Life Goes On

Funny how having a kid sucks up All the time in the world, sleep included!

As of this month, I have bit the bullet and joined forces with Epicure, who I have mentioned here in the past. 
https://theresaminnionwiebe.epicure.com/en-ca

They are local to Victoria, BC, and all of the products are made on the island! Go go Van Isle go!

I've dabbled with them for years, in fact, I even sold little samplers of their for my high school graduation after party! (whoops, dating myself there, haha)

Anyhoo,

I'm hoping to resurrect this lovely page, and include many many recipes which will work in concert with Epicure products!

Here's a cute picture of my stinker to satisfy you all.

Long Time and no see

Yeh, I know that it's been a while but I have a great reason

We also moved across the country and he was born two weeks after we arrived.

Now that we are adjusting to our new life, I'm hoping to get this ball rolling again.

I will part with this picture :)  My kid can smile for days, and he will happily chat your ear off. Love you Squishy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I know, I know, it's been a while, but real life is still throwing curve balls, and food hasn't been that appetizing lately. ;)


This post is brought to you by way too much broccoli in the fridge crisper that I didn't want to go bad.

NB: The recipe can be easily halved so you don't have umpteen containers of soup to freeze or feed to your co-workers.

Cast of Characters:

• 1 huge broccoli, stem included
• 1 huge carrot
• 1 large celery rib
• 1 whole onion
• 5-ish small roaster potatoes (use what you have on hand)
• chicken bouillon (better if you actually have broth)
• white pepper
• butter
• cream and/or milk
• cheese (say it with me; DUH!)
• corn-starch (optional for thickening)

Start by chopping up everything. You don't have to be exactly 1 cm by 1 cm cubes; it's all going to be blended so don't you worry a hair on your head.

 Stems of the broccoli too! Great flavour and fibre in there.

Note: if you want good chunks of broccoli, reserve some for the last 45 or so, and remove until after the soup is pureed.

Add in a good spoonful (large tablespoon) of the bouillon. Kudos if you have real broth on hand. Also, you can totally use veggie stock if that's more up your alley.

Add about 4 cups of water. If using stock use about 4 cups.

A know of butter because why not; butter makes everything better!

Add your white pepper. I like the taste of white pepper for this soup.

Sad face as you realise that the jar is empty....

Put the lid on your slow cooker, set it to high, and walk away for about 3 hours. Go have a nap, do laundry, dance in your underwear. The world is your oyster.

Fast forward three hours, give or take.

You have three options to puree the soup:

1. Food processor with the steam vent open.
2. Blender with the steam vent open (do you see a trend?)
3. stick blender aka hand-held blender

Whichever you choose, whirrrrrrr until you reach the desired consistency.

Remember that broccoli I told you to reserve if you like chunky soup? Add it back in now for some colour and texture.

Grab your cream/milk/favourite non-dairy creamer and dump as much or as little as you like.

Own that soup!

The same goes for cheese. I have oh, at least two cups of super sharp Cheddar here, because what's the point of broccoli and CHEESE soup if you are going to skimp on it, especially if you use wussy cheddar. 

ENJOY!

'Tis the Season for Nuts and Bolts

First of all, we have snow.

For those of you who know where I live, this occurs maybe once a year if we are lucky, and usually in the 1-5 cm mark. Then it froze. Hello ice covered city....

Back to the food. Bad brain, bad!

This time of year is the season of giving, and one item that everyone loves (especially the men at my work, who still beg for more, even when I gave them the recipe...) and is adaptable for normal people, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, etc.... is Nuts and Bolts (aka Chex mix)

I actually have a Word document typed out, but can't attach a file, so here's hoping copy & paste works!

SUCCESS!!!

Wet Ingredients

·         1 lb butter (can use vegetable or lightly flavoured oil to make dairy free)

·         1/4 – 1/3  c of Worcestershire sauce

·         1 – 1 ½ tbsp garlic powder (not garlic salt, otherwise way too salty)

·         1 – 1 ½ tbsp onion powder (not onion salt, otherwise way too salty)

·         1 – 1 ½ tbsp celery salt

·         2-3 tbsp chili powder (or to taste)

·         Squirt or two of hot sauce (optional) for extra kick

Dry Ingredients

·         1 box Cheerios

·         1 box Shreddies

·         1 bag pretzel sticks

·         1 lb peanuts (roasted, un-roasted, red skins, doesn’t matter)

·         1 box oat squares / corn squares (optional) un-sweetened unless you like sweet & salty

Here I have about 1/6 cup of chili powder, 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tbsp of celery salt and 1/2 tbsp of onion powder.

Gluten Free Options

·         GF Worcestershire sauce (use 1/3 to 1/2 c for more flavour, not as strong as Lea & Perrin’s)

·         Certified GF Rice O’s

·         Certified GF Rice Chex (honey nut works great for sweet & spicy style)

·         Certified GF pretzles (Glutino works best)

·         Un-roasted peanuts (to ensure no cross-contamination)

·         Can use Oat squares if able to eat oats

·         Can use corn Chex, but check for barley malt (not GF w/ barley malt)

 

Other Random Yummy Ingredients

Cheese Nips

Cheese sticks (like form the Bits and Bites mix)

Gold Fish

Different kinds of Chex mix (if you are in the USA they have way more options)

Different kinds of nuts

 

1.       Pre-heat oven to 250*

2.       Melt wet ingredients in a pot or a quart glass measuring cup over low heat on stove. Do not melt in microwave, otherwise the celery salt will not completely dissolve

-  Taste test the sauce, and add more seasonings to how you like it (try not to lick the spoon)

3.       Evenly divide the dry mix between two large roasting pans (turkey sized is best)

4.       Pour the sauce over the dry mix, and stir to coat using a wooden / plastic / rubber utensil (metal will just mash it into crumbs)

- you can pour the sauce in batches, making sure to evenly coat everything, until all of the sauce is gone 

5.       Bake for 2 ½ - 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes

6.       Do not worry if the mix seems soggy; it will dry out as it cools

7.       Place in large containers and eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2am...

Yes, I know that this makes a massive amount of mix, but you can easily halve or quarter it.

So you don't have chili powder. Use Tex-Mex spice instead. Change it up. I never make it the same twice.

 

How to Make in the Slow Cooker (you read that right!)

 

You can also cook it in the slow cooker (if you have a large sized one)

Mix everything and dump in slow cooker.

Turn temperature to High, and set for roughly THREE hours, stirring every half hour.

But it will get soggy you say? Nope. Fold up a large towel, and place it under the lid, allowing the excess moisture


to evaporate. It may still be damp after three hours, but dump it on a cookie sheet to cool, and it will crisp up right away. 

 

ENJOY!

Carrot Cumin Soup

This recipe is slightly altered from the original I had at my girlfriend's house.

First of all, is the tea towel not absolutely correct?

Cast of Characters:

• olive oil
• onion
• garlic
• cumin
• carrots (this is great if you have say, 20 million pounds of carrots)
• stock (poultry or veg, your choice!
• cilantro
• goat cheese (optional but amaze-balls)

Thanks to Dear Hubby for pouring me a glass cider; I had had a super rough day at work. 

Start by pulverising your garlic and onion, but don't fret if they are not all the same size; it's going to be blended up.

We had a 2 kg bag of baby carrots (as a rule, I don't like them, but beggars can't be choosers when at Costco)

Chop the carrots into vaguely the same size so that they will cook evenly. 

Toss a glug of olive oil in your stock pot, and let it get hot over medium heat.

Add the cumin (I think I have about 2-4 tablespoons here)

Let it become one with the oil and nicely fragrant.

Add in the onion and garlic, and stir to become one with the cumin.

Fire the carrots in the pot, and stir to combine. 

Once your onions have softened a bit, and the carrots as well, add in your stock.

I originally started with four cups, but ended up using eight. 

Bring up to the boil, and simmer until the carrots are fall apart cooked.

Option A: Use a stick blender
Option B: Use a normal blender, but leave the steam vent open, so that it doesn't explode in your face. I do not want to be held responsible for any injuries.
Option C: Use a food processor with the steam vent open.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Wiz until it is smooth and silky.

Adjust the salt and pepper and any other spice you like as  you see fit.

Grab your nicely washed cilantro, and rough chop down to the stems.

Tip of the day when buying the big logs of goat cheese: freeze it, then slice off what you need with a bread knife!

Garnish the soup with crumbled goat cheese and cilantro and some crust bread or crackers.