Avocado Salad Dressing

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Ever slice open an avocado to use in a salad and think …. yuck … half of this is disgusting???? That happened to me this week when I really had a craving to add creamy avocado to my salad. After fuming for a moment I decided to turn it into a dressing. I know I always say to taste taste taste – but it is really important to do that with this dressing – you really want it to pack a punch of flavour into a mouthful. By the time you dilute it with all your salad ingredients you still need to get all that avocado party going on.

In a mortar and pestle combine:

avocado (1/2?)

grainy dijon mustard (1 tsp)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lime juice

Grind well until it is all creamy and bright – slowly drizzle in about 1/3 cup good quality olive oil and continue until it is all smooth. (Yes, sure – you could do this in a blender, or a bullet, or just in a bowl)

Taste and adjust for seasonings. If you like it a bit spicy, add a few chili flakes. If you like garlic, add a garlic clove before you really start grinding it with the mortar and pestle. You get the idea – add stuff you really like. And – yes, that is a glass of wine in this photo – everything I make tastes better when I cook with wine!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Onions

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Peel butternut squash and cut into 1″ cubes

Slice sweet onion thickly (or try red onion!)

Turn squash onto baking sheet (I like a clay sheet) drizzle lightly with olive oil, dust with salt and pepper.

Roast at 425 until just fork tender – 30-45 minutes.

Remove from roasting pan, drizzle a very little bit of extra good quality olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Horseradish Beets

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

This beet dish is great as a side dish for so many different meals – one of our favorites!

Pretty simple:

cooked beets (I prefer roasted but steamed or boiled work well too)

equal portions horseradish and dijon mustard

squeeze of lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

garnish with thinly sliced green onions and parsley

I don’t usually peel the beets unless the skins are really tough – just give them a good wash and either roast or boil.

Once cooked, combine all ingredients – this can be quite spicy if you use a lot of horseradish and dijon – try it out and see how much you like it!

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

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

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.

Jalapeno Roasted Broccoli

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Roasted broccoli gets such nice crispy bits on the florets, and really intensifies the flavor with it’s crunch. Love it!

In a ziplock bag, or well sealed bowl blend:

1/2 minced jalapeno (seeds if you like it spicy)

1/2 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard powder

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Taste this marinade and adjust seasonings to your preference. Add enough broccoli florets to feed 4.

Toss well and allow to sit at room temperature – the longer the better but it works well if you don’t have time to do much more than toss and roast!

Put on rimmed baking sheet and roast in a hot oven (425) just until florets get crispy bits and are nice and crunchy.

Salsa Verde

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

This is great served as an appetizer with taco chips, drizzled over eggs and served as a topping for any meat.

1 pound tomatillos – husked and washed

1 large white onion, sliced thickly

4 cloves garlic

2 jalapenos

1/3 bunch cilantro

We like our salsa grill roasted, so everything but the cilantro gets a little time on the grill before hitting the blender. Give it a zap or two until purified. Taste for seasoning and adjust a bit if you need to – adding salt and pepper to your preference.

If you don’t have a grill handy you could either use a comal, as they do in Mexico, which is just a simple flat fry pan, or your own favorite fry pan. Nothing wrong with just blending it all fresh either – try it both ways and see which you like best.

This can be processed in a hot water bath to preserve it for the winter, or put it in the freezer. Either way works really well. Bring it to a boil on the stovetop prior to processing and use hot jars. If you do a hot water bath, make sure your jars and seals are all sterilized and the seals are new – place carefully in hot water bath with 2 inches water over top of the jar and process pint jars for 20 minutes.

Grill Roasted Pasta Sauce

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

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.

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.

Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Mustard Aioli

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

2 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon (1 lemon) freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs – flat leaf parsley, basil & chives
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate zucchini into a medium bowl. If you have really juicy zucchini, make sure to drain out liquid by allowing it to rest in strainer, or wrap in a towel and squeeze liquid out. Add salt, lemon zest, chopped herbs, garlic, pepper, and eggs. Mix well to combine. Slowly add flour, stirring so no lumps form.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until oil sizzles when you drop a small amount of zucchini mixture into the pan. Carefully drop about 2 tablespoons zucchini mixture into pan; repeat, spacing fritters a few inches apart.
Cook fritters until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Turn fritters, and continue cooking until golden, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer fritters to a plate; set aside in a warm place. Cook remaining zucchini mixture, adding more oil to pan if necessary. Garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges, if desired.
Serve with lemon/herb/mustard aioli.

Aioli: Combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp grainy dijon mustard, 1 tsp horseradish, juice of 1/2 a lemon, generous amount of freshly chopped herbs. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

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>

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

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

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.

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.

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Category Archives: Vegetables