly I was in a hurry to eat so I just quickly threw it all onto a plate. As I was about to take a bite I remembered I should take a picture of it for the blog, which is why the picture seems to be lacking.
The chicken was so good. I think next time I would use honey instead of the sugar in the lemon sauce, and I would add another tsp.
I have used cornstarch as a coating for fried chicken before, and I liked the results. This time around I LOVED the results, I credit it to dipping in the egg first, but also frying the chicken twice. The chicken is very crisp this way.

Even if only half the recipes in the book turn out as well as these two did, I would have to say no home should be without it.

I can't resist making this post even longer without telling this story. A friend and I were out at a pub when we ran into her neighbors. Her neighbors turned out to be the biggest germaphobes I have ever met. They were telling us that they wash all their produce in soap and water before they will eat them. They also mentioned that they will never buy a lemon or a lime. Ever. They use the bottled lemon or lime juice. You see, one time they watched a documentary on what happens to a lemon or lime from the time it is picked off the tree, to the time it gets to one's house. At this point, you should be able to tell what kind of people they are judging their entertainment picks. During this enthralling film a lemon had been handled by 4 people who had picked their nose, which had scared them off buying lemons and limes forever.
I had a couple problems with their theory. I can understand being thoroughly grossed out by this but:
1) Wouldn't all fruit/vegetables that are hand picked off trees or wherever, also have a chance of being handled by nose pickers? Or is nose picking only limited to the lemon and lime workers?
2) If you bought a lemon or lime from the store, you could take it home and wash it in water and soap, and feel confident it is clean, but the bottled juice is made from actual lemons and limes. Are we sure the factory cares enough to wash the fruit before juicing it?
This is only one...quirk this couple had. Perhaps over time I will share what the entire, very painful, evening had to offer.

Nigella's Birthday

Today is Nigella Lawson's birthday! A while back I wrote about how wonderful Nigella is (if you click the "wonderful" link you will be sent to that post, which not only talks about how much I love her, but also has a picture of Bruce Willis, win win)

Funny story. A while before Christmas my friend C mentioned she really wanted How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and How to Eat by Nigella. A couple weeks before Christmas (I procrastinate) I had bought her How to Eat. I thought I did such a great job in remembering what she wanted, and I was so excited to give it to her, and I didn't even read it first! A couple days before our gift exchange she casually mentions that she opened her presents from her mother in law. I asked her what she got, turns out I'm not the only person she told about wanting these books. On the plus side, I had also wanted How to Eat and now I own it.

In the preface Nigella says "although it is possible to love eating without being able to cook, I don't believe you can ever really cook unless you love eating. Such love, of course, is not something that can be taught, but it can be conveyed-and maybe that's the point."

She is simply the greatest, and one of my biggest inspirations.

Skins

The New Year has inspired me to make some changes. I even made some resolutions this year. Number one on my list was to complain less. The classic "go to the gym more" is on my list too. I can already see this is not going to happen. Maybe my resolution should be to find out when my contract runs out and cancel the gym membership. Boom! Roasted. I also resolved to blog more.

I am making one change on the blog. Right now the title to each post is a song title, and while I still like this idea it's hard to tell from the title which food is involved in the post. I want to make it a bit easier to navigate through older posts.

A while ago I stumbled onto a blog, The Pioneer Woman. The Pioneer Woman, or Ree Drummond, was a city girl who fell in love with a cattle rancher and started a blog about transitioning from a city girl to a country girl. She recently released a cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. When I heard about this book coming out, I immediately put it on my Chapters wish list. I had flipped through it a couple times, but as Christmas was nearing I couldn't justify spending money on myself. I did buy the book for my friend C. The book sat on my kitchen table, tempting me to open it. Since it was her Christmas present, I didn't feel right about flipping through it and reading it before giving it to her. Temptation proved to be too much, and I did read it. And I loved it. So I kept that copy and bought her a brand new one.

What I love about this cookbook is that the recipes are so simple. My friend C is married to a very picky eater, and when I buy her cookbooks I always try to find ones with things I think her husband would eat too. When she flipped through the cookbook after opening it, she did confirm my belief that her husband would love many of the recipes as well.

On New Year's Day, I took a day for myself. I spent the entire day lounging, reading, and watching more Moonlighting. I was also going to make use of my new cookbook and make some of her appetizer recipes for snacks.

The first thing I made was her Pico de Gallo. Pico de Gallo is a mix of tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice. I'm posting the link to her recipe and I recommend that you click on it. She gives step-by-step instructions, as well as a picture for every instruction. (This is also something I love about the book, she gives step by step pictures) I used a little less cilantro than she does (mainly because I don't really like it), and a bit more lime juice (because I love it), though not enough lime juice to kill the flavor of the onion and tomato. I really liked the Pico de Gallo, it was really refreshing, and it makes a great healthy snack. Not only can you use it for tortilla chips, you can also use it to top tacos, fajitas, grilled chicken or fish. I think I might try it with seared scallops sometime.

Her guacamole was next on my snack list. It's very simple, you mash up some avocados and add some Pico de Gallo to it. I liked this guacamole, but it was not nearly as good as the other guacamole I have posted before.

Get the recipes HERE

I am really sorry this picture is so grainy, I tried everything I could to make this better, but this was the best I could do. However, if you listened to me and clicked the link, you will see her beautiful pictures there.

The next thing I made was her potato skins. I can't find a link on her site for the recipe, and I found another blogger who made them but she wrote SOY BACON WOULD BE A GOOD SUBSTITUTE FOR BACON. A clear sign that the blogger is deranged and I will not link to anything that would make that kind of a comment. My soul weeps for humanity.

Pioneer Woman's Potato Skins

Ingredients:

8 russet potatoes

8 slices bacon (NO SOY!!)

canola oil

salt

1.5 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup sour cream

4 sliced green onions

The instructions in my words:

1) preheat oven to 400 F. Scrub and dry the potatoes, and then bake them for 45 min to an hour, until fork tender

1a) chop the bacon and fry it in a pan. Ree fried the bacon in whole strips and then chopped it later, but I don't think it makes a difference either way

2) when potatoes have cooled a little, cut them in half and scoop out the inner flesh, leaving a small margin of potato. You are making potato canoes, but you want to leave enough potato that the canoe is sturdy and it still technically a potato skin without being just the skin.

3) brush both sides of the potatoes with canola oil and salt them.

4) place the skins flesh side down on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes.

5) flip them over and bake 7 minutes more, or until skin is crispy.

6) divide the cheese and bacon into each skin and bake again just until the cheese melts.

7) place a dollop of sour cream into each and top with green onion.

I burnt the bacon by accident, but even with burnt bacon these potato skins were so delicious!

Note: with the leftover potato flesh that was scooped out you can mix in some cheddar cheese, green onion, bacon and form it into a cake of sorts. Heat up some butter and oil in a skillet and place the cake in the skillet. When that side has browned, flip the cake onto a plate. Heat up a bit more oil and butter and slide the cake into the skillet, browned side up. This is my version of a rosti, so that you don't waste the potato flesh. Top with sour cream.

I had every intention of actually making the rosti, but I didn't get around to it, so I don't have a picture. It is a good way to use up any leftover ingredients from the skins.

Bother

Pizza is one of my all time favorite things to eat, and I rarely get tired of it. I will eat, and even like, frozen pizza from the grocery store. I'm of the belief that some pizza is better than others, but there's no such thing as bad pizza.

I have made homemade dough before, and I wasn't crazy about it. So I didn't see much of a point to making your own dough, until one night I was at my friend's house. She made the best pizza dough I have ever tasted. The recipe is as follows:

C's Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

3 cups flour, separated

2 tsp quick rising (instant) yeast

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups hot (120 F) water

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1) Mix together 2 3/4 cup flour with yeast and salt

2) Gradually add water and oil until dough forms

3) Knead dough adding remaining flour 1 tbsp at a time until dough is smooth & elastic

I use my stand mixer for this part, using the wire whisk for step 1 and 2, and the dough hook for step 3.

4) Place in a greased bowl, and turn dough so it's greased on all sides. Cover (feel free to use non stick spray for the greasing, and you can cover with cling film or a kitchen towel)

5) let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or in the fridge for one day

6) punch down dough. Roll out to 14", sprinkle pan with cornmeal, top pizza, and bake for 20 minutes at 425 F

Couple things to remember. You want to use a fine cornmeal. One time my friend bought cornmeal that wasn't very fine and it was like trying to break up rocks with your teeth. While it was still a very good pizza, and a hilarious moment, it is better to have fine cornmeal.

Also this pizza dough can be ruined if you're not paying attention. I used 1 3/4 cup water, instead of 1 1/4 cups the second time I made it. I just added more flour to make up for it (as I wasn't about to waste 3 cups of flour by throwing it out and starting over), but since this is a baking recipe it did change the dough. Instead of being easy to roll out, it was tough, and the pizza crust was heavy and hard instead of light and fluffy. So follow the recipe carefully.

As for toppings, the sky is the limit. I used a ready made pizza sauce, pizza pepperoni, hot Italian sausage (casings removed, and browned up like ground beef), mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and mozzarella cheese. I also use Real Bacon. As in the heavily processed, bacon-like product in a jar. It holds up really nice in the oven.

Trust me, this dough is super easy to put together and the result is amazing. The dough is airy, and fluffy, but still crisp on the outside.

Two Pina Coladas

I absolutely love the smell of coconut. I remember a friend of mine had the best smelling body spray. She bought it for a couple bucks at the drug store, but since she bought that one we have never been able to find it again. There is nothing that tops the smell of a really good pina colada, except the taste of a really good pina colada.

Bacardi sells these delicious blended drink mixes in the grocery store freezers. I remember loving them so much when my dad would make them for us kids. (Without the rum). When I was rooming with my second roommate, we would makes these (with rum) only our blender was so awful it had to be "drank" with a spoon because the ice chunks wouldn't make it through the straw. When this roommate of mine was visiting me recently we had a supper of pina coladas, lobster tails, risotto and roasted pineapple.

Rebekah's Baked Lobster Tails

1) if you bought frozen lobster tails, thaw them out by placing them in a sink filled with cold water. This will take some time.

2) once the tails are thawed cut the tails in half lengthwise

3) take a piece of foil and fold up all four sides so it's like a square bowl. Place the tail inside with the exposed meat facing up.

4) place tabs of butter on top of the meat and sprinkle some lemon pepper seasoning on top

5) close up the tin foil so it's a pouch and no lobster is exposed

6) place in an oven @ 350 F until the lobster meat is opaque, about 7-10 minutes


The lobster has been placed on a bed of risotto. Risotto is one of my favorite things. (I have a lot of favorite things). The problem with risotto is it can be so time consuming. And it's not like you can start making it and then go off and do something else, you have to be attentive. Risotto is high maintenance.

Microwave risotto is not high maintenance, and yet it yields great results.

Tante's Microwave Risotto:

Ingredients: 1 cup arborio rice

3 cups BOILING chicken stock

1/2 or 1/3 cup chopped white onion

2 tbs butter

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

grated Parmesan cheese

(this will serve four small portions, so you can up the amount however you like the basic rule of thumb is 3 parts stock to 1 part rice)

1) in a large microwavable dish heat the butter and oil for 1 minute

2) stir in the onion and heat for another minute

3) stir in the rice and heat for a minute (keep the onion and rice glossy with the oil and butter, dry rice might burn, if you need to add more oil so all the grains are shiny)

4) add the boiling stock. If you do not heat up the stock first, it will not be absorbed. heat for 8 minutes

5) stir, and heat for another 8 minutes

6) add some grated Parmesan. 1/2 cup should work, but feel free to add more. Stir. Crack black pepper over it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When I say add pepper to any recipe, I always mean fresh ground pepper. I NEVER mean "restaurant pepper".

This is so delicious. I could eat the whole thing for dinner. The risotto is creamy, and rich and so simple.

Roasted Pineapple

I took the whole pineapple and sliced of the top. Then I sliced the peel off in strips, using my knife. I cut the pineapple into slices and cut out the harder core in the center.

I topped it with some brown sugar and butter. I had some butter sitting on the cutting board from when I was making the lobster, and I couldn't let it go to waste.

Place the rings on a baking sheet and heat at 400 F to 425 F for 15 minutes or so. The pineapple should be soft, and the butter and sugar should be melted.

The pina coladas were easy. Take a can of Bacardi's frozen Pina Colada Mix and squeeze it into the blender. Add 2 cans of ice, and a half can of rum (if using, the drink is still very very good without any alcohol). Blend. Pour into a glass. Add a straw and some leftover sliced pineapple.

The Bacardi frozen mixers taste way better than the syrup that is sold in the grocery stores. It is worth the extra money. They also sell lime mix and strawberry mix for daiquiris and margaritas.

Holiday

Merry after Christmas! I hope everyone had a great holiday, mine was great but very busy. Friday was spent with family at my sister's house. Saturday was my niece's first birthday so my sister had a party for her that morning. The afternoon and evening I spent at my friend's parents place.

I have talked to a couple people who had nothing to do on the holidays, and no family or loved ones to spend the time with. I'm lucky that not only do I have my own family to spend the holidays with, but I also have my "second family". I have known this certain friend since the time we were five, which means we're going on twenty one years of friendship! Since my move to Edmonton, her family has really made me feel a part of their own which means a lot to me. They also really know how to cook which means a lot to my stomach.

After the two very busy days, that had been preceded by a couple of very hectic weeks at work, I took a day off. I mean a day off from EVERYTHING, I brushed my teeth and that was the end of any activity that day. I sat my butt on the couch and I read and watched television and movies all day. Which included Moonlighting. Recently I have had a mild Bruce Willis obsession, and due to this I have discovered the 1985 TV series. I heart Bruce Willis, and I am also loving this show.

Today was my last day before going back to work. I went with my sister (have I mentioned I have three of them, and whenever I say 'my sister' that it isn't always the same one?) to see Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed this movie, and Robert Downey Jr isn't bad either. The movie had its funny moments, and for anyone who is concerned about bad language, I don't remember there being any.

Over the course of the weekend, I did receive some presents. I have this somewhat weird, possibly immature, habit of laying my Christmas presents out on my kitchen table for a couple days before putting them all away. I didn't really know why until my grandpa had mentioned "You're just getting used to them". The story behind that is whenever my grandmother gets a new item of clothing she has to "get used to it". She will not wear this item when it's new, rather she waits for a couple weeks or so.

When my grandmother saw my loot out on the table and commented that my apartment was too full, I mentioned that I just like to put my presents out on the table for a couple days. She kind of scoffed at me, until my grandpa came to my defense, and I then replied "Yes, I am just getting used to them, which is something you should understand".

One present that I had received was a baking dish from Le Creuset. Upon opening it, I had mentioned that I could now make a smaller lasagna than my usual one. Which is what I did tonight.

Rebekah's Lasagna Take 2

1) I browned a couple strips of bacon (chopped) in a pan, then removed them once browned.

2) I took three hot Italian sausages, removed the casings, and placed them in the bacon pan. I broke the sausages up and cooked them like they were ground beef

3) I added half of a medium onion, chopped, and sauteed for a couple minutes

4) I added a clove of chopped garlic, a can of tomato sauce, pepper, salt, crushed red chili, and Italian seasoning

5) I added the bacon back to the sauce

6) I sprayed the baking dish with non-stick spray and placed enough tomato sauce on the bottom to cover it

7) I then placed in a layer of ready-to-bake lasagna noodles, a layer of the meat sauce, a layer of cottage cheese, and a layer of grated mozza cheese

8) repeat

9) Sprinkle on some grated Parmesan cheese, and bake for 45-60 minutes @ 350 F

I absolutely love this dish, it's red and Le Creuset, two of my favorite things. The lasagna, on the other hand, was only so so. If you are going to make this, I recommend using a mix of sausage and ground beef or pork. The sausage was pretty overpowering and tasted heavily of fennel seeds. I did like the use of cottage cheese instead of my usual ricotta. Mainly because cottage cheese was cheaper, I am Dutch after all, but also because it spread easier during assembly. Overall I gave the lasagna a 6/10. Tasty to eat, but I wouldn't use it as a dish to impress.