Cardboard Kitchen

April 11, 2012 - Beef Stew. I do my stew slightly differently than most recipes because I find I like the flavour and texture better when it this way.  I brown the meat, but then I immediately add the beef stock and red wine alone with all the seasonings I want (I usually go heavy on the thyme). I let this simmer for about 30 mins and then in a separate pot I cook my vegetables, usually in butter for another 30 mins. Then I add vegetable pot to the beef pot and allow this to cook for another 45 mins to 1 hour or however long it takes to reach the desired stewiness. It may take a while and dirty more dishes, but I find it makes for a better texture for the meat without over cooking the vegetables, the way it would if everything was cooked all in the same pot. 

Another day with a missed photo, but if you want to see approximately what it looked like then head over to the Fine Cooking website where I got the recipe from.  We were celebrating Easter with my girlfriend’s family and I have been told that I am required to bring this cake for all family gatherings with them.  It is a very chocolaty, very rich cake. If you look at the ingredients it is easy to see why: it is mostly chocolate and cocoa powder with a few eggs to hold it together.  It is a strange cake to make because it doesn’t bake like a normal cake. When it is in the oven it puffs up pretty big and when you take it out of the oven it will deflate and becomes very thick as it cools. Also, the toothpick method doesn’t work for telling when it is done because there is not enough solids for it to become dry.  I usually take this out of the oven when a crust forms that covers the whole top of the cake and it just sort of looks done.  It is then very important to get it as cold as possible before serving, either the recommended 6 hours in the fridge or 3 hours in the freezer seems to work too.  Highly recommended cake recipe for people who don’t eat wheat and people who love chocolate.

April 4, 2012 -BUNNY CAKE! So, it is Easter time there will be lots of Easter food being made as I am having 4 different Easter meals.  The first is a potluck at work. For this I made a cake that we used to have at home for Easter when I was a kid. It is just any round cake, I used an Alton Brown recipe, cut in half, with the 2 halves making 2 layers and then put on it side, iced and covered in coconut and decoration.  In this case we went with a candy nose, a marshmallow tail and construction paper for everything else.  You might be able to see tape on the whiskers. This is to keep them together and not actually taped onto the cake. The ears stay in place by cutting a slot in the cake and inserting the ears.  It was really easy to make and got a huge response from all my coworkers.

March 31, 2012 - Schnitzel on a Kaiser Roll. This meal showed how things that are bought at the store are never as good as if they are made at home.  I had issues with the schnitzel because it was not breaded properly at the store. I had issues with the roast potatoes (combine potatoes, oil and seasoning in a plastic bag and then bake on a sheet pan in 425F oven until cooked through) because I was lazy and used a premixed spice blend, that is usually fine, but this time it was too salty for my taste. The beans were good again. Steamed again. This time steamed with some oregano and also this time I didn’t let them over cook. They were cooked through, but had some bite to them.

March 25, 2012 - Going around from the top clockwise: steamed green beans, pork chop with mushrooms and spaghetti with tomato sauce. The mushrooms are sauteed in butter, then once cooked the pork is added, cooked on med high heat. The tomato sauce comes from an episode of No Reservations. It is plum tomatoes, pealed and seeds removed then cooked in olive oil until soft. They are then mashed with a potato masher and allowed to cook down for 20 mins. Seasoned with only salt, pepper and chili pepper flakes and then finished with fresh basil. 

March 24, 2012. Breaded Red Snapper. Dredged in flower, then egg and then a mix of bread crumbs, salt and parsley and chives from my garden.  Fry in oil over medium heat until brown on both sides and the fish starts to flake.  We had steamed corn and broccoli on the side.

In serious need of an entertaining afternoon activity after 5 hours of babysitting, we decided to head out and do some grocery shopping at anything but a supermarket.  First we headed to a place call Euro Food in Kitchener, which, surprisingly enough had mostly European food.  One entire wall was just for smoked meat and smoked fish.  It is the first thing you see and smell when walking into the place and it is amazing.  We were half jokingly said we should move into the apartments next door just so we could have this store in walking distance.  We looked at everything, but only picked up a few chocolates, some biscuits and some spreadable meat before leaving. I will definitely be back with a shopping list of smoked meats some time soon.

Secondly, we went to a place we knew, Vincenzos. This small Italian grocery has been a favourite of people living in the area for a long time. It is not a surprise to anyone that people love this place.  We picked up today’s supper, some red snapper as well as some beef patties that will probably end up being this week’s breakfast for me.

Finally, we stopped at Dutchies Fresh Market, which is a new store that opened very near to where I live. This place is great because it has most of the essentials that can be found at our market, but is open almost every day.  Dutchies has a section of breads made by my favourite bakery and the meat counter is run by my favourite place to get sausages.  It is a great idea, people who don’t want to go to  a butcher and then to a baker and then to pick up their produce, etc can get the same experience as going to all those place, but all under one roof. I know that this place will be my new go to place for my fruit and vegetables as I move away from going to the Supermarket. 

No picture of today’s meal. It was going to be bacon cheeseburgers, however, the meat was past its prime so I thew the whole thing out.  We went shopping for some kitchen storage, stopped at the grocery store to get some mixed sweet peppers on the way home. Before going out I threw some frozen smoked German style sausages in the sink and covered with water.  When we got home it was as easy and sauteing some onion and 2 peppers, adding the sausage to the pan after the vegetables were finished.  I added a side of tomatoes and cucumbers with good sea salt, olive oil and feta cheese.

March 16, 2012. Slow cooker chili made for a pot luck at work.  Ground beef, onion, kidney beans, can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and water in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.

March 11th - Weekday Coq au Vin from Michael Ruhlman’s Twenty

Don’t exactly agree with the “Weekday” in the title, with a total prep and cook time at around 1.5 to 2 hours, but perfect for making in advance and reheating for a quick weekday meal.