Greek Yogurt Parfait

After a hard work out, I'm usually tired and hungry. If I'm being good that day, I'll grab some fruit, but sometimes I stray and have something that's a little sweet and not so healthy.

This morning I decided to opt for something healthy and came up with a Vanilla Greek Yogurt parfait with granola, organic blueberries and fresh mango. YUM!

Greek Yogurt Parfait

1 small container (single serving) low fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt

2 tbsp granola

20 organic blueberries, washed

1/2 Alphonso mango, peeled and diced

In a glass, fill the bottom with half of the yogurt. Put half of the blueberries and mango pieces on top of the yogurt. Do another layer of yogurt, berries and mango and end with the granola.

Totally unrelated to the kitchen

I'm back. From where you ask? No where. 

I've hit a slump in the cooking department. I haven't been creating anything new nor have I tried out any recipes.  I'm just cooking the same stuff and those recipes are already listed.  I do have a few drafts for some recipes, but I'm either been too lazy to blog or I've left the recipe in TO when I'm in LA and vice versa. 

So now that I'm uninspired with my cooking, I thought I would blog about something totally unrelated to my kitchen- a reading challenge!  I signed myself up for the Dystopian Challange 2012 and I'm aiming for the Contagion level. That means I have to read 15 Dystopian novels this year. I've already read one, Divergent by Veronica Roth...just 14 more to go. I know of two other books that I want to read with the same themes: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. The rest of the books I will pick up as a I go along. If I'm stuck, there are plenty of Dystopian novel lists out there to guide me.

Rice

Rice. Such a simple and straightforward title, right? Well I really wanted to name this post "Browned Aged White Basmati Rice with Frozen Mixed Vegetables," but I'm sure you can see why I didn't. Too long and wayyyyy too confusing! So I stuck with Rice. Just Rice.

White rice (not the Uncle Ben's variety thank you very much!) is a staple in many Asian households.  Curries, pakoras, stews, and fish are usually accompanied with a heaping plate of steamy, fluffy Basmati rice. The rice can be plain white, or seasoned with spices; vegetables like potatoes, peas or beans like chick peas.

In my house, we don't measure out dry rice using a dry measuring cup. Rather, we use a small mug that is used for coffee or tea like this. One small mug full is equivalent to 1 cup. And when it comes to cooking the rice, the amount of water used is double the amount of dry rice measured out. For example, if you measured out 1 cup of rice using the small mug, you will use the same mug and fill it twice- 2 cups of water.  Kinda confusing at first, but very easy to implement.

Browned Aged White Basmati Rice with Frozen Mixed Vegetables

1.5 cups (using a small mug for measurement) dry white basmati rice
3 cups of water (using a small mug for measurement)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp oil (olive or canola)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 medium-sized cinnamon stick
10 whole black peppercorns
4 cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
1/4-1/2 cup (regular measure) frozen mixed vegetables or peas

Put rice into a large bowl and wash thoroughly until water runs clear.  Fill pot with water until rice is covered and set aside for 30 minutes.
Put the sliced onions  and olive oil in a large pot and brown onions until dark brown.  While browning onions, add in cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves and cumin seeds.
After onions are ready, add 3 cups of water and salt and bring to a boil.
Drain water from rice and add rice to boiling water. Lower heat to medium and cook rice (while stirring occasionally) until almost all of water has been absorbed.  Add the frozen vegetables, lower heat to lowest heat point and cover pot with its lid.  Let rice and vegetables steam until desired consistency has been reached.

Pear and Ginger Smoothie

We're almost into February and there's hardly any snow on the ground! What is wrong with this picture?  Where are the scarves, mitts, shovels, heaps of snow, slush and salt machines?  One of the benefits, (I thought), of being in TO in the winter while hubby is travelling on business would be that I get to have my snow fix.  But it seems like God has other plans!  The weather is completely wonky- freezing one day with wind chills in the double digits, the next day it's a balmy 5 degrees Celsius.  No wonder people are getting sick!

To help me get through this very weird patch of winter weather we're experiencing, I decided to make a pear and ginger smoothie, courtesy of Guilty Kitchen.  I tweaked the recipe just a tad to suit my needs.

Pear and Ginger Smoothie

1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
juice of 1/4 a lime
a tiny nob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (you know those tiny nobs that grow off the body of ginger? well that's what I used)
2 tbsp honey flavoured 0% Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup 2% milk

Put all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. 

Cinnamon-Sugar Palmiers

 For years, I've been eating palmiers, (sometimes referred to as elephant ears, french hearts, or glasses). My grandmother and grandfather were fans of the cookies/pastries and we always used to have them readily available in the kitchen. They were great on their own, or could be dunked into a cup of chai or hot chocolate.  

I never thought I'd try my hand at making palmiers, because they looked so complicated with all of their beautiful, swirly layers. However, I have Martha Stewart to thank for making, what seemed like a daunting task, so simple and effortless.  Martha came onto the Today show in December and showed how to make some holiday sweets.  Once I saw her show Al Roker how to make the palmiers, I knew I had to go and make them myself. 

I tweaked the recipe to reduce the amount of sugar from 1 cup to 1/4 cup and I cut out the chocolate. Also, the only difference that I noted between regular palmiers and Martha's palmiers is that regular palmiers are rolled so that the pastry rolls meet each other, while Martha's rolls the pastry so that they form an "S" shape.

Cinnamon-Sugar Palmiers

1 package pre-rolled puff pastry

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Unwrap one sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry and loosen pastry from paper.  Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture onto half of the puff pastry. 

Begin to fold the dough towards the centre in small increments until you reach the halfway point (no more sugar). 

Gently flip the dough over and repeat the same process again- sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over the pastry and being to roll the dough to the rolled half (it's okay if one roll is bigger than the other).   Repeat same process with second puff pastry sheet.

Wrap the dough rolls in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes in the fridge.  Cut the ends off until you are left with even edges. Cut the dough lengthwise int 1/2" or 1" pieces and lay them 2" apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

 

Bake cookies until underside is a deep golden brown colour.  Using a metal spatula, flip cookies over and bake for another 5 minutes.  Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

Happy New Year! Plus some Lemon Pepper Chicken

Happy New Year everyone!

When I look back, it seems as though 2011 went by in a flash.  I can think back to some key things that I did, saw, and participated in and I hope to do some of those things again in 2012.  Here's to hoping for a safe and healthy 2012 filled with lots of adventure, lots of learning, and lots of time spent with those whom I love.

This recipe that I'm going to share with you tonight has been a long time coming.  I've made it several times (great reviews from family members!)  and have been wanting to share it with you for a really long time.  The reason for it not appearing sooner?  Well, I've been lazy. :o) 

I was inspired by a Barefoot Contessa episode where Ina Garten made lemon-pepper chicken breasts. I took some of her ideas, changed them around a bit and came up with my own version using a whole chicken.  This is super simple and is great on a weeknight (it only takes about 1.5 hours to bake if the chicken has been prepared beforehand) or the weekend.   What I do is buy one or two whole chickens and clean them up, then marinate them with the ingredients in the recipe. I then wrap them up in freezer bags and put them in the freezer for a day when I don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.  Add the chicken to a roasting pan filled with vegetables or small potatoes and bake for 1.5-2 hours and you have a healthy meal on your hands.

Lemon-Pepper Chicken

1 whole skinless chicken, cleaned, washed and pat dried with paper towel

juice of 2 lemons

zest of 2 lemons

4 lemon halves (use the left over lemons)

2 tbsp  + 1 pinch dried dill

2 jalapeno peppers, sliced lengthwise with seeds intact

2 tbsp freshly minced garlic

2 tbsp freshly minced ginger 

2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt

Place the chicken on a flat surface and take the minced ginger and garlic and rub them all over and inside the chicken. Take care to get in between the joints.  Take 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of dried dill and rub them on the inside of the chicken. Take 1 tbsp of salt and rub it over one side of the chicken and repeat on the other side.   Pour juice of two lemons over both sides of the chicken.  Take the remaining dill and spread it evenly over both sides of the chicken. Take the 4 lemon halves and jalapeno peppers and stuff them into the chicken's cavity.  Sprinkle lemon zest over the top of the chicken (breast-side down).  At this point you can stick the chicken and any juices into a freezer bag and put into the freezer.  If you want to roast it the same day, let it marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Roasting chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place marinated or thawed chicken, and any juices in a roasting pan. If any lemons escaped, stick them back into chicken cavity.  Cover roasting pan with lid and place in the lower half of oven.  Check chicken after 30 minutes. If chicken juices and lemon juices have been released, begin to baste chicken with them. Repeat every 30-40 minutes until chicken is done (about 1.5 hours although I usually check by poking at the leg joints to see if everything is cooked).  Remove chicken from oven and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid and baste chicken with juices again before cutting it into pieces.  Repeat basting again before serving.

How to: Brown Onions

Carrots, onions and celery are the base if you want to make soup. Browned onions are the base if you want to make a curry.  Some people brown the onions just before they start to make their curry, others (like myself) tend to make a large amount of the base beforehand and freeze it in small packs. I'm always looking to save time in the kitchen and by having the onions pre-cooked shaves 20 minutes off of my cooking time.  Also, by making the onions in big batches beforehand, I reduce the amount of onion stink in the house..BONUS!

I remember as a kid, my mom would gather the troops, meaning me, my sister, and my grandmother, and we would sit at the kitchen table and peel and chop 50 lbs of onions.  My dad would then hook up the gas stove in the garage and my mom would cook the onions in a HUGE pot over the fire.  Once the onions reached the right texture and colour, the onions were cooled, blended in the food processor and then put into neat packs and stocked in the freezer.  Those onions would usually last about 3 months and then we'd have to start the whole process over again.

Now I'm not crazy to handle 50 lbs of onions all by myself! I stick with 6 lbs-10 lbs at a time, use 2.5 hours making/watching/stirring the onions and then the rest of the day is spent airing out my home!

Browned Onions

Browned onions

6 lbs yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 cup olive oil ( I know that sounds like a lot, but I generally don't add anymore oil to my dishes because the onions have enough to help with the cooking process)

6 lbs of onions BEFORE cooking

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large roasting pan, mix together the onions and oil.  Cover the roasting pan and place it on the lower rack of the oven.  Every 20-30 minutes give the onions a good stir.  After about 2-2.5 hours, the onions should be a rich brown colour and the quantity reduced by half.

Cool the onions down for 20 minutes.  In a food processor, blend the onions to a somewhat chunky paste. Scoop out the paste into small freezer friendly dishes to stock in your freezer.

When you're going to make your curry, you'll want to take out a dish of browned onions 5-6 hours in advance and let it defrost on the counter.

My Measurement notes:  1-2 heaping tablespoons onion paste  = 1 uncooked onion