Asian Noodle Stir Fry

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This is easily one of the simplest noodle stir fry dishes I have made, and packs lots of taste in every bite. I think the secret is the spicy vinegar for the finishing touch!

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ red onion, julienned

1 sweet red pepper, julienned

2 cloves garlic, chopped

⅓ cup oyster sauce

⅓ cup water, mixed in with oyster sauce

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

Flavoured Vinegar

½ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons palm sugar (or natural sugar)

1-2 tablespoon chili oil

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

salt

Stir all vinegar ingredients together and set aside – really important to do this to your individual taste – SOME LIKE IT HOT …

Mix oyster sauce with water

Soften egg noodles according to package directions, but be careful not to overcook them.

Heat oil in wok, add onions and saute until softened and translucent, add ginger, garlic and red pepper. Stir fry until just softened.

Add some of the oyster sauce and stir until well combined – add most of the rest of the sauce and stir in the noodles. Stir fry until all the noodles are well coated and heated through – finish with the last drizzle of the oyster sauce.

Serve with chives to garnish. I served the vinegar on the side for everybody to add as they pleased, but it could easily be added as soon as the dish is finished.

This dish is really made for you to experiment with – go green instead of red and stir in chopped fresh spinach or sliced snow peas right before serving and garnish with cilantro, green onions and bean sprouts.

For a complete meal add some prawns or thinly sliced chicken – stir fry with the onion/pepper mixture before adding the noodles.

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!

Chicken in Caper Cream Sauce

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – lightly pounded to uniform thickness

1 tsp lemon pepper

(or finely grated lemon zest and 1 tsp freshly ground pepper)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp. butter

lemon juice

olive oil

1 cup whipping cream

4 tbsp capers – drained and rinsed

garnish: parsley/lemon slice

Lightly rub chicken breasts with lemon juice and a wee bit of olive oil. Combine all the spices and sprinkle over the chicken, allow to rest for a bit.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Increase heat to medium high and add chicken breasts – turning often until they are browned – about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium again and cook for a further 7 minutes, until chicken is just barely cooked through. Remove chicken to a warm serving platter and keep warm.

Increase skillet heat to high, add whipping cream and whisk continuously until sauce has reduced enough to be thick and glossy. Remove from heat and add capers. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (add any juices that have run out of the chicken)

Spoon over the chicken breasts, garnish with parsley, lemon slice and serve over a bed of herbed noodles.

Variation: Use dill weed instead of paprika!

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.

Chinese Chow Mein

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

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.

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!

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.

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.

Sun Dried Tomato Brie

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Brie is a favorite appeitzer, whether served hot and oozing, or cold on a cheese platter. This is one of our favorites – always a hit to take when you need a quick easy appetizer.

minced sun dried tomatoes

generous sprinkling of fresh herbs, minced (parsley, oregano and basil work well)

finely chopped fresh chives

finely chopped fresh fresh garlic

salt and pepper

lemon

olive oil

Depending on the size of the brie wheel you have – mince up enough of the toppings to generously cover the cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, squeeze a bit of lemon over, and top with salt and pepper.

Heat in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, just until the cheese starts to bulge against the rind. Serve with fresh baguette, toast rounds or your favorite cracker.

This also works really well on the grill if you have a good heat resistant container to both warm and serve in.

Four Star Focaccia

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

I would give it 5 stars, but I am well known for being humble ….

hot focaccia with fresh rosemary, carmelized red onions, garlic slices – topped with maldon sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

2 tsp rapid rising dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil

This recipe is designed for a standing mixer – but you can easily adapt it to do by hand.

Warm the bowl of your standing mixer by letting it sit filled with warm water for a few minutes. Drain, put in the 1 cup warm water, add 2 tbsp sugar, stir well and add in the yeast. Give a light stir and let sit for at least 3 minutes, until you see the yeast starting to foam. Turn on the stand mixer – low setting, and dissolve the salt in a cup with 2 tbsp hot water – when dissolved add to yeast mixture with the olive oil. Gradually – in a steady but slow stream – add the flour. Start with 3 1/2 cups of flour, and add a wee bit more if it is too sticky. Once the dough is holding together, turn the mixer up to medium and allow it to knead for 10 minutes.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and hand knead it a few times, until you have a smooth, soft, pliable dough. Grease a bowl lightly, turn the dough to coat and allow to rise in a warm place – covered with a damp tea towel or saran. When it has doubled in size (aprox 45 minutes) turn onto a clean surface and stretch it lightly to be about 1/2 in thick and an oblong shape. Allow to rest for a few minutes, and then put that on to an oiled baking sheet (I like clay). Cover with saran and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Give the dough a gentle massage with good quality olive oil, and with your fingertips gently press indentations in the surface, then cover with seasonings to complement the rest of your meal:

fresh rosemary

sliced garlic

carmelized red onions

fresh herbs

parmesan cheese

Then sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and large flake salt.

For this batch I doubled the recipe, and stretched it to be about 3/4-1 inch high before allowing it to rest.

Bake at 400 for around 15-20 minutes.

This makes the best focaccia I have ever had – the dough is a fantastic texture, and gets so nice and crispy on the outside with the olive oil coating. Use your imagination with toppings, and it will soon be a hit in your house too. So easy to make!

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