Favourite Kitchen Pieces

Much about how we cook and what we use to cook with comes with a story and a history.   I have not met anyone who doesn’t have some piece of kitchen equipment that they just can’t live without.   There are a number of favourites for me that make cooking such a pleasure.

The big red cast iron dutch oven that I have (a Le Crueset look alike) is one of my favourite kitchen items.   As I write a stew is bubbling away  in the oven and the aroma of the leaks, carrots, celery, beef and red wine are mingling and hunger is awakening within me in anticipation of our dinner tonight.      While this particular pot is a very heavy piece, and when it is full of food it is even more difficult to lift, there is something about the weight that makes it so durable and sturdy and I hope I am still able to use it to cook in when I am much older!   When I got married I discovered that my husband already had two Le Crueset pots, smaller than mine, and so now there is a wonderful choice depending on how many I am cooking for.  These cast iron pots last forever.

Cooking, for me, is very much about feel - the feel of the food as I prepare it, the feel of salt sifting through my fingers into the food, the feel of fresh vegetables as I peel and dice them, the feel of the fresh herbs as my hands run over them in the garden looking for the right pieces to cut, or the feel and weight of a piece of meat that is ready to be seasoned and cooked.   But it is more than the feel of the food.  It is about the way a pan feels in my hands, the weight of it and knowing at what temperature it is just right to sear the meat or sweat the vegetables.   Trying to cook at another place with unfamiliar utensils is difficult because there is no way to know the feel of the equipment you are working with.  It doesn’t feel like a nice flowing dance but rather a stilted unfamiliar gait and finding the right rhythm in a different kitchen can throw me off a bit.   There is very much a flow to cooking, an ease that has come with time and practice and yet, right from the very beginning, I knew the rhythm, and answered the drawing into this room that so opens my heart to sharing. 

This beautiful large, heavy, red cooking vessel is indeed a familiar friend.  Yesterday it held spare ribs that simmered slowly, with the smoked paprika, lemon, soy, maple syrup and whiskey, fresh tomatoes, garlic and green onions all coming together and giving us some lovely tender tasty meat for dinner.  This pot is made for things that ask for long slow cooking.  With autumn here and winter approaching there will be a lot of slow cooked dishes on our menu at home.

Just like old books that are rich treasures you hold with a sense of awe, those tried and true, well tested kitchen pieces are good friends to have within easy reach in the kitchen.   I love that my kitchen is full of wonderful pieces that come with stories and are used in my kitchen where ever I live.   They are part of what makes this home for us.

Recipes - To Share Or Not To Share

Recipes are heritage pieces that get passed down from generation to generation, well guarded, enjoyed by so many, yet not always given away.  They can be sacred pieces of history in some families, never fully revealed to any but the inner circle.   Recipes are closely held  for many, while others freely share their cooking secrets with those who ask.  Sometimes there are special creations that are your own signature dishes and keeping them is like guarding your heart.

In the space of 24 hours I had received two emails requesting recipes for various dishes that were made and shared with friends and family in the past week. My husband recently made his specialty chocolate cake for a wedding and was asked for the recipe.  These are sort of signature recipes that we each have and I find myself very protective and reluctant to share them.   Can recipes be compared to love?    Love was never meant to be hoarded and held only within us, but it is to be generously, tenderly and wisely shared from our depths so we see the world with deeper truth and honesty.  Are not recipes like this?  They are one of the tools we use to create dishes that nurture us, that bring us together in the intimate place of breaking bread with each other and provide us with life giving ingredients.

Yet recipes are something of the heart.  There are many of us who are very cautious as to who we share our hearts with and others are like open books.  I read once, and I cannot find the reference, that when you bring your cooking to the table you are letting everyone there see your soul.  Much of what we hold within us we guard and protect.

My husband’s Mom used to make her special sponge cake with fresh strawberries in summer time and it has become a family celebration dessert.  I never met my mother-in-law as she passed away a number of years before my husband and I met.  My family always used to make red velvet cake for celebrations.  My youngest brother used to joke that he wanted a red velvet cake for his wedding cake!   When David and I got married, he (David) made both the sponge cake with strawberries and the red velvet cake for guests to enjoy at our celebration!   The recipes for both of these have come from our separate families and become part of ‘our’ collection of celebration foods.

Special dishes are also very personal and can be a part of our own unique way of sharing special moments and giving to others.   I love to make my own version of paella when we have a larger gathering round our table.  This summer it was such a great celebration having 3 of my 5 brothers and their families gathered on our deck.  I first had  paella in Barbados, prepared by a wonderful friend and cook, and then it was one of the dishes that I learned to make in cooking school.  It symbolizes, for me, that all we need is there, like community, but we must reach for it, share it, and enjoy it together.  I don’t have an exact recipe for this meal and it seems to be slightly different every time it is prepared, and I love to prepare it for guests.

Recipes come with memories of places and times in life we wish to hold onto and keep precious and maybe by giving that away we feel as if what we hold dear will somehow not be the same anymore.   Many dishes I make came by way of someone sharing how they made it along the way!   Other creations came from what I learned from my Grandmothers, one Canadian and one Irish, and traditional dishes they made for us as we were growing up.   They are like stories, created, tasted, absorbed and passed along.   My Canadian Grandmother’s recipe box sits along with my husband’s basket full of loose recipes.  Maybe one day they will be passed along to someone else - it would be so wonderful if they were shared!

Spanish Lentil Stew

Now that autumn is arriving I crave slow cooked foods, comfort foods, and deeply flavourful dishes.

This lentil stew is something I found on-line last year and it is absolutely delicious, in either the recipe with chorizo and ham, or the vegetarian one, and if you don't want to use wine, it is fine without that too. Just add a little more vegetable broth to the mix.


SPANISH RECIPE FOR LENTIL STEW
(lentajas)

Many traditional Spanish dishes include pulses from lentils to all sorts of small or flat or large beans, chickpeas, rice etc. Visitors to Spanish restuarants will often see lentils (lentejas) offered as a first dish of a set menu del dia, and it is a filling, nutritious and delicious dish. Vegetarians beware - Spanish lentil soup usually contains chorizo and ham. This recipe for lentil soup does too, but we suggest a vegetarian version in tips and ideas at the bottom.
Spanish recipes

Basic ingredients

* 250 gr. lentils
* 1 chorizo (or a few slices if you can't get a small sausage-shaped one)
* 100 gr. serrano ham
* 1 large onion
* 1 small glass of red wine
* 2 cloves (optional)
* 1 red pepper (optional)



* Half a small glass of olive oil
* 1 bayleaf
* 2 large carrots
* 3 small potatoes
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1 pinch of saffron
* fresh parsley
* salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Soak the lentils for half an hour. Even though small lentils in packets usually don't need soaking, Spanish women tend to soak anyway

2. Cut the ham and chorizo into dice-shaped pieces. Peel and wash the carrots and potatoes. Slice the carrots and halve the potatoes (unless they are very small). Wash and slice a small red pepper (optional).

3. Drain the lentils and put them in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover them and add the ham, chorizo, carrots, potatoes, bayleaf, pepper, parsley, a little salt, saffron and wine. Also add the cloves if you want the lentils to have a slightly spicey air to them. Put the pan over a low heat and cover.

4. Slice the onion and garlic and fry, stirring all the time. After a minute or so, add the sliced red pepper. This is optional and adds a slightly sweet flavour to the lentejas. When soft, add to the other ingredients in the saucepan.

5. Let the lentil stew simmer for at least 40 minutes. Boil off any excess liquid at the end.
Tips and ideas: Spanish lentils

*
Vegetarian Spanish lentils: To make a vegetarian version of Spanish lentil soup, just substitute the chorizo and ham for more vegetables. We recommend adding a little celery (not the leaves), 3 artichokes (without the stalk and outer leaves and cut into halves), 100gr wild mushrooms (if you can get any, otherwise normal ones, washed and sliced), a sprig of rosemary, a piece of lemon peel and a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of sweet paprika. Put all of these into the saucepan in step 3. You may also like to add a vegetable stock cube.
* Try substituting the red wine for a smaller amount of Spanish cognac.
* This Spanish lentil recipe freezes very well, so make more than you need and then freeze portions.
* If you can't get hold of any chorizo or serrano ham, substitute them with other types of spicey sausage or cured ham. You could even use bacon although this will change the traditional spanish lentils flavour.

Spanish Lentil Stew

Raining Memories

On the second day of autumn this year, as on the first day, rain is teaming down, deeply soaking everything not under cover. Time to put on the fire and make a cup of dark, strong, aromatic coffee. As the little espresso pot begins to hiss and burble on the stove top, a flood of memories return, sailing across my inner vision, taking me back to my year in Italia.

Rain would be pelting down outside but inside the kitchen my friend and I would be sipping our afternoon cup of espresso. It was a ritual - after lunch the dishes would be washed, the kitchen cleaned and then, only then, would the espresso pot be put on. The two of us would pull up our chairs to the table, the sound of them moving echoing as they scraped along the tile floor, we would rest our elbows on the table and then savour of hot sweet cup of espresso. Our conversation would flow, she would help me with my Italian when the words weren’t quite right, and I would hear stories of life in this family and region of Campania. We shared our lives, past and present, tears and laughter, mingling it with the aroma of coffee inside and the sound of the rain outside.

One particular lunch that was like comfort food on a rainy day was a simple dish of lentils and spaghetti. Signora G, the Mama of my host family, would boil green lentils with a clove of garlic and salt, along with a little olive oil. When they were almost ready she added spaghetti. With freshly grated parmesan on the top it was deliciously simple. I still make this dish as comfort food on rainy days! Don’t we all have those comfort foods we like on rainy days?

Isn’t it amazing how food and memories are so connected? Those childhood favourites, celebration favourites, and things that Grandma used to make and what we remember as the scent of them reaches us.

The rain outside is flowing steadily, watering and nurturing the earth. I am enjoying sipping my hot cup of coffee, staying dry, and savouring the memories that have flowed within me this morning. And now, I think it is time for a nice bowl of lentil soup in honour of my dear friends in Italia! Then it is time to get moving and go to work.

Flowers For The Dinner

It is salad season and adding a little extra bit of colour to a salad can come in the form of adding edible flowers. Nasturtiums go wild once they get growing and they are a beautiful addition of colour and artistry to a fresh green salad. A sprinkling of bright orange calendula petals is another delightful splash of colour for the salad plate. You don't have to leave them - go ahead and eat them along with the greens!
This colorful and delicate annual is from Peru, where it was once used to treat skin wounds. Nasturtium is well known for its edible spicy flowers and leaves; what may not be so well known is that it has a high content of vitamin C and effectively treats infections and may help relieve colds. It was first brought to Europe in the seventeenth century and first cultivated only in abbey gardens for medicinal usage.
Today, nasturtium is used in cooking and as an herbal remedy. The plant's peppery leaves make a delicious addition to a salad - as long as pesticides weren't used on the plant! Nasturtium is most often used to stimulate the appetite and promote good digestion - a perfect blend of the delightful plant's culinary and medicinal properties. Nasturtium is an easy, colorful plant to grow and is available with trailing, climbing or mounding habits and either dark green or variegated leaves. Plant it in full sun or partial shade for a large harvest of leaves and flowers all summer long.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/herbal_lore/44947

Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

The local café kitchen window (photo in the previous posting)grabbed my attention with the fresh herbs growing in the planter box, the luscious bowl of fresh tomatoes sitting in the open window and the colander hanging, ready at a moments notice to hold freshly washed produce as the cleansing water slowly dripped off. Summer time and plates of fresh sliced tomatoes always go together.

When I lived in Italy the tomatoes had flavour and colour that I have not found anywhere else. So red and juicy, to be eaten just as they were. Slice them onto a plate, fan them out, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and throw on some fresh basil leaves - oh so sweet and delectable! Travelling in Bulgaria several times, the shopska salad, made from fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, thinly sliced onions and feta cheese, was always cool, refreshing, and delicious. One never got tired of being presented with this simple salad.

Our tomato plants are currently laden with tomatoes: a hanging basket with cherry tomatoes, a roma tomato plant and one beefsteak plant. Unfortunately they are taking their time ripening so we have not been able to enjoy this fresh produce just yet. Soon some fried green tomatoes might end up along with our brunch omelette!

A plate of freshly picked tomatoes was in my line of vision and something for our evening meal was also on my radar so the idea of roasted tomato pasta sauce and spaghetti was what came out of it. The roasting of the tomatoes brings out their sugar and a deeper flavour for this sauce. Fresh tomato pasta sauce does not have the tang or the acid taste that using tinned tomato sauce can give. I was actually making this in the kitchen at work for our dinner so I didn’t have a camera ready to photograph it for this posting. So you will have to use the images your memory holds of steaming, heaped plates of pasta!

Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce:

6 fresh good sized tomatoes (remove the stem core and then quarter them)
6 cloves of garlic (leave the skin on)
5 or 6 stems of fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon of dry oregano)
3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 teaspoons sea salt
Heat oven to 350F

Also:
½ cup red wine (if you like)
1 cup small cubed pancetta
Touch of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar

Gently toss the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, balsamic and oregano together and place on baking pan, put into the oven for 45 minutes.

When the tomatoes are done, gently squeeze the garlic out of the skins. It will be a bit caramelized which is perfect!

Put everything into your blender, including all the juices and the oil, and blitz it for just a moment. It won’t be really smooth - you don’t want it to be.

I just love pancetta in my spaghetti sauce so I then saute the cubed pancetta in a little bit of olive oil until it is getting lightly browned. This Italian bacon has a very unique flavour to add to your sauce. Add in your pureed roasted tomato and garlic mixture and add the red wine and the touch of sugar. Simmer this at a very low heat for about 20 minutes. Using a good size fry pan is best.

Cook up your spaghetti pasta (Garofalo brand is my favourite). When the pasta is ready, drain it (don’t rinse it) and put it into the sauce and toss it all together.

Add grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.

Buon appetito!

Fresh...

If only "fresh" ingredients were always this close at hand, this easy to procure!