Kale and Cannellini Beans... Eat your veggies!

 

This was good. I simply sauteed a minced clove of garlic and a few flakes of dried chilli pepper in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then added about a cup of rinsed cannellini beans and some black kale cut into bite-sized pieces and continued sauteeing briefly. Covered the pan with a lid for a minute or so, added a bit of salt, and the deed was done.

P.S. Cannellini beans are more commonly known as white kidney beans. They come in cans or jars.

Raw black kale is so sturdy and so ominously dark, it's gotta be chock full of iron.  

Chicken with Peaches and Almonds..... very retro

This is a dish that my sister Sylvia has been making for years/decades, having received the original recipe from her mother-in-law. It was designed to feed a crowd (in the seventies) on special occasions. 

Ingredients:

• 4 large boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized chunks 
• 1/2 cup flour divided
• 1&1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 large can sliced peaches drained, reserving the peach juice
• water added to the reserved peach juice to make 1&1/2 cups of liquid
• 1 can beef broth concentrate ( I assume this refers to something like a can of Campbell's bouillon)
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Methods:

Mix 1/4 cup of the flour with the paprika, salt and pepper in a large freezer bag. Toss the chicken pieces in the flour mixture and fry in butter on a medium heat until lightly browned. Remove the chicken and place it in a large casserole dish. 

Slightly brown the almonds in the frying pan, then stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Add the peach juice/water mixture and the beef broth to the pan, stirring constantly. Then add the ketchup and cook the mixture until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream, then pour the entire mixture over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. 

Remove the dish from the oven and uncover. Arrange the peach slices over the chicken and generously sprinkle the whole thing with the parmesan cheese. Return to the oven uncovered to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with egg noodles or rice. 

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette from Smitten Kitchen

I'm not a huge fan of zucchini but when you pair it with cheese and pastry, my interest increases dramatically. I made a bit of a pared-down rustic version of a Smitten Kitchen recipe. I used my own pie crust which I make as per the recipe on the box of lard or Crisco that I happen to have on hand. 

This can be served hot, warm, cold, or at room temperature. That pretty much covers all eventualities.

Ingredients:

• one smallish zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can make it
• a tablespoon of olive oil with a clove of minced garlic mixed in
• 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozarella
• salt and papper to taste
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced basil leaves to finish. I didn't have any.

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. (Smitten Kitchen says 400 degrees, but whatever works).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Or better yet, do what I did and roll the dough into a round on the parchment paper prior to putting it on the baking sheet. Whatever way you want to do it, you need a 12 inch round of pastry on a baking sheet, with or without parchment paper. 

Mix the cheese together along with 1 teaspoon of the garlic oil, and some salt and pepper to taste. Spread the cheese mixture over the pastry leaving a 2-inch border. Place the sliced zucchini in a decorative concentric circular pattern on top of the cheese and brush with some of the garlic oil. Then fold the border of pastry over the edges of the zucchini cheese mixture. Brush the crust with the egg yolk glaze. Bake until golden brown, thirty to forty to fifty minutes. It depends on your oven. 

Honey Spice Loaf by Canadian Celebrity Chef Anna Olson

So, obviously, I'm now on a spice cake kick. And again, this recipe comes from my sister Penelope, although celebrity chef Anna Olson is the original source of the recipe. I think the honey in this recipe gives a nice flavour to both the cake and the icing. A friend is coming for tea this afternoon. We'll see how she likes it.

 No sugar or eggs involved, but lots of spices.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup (150 g) whole wheat flour

• 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour

• 2 ½ tsp (7.5 g) baking powder

• ½ tsp (2.5 g) baking soda

• ½ tsp (2.5 g) salt

• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground anise seed (I did not have this so used ground cardamom)

• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground black pepper

• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg

• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground cloves

• 1 ½ cups (375 mL) 2% milk

• 1 cup (300 g) honey

• Finely grated zest of 1 orange

• ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted

Honey Glaze:
1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp butter, 1 cup  (130 g) icing sugar, sifted

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 350 ºF and grease a 9-x-5-inch loaf tin.
Measure the whole wheat flour into a large mixing bowl and then sift in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices. Add the milk, honey and orange zest and whisk until smooth, then whisk in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in its tin for 30 minutes and then turn it out to cool completely on a rack.

For the honey glaze, stir the melted butter and honey together and then stir in the icing sugar, adding water if needed to achieve a glaze consistency. I used more butter and more icing sugar to make more of an icing than a glaze, because that's the way I like it.