Of all of the “hats” that I wear, food -styling is one of my favourite tasks. Recently I had the opportunity to accompany fitness star Dai Manuel on a visit to CTV Morning Live where he spoke to Kris Laudien about the benefits of consuming beef as a reasonable protein choice.
Since not all proteins are created equal, the food items that I apportioned and displayed show that if you attempted to consume the equivalent protein of 75 grams of beef, you would have to eat 11 eggs, 100 almonds, 7 T of peanut butter,6 servings of cooked quinoa (125 ml each),3 servings of hummus (60ml each) or 2.3 servings of black beans (175ml each).
I prepared three fabulous beef recipes to illustrate its versatility including
beef & bean quesadillas and
a roast beef wrap with red pepper jelly and cashews.
My favourite though were the Korean Beef Cups which I have permission to share with you here:
Delicious when scooped into lettuce cups or mixed with an Asian noodle.
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ sweet red pepper, diced
1 lb Lean Ground Beef Sirloin
1 tsp minced ginger root
¼ cup soy sauce
Chopped cilantro or mint or chopped green onion
1 tsp Asian chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Bibb lettuce leaves
carrot and cucumber matchsticks
fresh lime wedges
cilantro, chopped (or mint or green onion)
Instructions
Cook garlic, diced pepper, ground beef and ginger root in large skillet using medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes until beef is browned and completely cooked. Drain if necessary.
Add soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer to warm platter. At the table let each person spoon some filling into lettuce leaves. Top with squeeze of lime juice and serve with toppings such as shredded carrot, cucumber, chopped cilantro or mint. Roll up with your hands to eat.
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Kath’s quote: “Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.”- Gene Tunney
The first real dump of snow came down the day and evening that a number of bloggers and Manitoba Chicken Fans were to be assembling to batch cook some Christmas appetizers. In spite of the slippery roads and traffic congestion, the turn out was great.
We gathered at the Kitchen Sync, the cooking studio that I have raved about previously in this space.
On this evening, we were being coached by Chef Brent Barna of Pine Ridge Hollow fame. He had been the guest Chef at another Manitoba Chicken occasion that I had the pleasure of attending.
Our family loves appetizer recipes, whether they be a nibble with a cocktail before our mandatory Sunday dinners or as one of many small plates that pass for dinner. I have often thought that an appetizer exchange held in the same manner as you might participate in a Christmas baking exchange would be such a good idea. I even started to get an exchange going last Christmas season, to no avail.
This evening was the closest thing.
First up were Blue Moon Chicken Bites where we mixed up ground chicken, spices, panko flakes and did not use any egg. The resulting texture was firm and surprising. When they came out of the oven, we tossed them in a sauce of hot sauce mixed with Blue cheese dressing and crumbled Blue cheese.
Here is the recipe for Chicken Tartlettes with Cranberry Salsa (that recipe is below) elevated them from delicious to sensational!
The salsa topped chicken tartlets but was SO good, I would eat with on every chicken dish.
Ingredients
½ c fresh or frozen cranberries
¼ c sugar
2 green onions, sliced
¼ c chopped fresh cilantro
2 t coarsely chopped fresh ginger
1 lime, juice and zest
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
Instructions
Combine all salsa ingredients in a food processor.
Pulse on/off until the mixture is chopped (not pureed).
Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
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Then I discovered that the salsa made everything taste wonderful, including our next recipe – Tropical Chicken Taquitos.
The evening was warm with our efforts, the opening and closing of the oven doors and the friendship that the blogging community shares.
Kath’s quote: “Cranberries: “The Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicious sauce.”-John Josselyn, while visiting New England in 1663
At “Life is Good” our summer beach house, weekends are lovely and brimming with family. I love to make suppers from scratch and serve up some special treats of things that the kids might not have the time or the budget to make on their own. With the price of protein as high as it is right now, I love getting wind of a nutritious meal that stretches an item like shrimp into a full meal deal.
Recently, the team at Go Barley sent me this recipe for Barley, Mango and Sweet pepper Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce including delectable Shrimp. Having cooked often from their award-winning cookbook, I knew that the recipe would be packed with flavour, healthy & simple ingredients and affordable barley!
I prepared the pearl barley earlier in the day, while I was taking care of the dishes from brunch. This way, we were able to spend the afternoon on the beach with the Wee One, arriving home just in time for me to swing into action.
I got everything prepped in order to start making the rolls and was able to coax our 2 year old grandbaby to snack on the red pepper and mango to hold her over until supper time. The rolls were fun to put together and I even had a volunteer of our son-in-law to help me out. We have to be particularly resourceful when we are up at the lake because there are a couple of country stores but not one with a full complement of items. Therefore, when I ran out of large rice papers and had to resort to smaller ones, the process got a little bit more time consuming.
When another contingent of family arrived just in time for supper, everything was ready to go for a casual dinner. We knew that there would be snacks around the bonfire later that evening, so we were all content with the lighter fare.
Hint: I purchased round plastic screens from an Asian grocery many years ago to make working with rice paper a breeze. I use them often and strongly recommend them.
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce:
⅓ c fresh lime juice
2 T liquid honey
2 T fish sauce
2 t rice vinegar
2 t finely minced ginger root
pinch red pepper flakes
Spring Rolls:
2 T peanut butter or almond butter
1½ c cooked pearl or pot barley
⅓ c chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
10 large rice paper wrappers
1 small sweet red pepper, cut into strips
10 large cooked shrimp, peeled and cut into half lengthwise (mine were smaller so I kept them whole)
1 small mango, cut into thin strips
2 c shredded cabbage or pre-cut cole slaw
Instructions
To make dipping sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine lime juice, honey, fish sauce, vinegar, ginger root, garlic and red pepper flakes.
Heat gently, stirring, just until honey melts.
Set aside.
To make spring rolls:
In a small bowl gradually add 1 to 2 T dipping sauce to peanut butter, whisking until blended, smooth and the consistency of a thick sauce.
Stir peanut butter mixture and cilantro into barley.
Set aside.
Fill a pie plate with or shallow plate with warm water.
Place a rice paper in water and soak for 5 seconds.
Remove and place on work surface until soft and pliable, about 30 seconds.
Across lower third of rice paper, layer approx. 1/10th of the red pepper and the barley mixture, a couple of shrimp pieces and 1/10th the mango and cabbage leaving 1 inch border at each end.
Fold bottom of rice paper over filling, then fold sides towards the centre.
Roll up into a cylinder (mine were more like "packets")
Repeat soaking, filling and rolling with remaining rice paper and ingredients.
To serve, cut each roll diagonally in half.
Serve with Dipping Sauce.
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I made a double batch. There were enough rolls for six of us that evening. I served them again as an appetizer previous to our Father’s Day dinner Sunday evening and then D took the remainder to work for lunch. In the mean time I mixed up extra pre-cooked barley, more of the peanut butter sauce, added cilantro and fresh mini cucumbers and enjoyed a tasty barley salad for my mid-day meal.
Kath’s quote: “The keynote to happiness within the four walls that make any home is plain, wholesome, well cooked food, attractively served.”- Louis P. De Gouy
Many of our good friends are realizing that there is no time like right now to go on traveling adventures; offspring are old enough to fend for themselves or have flown the coop entirely as is the case with D and me. Some of our circle are even more daring than us and leave the comforts of home and volunteer in far off places like South Africa. Such was the case with the particular friends that invited us to dine with them recently. On the drive over, I had commented to D that I hoped that they were cooking something from their travels, as they said that dinner was all planned and we could not contribute a thing. The aroma wafting from the kitchen as we were greeted at the door led us to excitedly inquire what was for dinner.
I had to look up “bobotie” on Wikipedia as Boo and the Frenchman who spent three months in South Africa were not available to ask. They happen to be preapring for an imminent month long vacation to Greece. I found out that Bobotie (pronounced /bəˈbʊəti/ or /bəˈboʊti/), also spelt bobotjie, is actually the national dish of South African. Simply stated, the dish consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. It is thought to have originated from the Indonesian dish bobotok. Colonists from the Dutch East India Company colonies probably introduced bobotie to South Africa previous to 1609 which is when the first recipe appeared in a Dutch cookbook. Afterwards, it was taken to South Africa and adopted by the Cape Malay community.
Today Bobotie is typically made with beef or lamb. Early recipes incorporated ginger, marjoram and lemon rind; the introduction of curry powder has simplified the recipe somewhat but the basic concept remains the same. Although not particularly spicy, the dish incorporates a variety of flavours that can add complexity. For example, the dried fruit (in this case raisins) contrasts the curry flavouring. The texture of the dish is also complex, with the baked egg mixture topping complementing the milk-soaked bread which adds moisture to the dish.
Soak bread in milk. Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic. When onions are soft add curry powder, salt chutney, jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and vinegar and mix well. (Janine also adds cumin and ginger
Drain and mash bread and reserve milk for later.
Add bread to pan together with mince and sultanas.
Cook over low heat, stirring, and when meat loses its pinkness remove from stove.
Add 1 beaten egg, mix well., then spoon into a greased, 8 x 11 and level the top.
Beat remaining eggs with reserved milk (you should have 300 ml) and salt and curry.
Pour over meat mixture and put a few bay leaves on top.
Stand dish in a larger pan of water (this is NB to prevent drying out) and bake uncovered 350 for 1 hour or until set.
Serve with rice, coconut, nuts and bananas.
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Doesn’t bobotie look like dessert when garnished with almonds, bananas and coconut?
Our hosts also served the savoury dish with crusty bread and a crunchy salad. The meal was simple, yet tasted soooo extravagrant. We had an absolutely delightful evening and now I predict that bobotie will become one of our families’ favourites. After I find out what “raw mince” is…..
Kath’s quote: My Ouma (my Dad’s Mom) was Afrikaans; a proper boerevrou. I remember her working in the farm dairy, churning the butter, or outside making her soap in the giant sized potjie (which is now a flower container at my sister Iona’s house in England). No-one could roll apricot smeer, make koeksusters or cook bobotie like Ouma could! –Judy Croome
At the request of another Islaholic, here is the recipe for Barbeque Fish. It was provided by Patsi Hendricks of Villa Amistad in the cookbook entitled Cocina Islena-a fundraising initiative for PEACE Isla Mujeres.
In the Yucatan, this very typical way to serve fresh fish dates back to the very early Maya. On Isla, it is served at many beach restaurants, as well as other restaurants that serve local food. Tikin Xic (pronounced teek-in-sheek) is usually cooked on an outdoor wood grill. In Mexico the fish is served with the head, tail and spine intact!
1 grouper or equally firm fleshed fish, about 2 1/2 pounds cleaned, head, tail and spine removed, split down the middle to lie flat
3 ounces (1 package) achiote paste
1/3 cup bitter orange juice, or: mix sweet orange juice (3 oranges) and white vinegar half and half
1 small poblano or green pepper, seeded and cut into rings
1 guajillo chili, seeded and sliced into thin strips lengthwise (any mild chili could substitute)
1 medium tomato, sliced into thin rounds
1 small purple onion, sliced into rings
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
4 ounces beer
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 banana leaf, softened over a flame (if this is unavailable use foil)
Wash the grouper, pat it dry with paper towels and salt and pepper it. Mix the achiote paste and bitter orange juice, spread the mixture over the fish, and let it marinate for 3 hours.
Place the fish on the softened banana leaf and arrange the bell pepper, chili, tomato and onion slices on the fish; sprinkle with oregano, olive oil and beer.
Wrap the banana leaf or foil around the fish and place it in an oblong baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Can be grilled. Be careful to not overcook the fish. If using a smaller amount of fish, shorten the cooking time.
Serves 6.
Kath’s quote: That outdoor grilling is a manly pursuit has long been beyond question. If this wasn’t firmly understood, you’d never get grown men to put on those aprons with pictures of dancing wienies and things on the front…”-William Geist
