Category Archives: One Dish Wonders

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

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Fall is a great time for getting a few meals out of a roasted chicken …. the house smells great 2 days in a row.

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
 

In a roasting dish combine:

beets – quartered

turnips (optional!) – quartered

onion – halved and cut into wedges

carrots – thick slices

squash – peeled and cut into wedges

leeks – cut into pieces

garlic cloves – whole

Season everything with olive oil, crumbled dry basil, oregano and parsley.  Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

Place cut pieces of chicken into a bowl, along with the same herb blend, salt, pepper, olive oil, juice of 1 lemon and 1 tbsp of dijon mustard – this can be pretty versatile so if you prefer feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or if you would rather use a vegetable stock for the soup just roast vegetables on their own.  

Roast in a moderate oven (375) until all vegetables are fork tender and ready for dinner, and the chicken is cooked through.  

This is a great fall or winter weather dish – fill up your roasting pan with as many fresh vegetables as you can find and roast away.  It does take quite a while for the vegetables to soften, so just keep testing them.

For a complete dinner, whip up some mashed potatoes and you are good to go!

The next day, take all the leftover vegetables (of which I hope there are lots) and simmer in either chicken or vegetable stock.  Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.  If you want a little more flavour in there, simmer a parmesan cheese rind or drop in a little tomato sauce.

Pulverize everything with an immersion blender, or a standing blender.  If using a standing blender, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO HAVE A SPACE FOR THE STEAM TO VENT – OTHERWISE YOU RUN THE RISK OF BURNING YOURSELF AND MAKING A DISASTER OF YOUR KITCHEN!!!.  

Taste again and adjust for salt and pepper.  Serve with some freshly baked biscuits for a great fall dinner.

Chinese Chow Mein

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This is great served as a side dish for Kung Pao chicken or on it’s own as a full meal by adding stir fried chicken, pork, beef or shrimp.

Chow Mein

8 oz steamed chow mein noodles

1 tbsp finely minced ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup finely shredded cabbage

1/2 cup finely sliced celery

1/2 cup snow peas

Steam chow mein noodles until tender, or soak in cool water until tender.  Be careful not to leave them in water too long or they will get soggy.  :o(

SAUCE

1 tsp corn starch

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp water

 

cooking oil

scallions

toasted sesame seeds

In a small mixing bowl mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat wok, add cooking oil and lightly saute cabbage and celery – add ginger and garlic.

Remove from wok to a bowl – add sauce to bowl and bring to a boil, allowing it to thicken and become glossy.  Add noodles and stir fry quickly just allowing them to soften and absorb the flavor of the sauce.  Return sauted vegetables to wok and quickly stir through.

Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

If you want to make a meal in one – stir fry any type of protein you choose in the wok and add it to the chow mein – so versatile with any number of vegetables.  Go ahead and experiment – let me know what you try and how you like it!

Grill Roasted Pasta Sauce

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I love the flavour that comes out of the vegetables right out of the garden – give them a grill before simmering this pasta sauce and you will be treated to that flavour all winter long.  

30 roma tomatoes, halved

12 cloves garlic, peeled

5 small onions, unpeeled and sliced very thick

3 sweet red peppers, whole

Grill all vegetables until you get nice grill marks and the garlic and onions are soft, lightly browned.  As soon as the sweet peppers are charred, put them in a ziplock bag or a tightly covered bowl and allow to steam for 15 minutes – remove the skin and seeds.

Put all tomatoes with the vegetables in a large pot and simmer until tender. 

Add:  

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp chopped fresh or dried oregano

3 tsp white sugar

3 tsp salt

Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer just until all flavours have had a chance to blend well.  Make sure to taste it and adjust seasonings if you need a little more.Image

Either freeze in freezer safe containers, or process in hot water bath.

 

To preserve in hot water, canning bath – fill jars to within 1 inch, cover with hot seals and rings.  Process in hot water bath 35 minutes for pints.

This recipe makes about 7 pints.

Italian Bread Salad (Panzanella)

Aside

This salad is the perfect way to really enjoy the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers in your garden right now!</h3>

panzenella italian bread salad 2

Vinaigrette/Dressing

  • 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic (at least!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well to blend.

I like to at least double this recipe and keep it in the fridge – a really great, simple dressing that tastes fabulous on vegetables, grilled chicken or fish, or just plain greens.

1 cup bread cubes

2 cups roughly chopped vine ripened tomatoes

1 cup roughly cut cucumber

1 tbsp. capers

generous amount of fresh basil – torn into smaller pieces

very thinly sliced red onion

small amount of feta – crumbled

Toss all vegetables together with a small amount of the dressing and allow to rest just so the tomato juices flavor everything right through.  I like to wait until just before serving before I add in the bread cubes and a bit more dressing – I love my croutons still crunchy!

For the bread I prefer to make croutons out of slightly stale bread – just chop them into your favorite crouton size piece and toss in a plastic bag with a variety of herbs, salt and Pepper – drizzle with a little olive oil and give it a good shake.

Toast in a toaster oven, or in a fry pan until the bread is really well toasted and crunchy – allow to cool.

Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

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It is really important to taste, taste, taste when you are making this vinaigrette – each different variety of sun dried tomato will give a different flavour. This should be FULL of taste, so if not – make adjustments.

Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

1/4 cup drained, oil packed sun dried tomatoes – finely minced

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 lemon (juice of)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Give all ingredients a good, vigorous shake in a jar and slowly add the olive oil. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

This is great on a tossed salad, and perhaps even better on a pasta salad.  If you want a smoother texture, place all ingredients (except oil)  in a blender and process for a few moments before slowly adding the oil.

pasta with sun dried tomato vinaigrette

SUSHI – (deconstructed and in a bowl!)

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deconstructed sushi 2

On a hot night like this it is hard to think of cooking, or even standing over a grill ….. in fact standing and rolling cold items like sushi seemed a bit of a stretch …. this was just perfect – so cold and refreshing and really hit the spot.  Give it a try with any of your favorite sushi ingredients.  Great for a family too – serve it the way I did – on a large platter and let each person make their own bowl up as they go.

SUSHI SAUCE

zest 1 lemon and 1 orange, and reserve

juice of each: 1 lemon, 1 orange

1 tbsp. brown sugar

On medium heat cook on a gentle boil for 2 minutes, stir in:

3 tbsp. soy sauce

3 tbsp. rice vinegar

Heat again on a gentle boil for about 3 minutes until it thickens slightly.

Taste!!!!  I can’t say this enough …. you need to make sure the flavours are balanced, playing with each of the simple ingredients above.  If you think it can stand a bit more citrus, add in the zest.  If you like your sushi spicy, add in either wasabi paste or a minced chili pepper.

Toast nori sheets lightly, just until crispy.  Slice in thin strips, and again dice if you like small pieces or leave it in strips. 

Cook some sushi rice according to directions on rice

Finely slice whatever ingredients you like in your sushi

For us today this included:

imitation crab meat

shrimp

cucumber

carrot

avocado

cabbage

green onions

toasted sesame seeds

But really – use whatever you like!  Put a little rice in the bottom of your bowl, assemble a few of each of the ingredients and lightly drizzle with the sushi sauce – have fun – you will love it!

Chicken Chile Soup

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Chicken Chile Soup

I’m not sure what is going on with the weather, but we are having an unseasonal amount of rain and grey skies.  Today just felt like soup and biscuits.  After a look into the freezer, I discovered some chicken stock, and chicken breast – perfect – I had lots of vegetables in the fridge so a hearty, warm soup was exactly what we needed.

6 – 8 cups chicken stock

3 chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1 tin (14 oz) tomato

1 dried ancho chile

1 dried guajillo chile

1 onion, minced

1 each red, green, yellow and orange pepper, roughly chopped

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 tsp ancho chile powder

1 tbsp regular chile powder

2 tbsp masa (corn flour)

Throw it all into a pot – leaving the ancho and guajillo chiles whole, and allow it to simmer – taste and adjust for seasoning – add a little salt and pepper.  If you like it spicy add more chile.

To dress the soup up a bit, garnish with chives, avocado and fresh herbs.

Grilled Pizza

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P1110050

When the sun is shining, and the weather warm I can’t get enough of grilling.  One of our favorites is grilled pizza.  Once you get the hang of it you won’t be happy with doing it any other way.

I’m a bit of a nut – preferring to do everything from scratch – but you could easily purchase any part of these recipes ready made.  We have an Italian Deli right next to my work, and when I am pinched for time I buy ready made pizza dough from them when I pick up the cold cuts. 

If however, you like the process – then go ahead and give the whole thing a whirl. 

One thing I find really helpful is to pre-cook all the toppings.  For example, carmelized red onions taste way better than raw!  Thinly sliced, roasted potatoes make a great topping, as do roasted sweet peppers or sauted mushrooms.  Experiment with toppings you already love and try some new ones.

Pizza dough:

3 cups flour

1 packet instant (or Rapid Rise)  yeast

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp good quality olive oil

1 cup warm water

Lightly sift together flour, salt and instant yeast.  Combine olive oil and warm water – slowly pour into flour blend.

If you have a stand mixer, allow it to do all the work for you – kneading for about 10 minutes.  If not, go ahead and dig in there – something therapeutic about kneading dough after spending the day at a desk.

Once the dough has reached a nice soft workable mass (adding either flour if it is too wet or water if it is too dry) allow it to rest for a bit before forming pizza.

SAUCE

I like my sauce simple – toss grape tomatoes (1 packet) with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper – allow to roast in a 350 oven just until the skin starts to burst.  Blend well with some olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Adding a bit of tomato paste gives it more body.

To grill pizza, get your grill nice and hot.  Either oil one side of the pizza dough, or your grate.  Cook pizza without touching for 1-2 minutes, then lift and rotate to get great grill marks.  Do not flip.  Once you have rotated, close the lid and don’t peek – let it cook for 2-3 minutes.  This will take some experimenting with your grill to know the temperatures – you want it crispy but not burnt.

Once the grilled side is nicely done, it is time to put it in a cookie sheet, cutting board, or plate to dress.  DRESS THE GRILLED SIDE.  Don’t worry, the uncooked side will not stick to the surface.  Once you have dressed the grilled side, return it to the grill and allow it to cook for another few minutes until the uncooked side is grilled perfectly and your toppings have warmed through. 

A few suggestions for toppings:

Spicy hot capicolla, red peppers, olives, mozzarella and feta cheese

ham, sauted mushrooms, carmelized red onion and applewood smoked cheddar cheese

thinly sliced roasted red potatoes, thinly sliced zucchini, fresh rosemary and mozzarella

(try the potato pizza without the traditional tomato sauce – roast a garlic bulb, add enough olive oil, chili flakes and fresh basil to get a smooth paste – smooth over pizza before adding the toppings

salami, fresh tomato, sun dried tomato and basil

Sesame Chicken Salad

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P1110066

Today was a beautiful hot sunny day, just the way we like in the Okanagan.  The idea of a Thai inspired chicken salad felt like the ideal dinner item – fresh, crunchy, tasty and not too heavy.  You could just as easily substitute the chicken with tofu or any seafood item – delicious either way.

 

4 chicken breasts

12 ounces chinese egg noodles, cooked and drained

3/4 cup green tea (strong is best)

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp light brown sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanut oil

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (plus some for sprinkling over top)

2 tbsp chili garlic sauce

2 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce

1 heaping TBSP Thai red chili paste

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 -2 tbsp minced ginger (depending on your ginger love!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 long english cucumber, diced

1 cup sliced snap peas

1/4 cup each finely chopped red and yellow pepper

1 cup bean sprouts

1 head red lettuce, washed and leaves torn

kosher salt

cilantro

roasted peanuts

toasted sesame seeds

1 jalapeno seeded and diced finely (optional) To make the sauce combine green tea, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Thai sweet chili sauce, Thai red curry paste and peanut oil in a blender or food processor.  Add sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp kosher salt – blend well until creamy and smooth.  TASTE and adjust for seasoning – you should have lots of flavour, but also really well balanced – I find depending on the type of soy sauce, chili sauce or even the lime you will have to work with those flavours.

Using a meat mallet pound chicken breasts to an even thickness.  Pour just enough of the dressing over to coat well and marinate for at least an hour and preferably overnight.  Discard marinade used for the chicken.  Grill just until cooked through and thinly slice.

Prepare salad with lettuce, cilantro and vegetables – as well as the diced jalapeno if using.

Cook noodles just until tender, rinse well to cool and dress with a bit of the same dressing the chicken is marinating in.

Toast peanuts and sesame seeds to use as garnish.

To assemble pile noodles on a plate, salad on top – scatter chicken over and drizzle with dressing.  Garnish with more cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds. 

Sesame Peanut Noodles

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P1110022

I have been looking for the perfect peanut noodle dish, and finally found it. Serve this with spicy cilantro salad and pork kebabs in cumin and chile – a winning combination for sure.

 

12 ounces chinese egg noodles, cooked and drained

3/4 cup green tea (strong is best)

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp light brown sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanut oil

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (plus some for sprinkling over top)

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 -2 tbsp minced ginger (depending on your ginger love!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 mini bok choy, chopped fine

1/4 cup each finely chopped red and yellow pepper

kosher salt

cilantro

roasted peanuts

To make the sauce combine green tea, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and peanut oil in a blender or food processor.  Add sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Toss the sauce with the cooked noodles – garnish with cilantro, sliced green onions, roasted peanuts and more sesame seeds.  I like this served at warm or room temperature, but it is just yummy cold also.