Every now and then I realize that, well, we're weird.
We left suburbia for the country, choosing a small, drafty farmhouse over a large, modern, all-the-amenities home. We started making our own food, including the animal variety, thanks to chickens, ducks, and deer.
The kids were, until this year, all homeschooled. R entered grade 10 this year and while she enjoys it, she has said several times that she's glad of the timing of it, and is glad that this was the year she went to public school and not sooner. She's adjusted well to a more regulated schedule, but it hasn't changed her easygoing nature and positive outlook.
Church to them includes setting up chairs and sound equipment in a gym each week, knowing an XLR mic cable from a patch cable. It means applying their faith through the week, trying to see the world as Jesus sees it, and making choices based on that.
We aren't heavily scheduled. The kids take music lessons, go to youth group, and hang out with their friends. But if we're stuck at home, they don't drive me nuts. Sometimes they will disappear, singly or together, and have virtual, imaginary, or real adventures. Other times we're all together, experimenting in the kitchen on some new food we've decided to try simply because we've never tried it.
They love music and experiment on their own time. They've started a band with a friend, practicing together, using the sound equipment here. M writes songs. A and R write stories. I realized a while ago that growing up in a house where a band meets weekly, and where I write music, this is normal life to them.
And I like our weird normal.
Beyond
Wednesday, 25 January, 2012
Saturday, 14 January, 2012
daring cooks, january
A new year, and a new challenge...
Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year!
I have never made tamales. My knowledge of Mexican food is, well, pretty much nil. I can make nachos and fajitas. And I'm pretty sure the Old El Paso taco-in-a-box mix doesn't count. So it was with a mix of 'ooh, nice!' and trepidation that I started reading up on this month's challenge.
Thanks to the local Latin American food store (thank you, Google and Ottawa Foodies!) and the very helpful man there, I was able to find fresh tomatillos in Ottawa in January, as well as the masa harina (corn tortilla mix) and corn husks.
The tomatillos were charred under the broiler, pureed with garlic and jalapeno peppers, then boiled to reduce the mixture. Turkey stock was added (see last post - I had lots of turkey stock!) and it was again reduced before added shredded turkey and chopped cilantro. That was the filling, and it tasted great!
It was about this time that the sous-chefs (the girls) were enlisted.
The dough was made from masa harina mixed with shortening, and more turkey stock. It looked like cookie dough and tasted bland, but good. This was pressed out onto the corn husks (these had been soaked for hours to be pliable) by myself and R, while M put the filling onto each and A rolled up the tamale in the husk and tied it with a thin strip of corn husk. They make such cute little packages! This stage was much less time-consuming than I thought it would be, thanks to the help, and I could see why tamales would be made in large batches and as a bit of a social event. We chatted and laughed as we stuffed them.
Meanwhile, my brain was running furiously... "put the tamales in a steamer" the recipe said. Okay. Steamer. Hm... a steamer. Right. I don't have one. In fact, I didn't have anything really resembling a steamer. Time to get innovative. The end result consisted of my stock pot, the outside ring of my springform pan, and a sort of hammock made of aluminum foil that we poked with a skewer to let the steam through. Foil wrapped around springform ring seemed to fit snugly in the top of the stock pot. Until I got half the tamales in and it slipped down into the water, giving the tamales a bath. Oops. I fished out the tamales and thought some more.
Take 2. an inverted loaf pan kept the springform ring from dropping too far, kept the foil hammock out of the water, and kept the tamales high and (somewhat) dry. D looked askance at the 'steamer' when he got home, and I'm not sure whether his engineering mind was impressed, or shocked by my Frankensteamer. But it worked!
Forty minutes later we sat around the table and tried the tamales with a side of Spanish rice. They were a bit dry, but tasted delicious. The salsa verde complemented the turkey, and the dough had a nice consistency - I think we just wanted more of the salsa verde. Perhaps I reduced it too far. But, the meal was deemed a success, and one that would be fun to try again and try some variations on. After all, I've still got more of the masa harina. I'll have to use it up somehow.
Maybe with a real steamer next time.
Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year!
I have never made tamales. My knowledge of Mexican food is, well, pretty much nil. I can make nachos and fajitas. And I'm pretty sure the Old El Paso taco-in-a-box mix doesn't count. So it was with a mix of 'ooh, nice!' and trepidation that I started reading up on this month's challenge.
Thanks to the local Latin American food store (thank you, Google and Ottawa Foodies!) and the very helpful man there, I was able to find fresh tomatillos in Ottawa in January, as well as the masa harina (corn tortilla mix) and corn husks.
The tomatillos were charred under the broiler, pureed with garlic and jalapeno peppers, then boiled to reduce the mixture. Turkey stock was added (see last post - I had lots of turkey stock!) and it was again reduced before added shredded turkey and chopped cilantro. That was the filling, and it tasted great!
 |
| Salsa verde. Not the prettiest green color, but yummy. |
 |
| Aren't they cute? Ready for steaming. |
Meanwhile, my brain was running furiously... "put the tamales in a steamer" the recipe said. Okay. Steamer. Hm... a steamer. Right. I don't have one. In fact, I didn't have anything really resembling a steamer. Time to get innovative. The end result consisted of my stock pot, the outside ring of my springform pan, and a sort of hammock made of aluminum foil that we poked with a skewer to let the steam through. Foil wrapped around springform ring seemed to fit snugly in the top of the stock pot. Until I got half the tamales in and it slipped down into the water, giving the tamales a bath. Oops. I fished out the tamales and thought some more.
 |
| Frankensteamer! Be afraid. Be very afraid. |
Take 2. an inverted loaf pan kept the springform ring from dropping too far, kept the foil hammock out of the water, and kept the tamales high and (somewhat) dry. D looked askance at the 'steamer' when he got home, and I'm not sure whether his engineering mind was impressed, or shocked by my Frankensteamer. But it worked!
Forty minutes later we sat around the table and tried the tamales with a side of Spanish rice. They were a bit dry, but tasted delicious. The salsa verde complemented the turkey, and the dough had a nice consistency - I think we just wanted more of the salsa verde. Perhaps I reduced it too far. But, the meal was deemed a success, and one that would be fun to try again and try some variations on. After all, I've still got more of the masa harina. I'll have to use it up somehow.
Maybe with a real steamer next time.
stuffing, or how to satisfy everyone. i hope.
So Christmas dinner involved 15 people, and two turkeys - one cooked overnight with one stuffing, the second popped in on Christmas morning with the second.
Sound like a lot of work? Logistics aside, it was perfect and I'd do it again.
The logistics involved:
- two smaller birds (16lb each) versus one huge one (25+ lb)
- an oven capable of only one of those at a time
- one roaster pan
- one pot for brining the turkeys for 8 hours each
- a fridge that rapidly took on a Tetris-like appearance, thanks to two big bowls of stuffing, a dish of make-ahead mashed potatoes and one of sweet potatoes.
Once this was all figured out, it was a breeze.
On the 23rd the fresh turkeys were picked up from the local butcher (and here I add that I am so glad for the opportunity to buy from local farmers!), brought home and left outside in a cooler. Two turkeys in my fridge at a time? That's a good one. The stuffings were made:
- the family favourite with mashed potatoes, bread, savoury and onion
- the newcomer with toasted bread, pork sausage, cranberries, apple, duck liver, and the Scarborough Fair of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme)
The brine was put together (water, lots of salt, brown sugar, onion, and herbs) and turkey #1 soaked for 8 hours just outside the back door. Then space strangely was found in the fridge for that turkey to dry - so that the skin will crisp up nicely in the oven - and turkey #2 went in a fresh batch of brine. Christmas Eve after the stockings were hung, turkey 1 was stuffed and put in the oven to roast slowly overnight, and turkey 2 took its place in the fridge to dry. See? A breeze.
Oh! The smell of waking to roasting turkey. It reminds me of childhood. So homey. It was done cooking by the time we woke up, so it left the oven to make room for the homemade cinnamon buns that had been rising overnight in the fridge. Oh right, I forgot to mention those.
After gifts were opened, turkey 1 had all the meat removed and put into a pan, the roaster was cleaned, and turkey 2, stuffed and rubbed with butter, started roasting.
The end result was worth all the turkey juggling. Two delicious stuffings, different enough for each to have a place at the table. Gravy that was ready ahead of time, thanks to the drippings from turkey 1 already being done. A splash of vermouth, by the way, makes gravy insanely awesome. The meat from turkey 2 fed us all, with turkey 1 providing lots of leftovers.
Yeah, I 'll do that again.
Sound like a lot of work? Logistics aside, it was perfect and I'd do it again.
The logistics involved:
- two smaller birds (16lb each) versus one huge one (25+ lb)
- an oven capable of only one of those at a time
- one roaster pan
- one pot for brining the turkeys for 8 hours each
- a fridge that rapidly took on a Tetris-like appearance, thanks to two big bowls of stuffing, a dish of make-ahead mashed potatoes and one of sweet potatoes.
Once this was all figured out, it was a breeze.
On the 23rd the fresh turkeys were picked up from the local butcher (and here I add that I am so glad for the opportunity to buy from local farmers!), brought home and left outside in a cooler. Two turkeys in my fridge at a time? That's a good one. The stuffings were made:
- the family favourite with mashed potatoes, bread, savoury and onion
- the newcomer with toasted bread, pork sausage, cranberries, apple, duck liver, and the Scarborough Fair of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme)
The brine was put together (water, lots of salt, brown sugar, onion, and herbs) and turkey #1 soaked for 8 hours just outside the back door. Then space strangely was found in the fridge for that turkey to dry - so that the skin will crisp up nicely in the oven - and turkey #2 went in a fresh batch of brine. Christmas Eve after the stockings were hung, turkey 1 was stuffed and put in the oven to roast slowly overnight, and turkey 2 took its place in the fridge to dry. See? A breeze.
 |
| Butterfingers - literally! (and yes, that is pretty much my whole kitchen) |
Oh! The smell of waking to roasting turkey. It reminds me of childhood. So homey. It was done cooking by the time we woke up, so it left the oven to make room for the homemade cinnamon buns that had been rising overnight in the fridge. Oh right, I forgot to mention those.
After gifts were opened, turkey 1 had all the meat removed and put into a pan, the roaster was cleaned, and turkey 2, stuffed and rubbed with butter, started roasting.
The end result was worth all the turkey juggling. Two delicious stuffings, different enough for each to have a place at the table. Gravy that was ready ahead of time, thanks to the drippings from turkey 1 already being done. A splash of vermouth, by the way, makes gravy insanely awesome. The meat from turkey 2 fed us all, with turkey 1 providing lots of leftovers.
Yeah, I 'll do that again.
Wednesday, 23 November, 2011
sacrilege
Every Christmas growing up, we had it. Thanksgivings too, I think. My first time roasting a turkey as a newlywed, I called my mom to ask for it. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving, I have made it. Without fail, if I'm making a turkey dinner, it is there.
Mom's turkey stuffing. Potato, seasoned bread, onion, and savoury - so much savoury! Likely my favourite part of the meal, I would make far more than could go into the bird. We'd fill it up, roast it, then combine the turkey-ified stuffing with the rest to stretch it farther. Of the leftovers stuffing was the dish I most diligently tried to squirrel away in a forgotten corner of the fridge so that I could sneak it out, Gollum-like, and make it mine, all mine. Problem was, the rest of the family felt the same way. So good! We all love it.
(side note: I partially credit Mom's stuffing with starting me on a road of cooking without recipes. When I asked her how she made it, all the ingredients were "about this much" in handfuls. So - thanks, mom!)
This year I saw a recipe that I want to try. It's got apple, sage, rosemary, sausage, cranberry - and looks delicious. But really, it's not as simple as simply adding another side dish. This is stuffing. The part of the meal that overshadows the turkey for some of us. There's only one cavity in that bird, and only one thing can go in it.
I am realizing as I type this that I don't know where Mom got the recipe and I may indeed be going farther back into the family history with my heresy. Oh dear.
I confessed to D that I was thinking about this new recipe, and he gasped (okay, a little theatrically for humorous effect, but gasp he did). Then demanded a road test. So tonight I'll try the new recipe with a roasted chicken and we'll see.
If it works though, I am seriously considering roasting two smaller turkeys to still have the old standby.
Mom's turkey stuffing. Potato, seasoned bread, onion, and savoury - so much savoury! Likely my favourite part of the meal, I would make far more than could go into the bird. We'd fill it up, roast it, then combine the turkey-ified stuffing with the rest to stretch it farther. Of the leftovers stuffing was the dish I most diligently tried to squirrel away in a forgotten corner of the fridge so that I could sneak it out, Gollum-like, and make it mine, all mine. Problem was, the rest of the family felt the same way. So good! We all love it.
(side note: I partially credit Mom's stuffing with starting me on a road of cooking without recipes. When I asked her how she made it, all the ingredients were "about this much" in handfuls. So - thanks, mom!)
This year I saw a recipe that I want to try. It's got apple, sage, rosemary, sausage, cranberry - and looks delicious. But really, it's not as simple as simply adding another side dish. This is stuffing. The part of the meal that overshadows the turkey for some of us. There's only one cavity in that bird, and only one thing can go in it.
I am realizing as I type this that I don't know where Mom got the recipe and I may indeed be going farther back into the family history with my heresy. Oh dear.
I confessed to D that I was thinking about this new recipe, and he gasped (okay, a little theatrically for humorous effect, but gasp he did). Then demanded a road test. So tonight I'll try the new recipe with a roasted chicken and we'll see.
If it works though, I am seriously considering roasting two smaller turkeys to still have the old standby.
Monday, 14 November, 2011
daring cooks, november
I enjoy tea. Black, green, oolong, chai - a cup is such a nice break or a pick-me-up during the day. This month, though, I got to expand my use of tea and cook with it.
Rooibos tea is from South Africa (and I'll assume dear friend EMP will recognize it!), and is a lovely red leaf that in turn made a reddish tea when steeped. The tea itself was one I will try again for sipping, but this lot went into the pot.
Then the other seasonings: ginger, orange peel, and cinnamon sticks. All simmered for a couple of hours making the house smell amazing, and then sweet potatoes were added to finish cooking. A bit of fresh cilantro, and there it was.
Delicious!When I make sweet potatoes, my go-to is usually the southern cooking version, done with egg and butter and brown sugar and (to my kids' delight) topped with more sugar or marshmallows. But this time, the potatoes simply absorbed the flavor of the tea-citrus broth and showcased their own sweetness. The mix of spice was delicious! All of us thoroughly enjoyed it.
I decided to wrap up the meal with the tea theme so made Earl Grey lemon shortbread cookies. Buttery, lemony rounds were prettily flecked with the tea leaves, and made for a nice finish. I used Russian Earl Grey, a more citrusy version of the classic tea.
All in all, the meal was delicious, and I have been thinking of other tea-food combinations. The shortbreads will become a part of our Christmas baking, and I will definitely try that stew again. Thanks, DK hosts!
Sarah from Simply Cooked was
our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create
something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using
tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara
Perry.
I really wasn't sure how to do this one on my own, so followed one of the recipes given: Beef Braised in Rooibos Tea with Sweet Potatoes. Stew is always good, right? Even if it uses (a) tea, and (b) a tea I have never heard of. The stew began with the flour-coated beef browning in my cast iron pot, then the aromatics: onion and celery cooked a bit to soften before adding tomato paste and garlic. Sounds pretty normal for stew to me, but instead of adding beef stock, a litre of rooibos tea was added.
 |
| Rooibos tea |
Then the other seasonings: ginger, orange peel, and cinnamon sticks. All simmered for a couple of hours making the house smell amazing, and then sweet potatoes were added to finish cooking. A bit of fresh cilantro, and there it was.
 |
| Finished stew |
 |
| Russian Earl Grey |
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| Cookies! |
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