What We Ate July 9 -15

In an unexpected turn of budget this week, we found ourselves with very little to spend on groceries.  It happens.  Fortunately it's not such a hardship as it might be in wintertime.  We have many green thumbed friends and we've benefited recently from their garden largesse.  (I know we're very fortunate. :)  That fresh produce, together with what we had on hand in the pantry and deep freeze served us very well.

Here's what we ate:

Monday, July 9:

• Breakfast - Rice and beans
• Supper - Salad bar night.  Focaccia with lemon infused extra virgin olive oil, and fig infused balsamic vinegar for dipping.  Strawberries and homemade Greek style yogurt for dessert.

Tuesday, July 10:

• Breakfast - Scrambled eggs, toast, apples
• Supper - Full Belly Sisters pasta with garlic, scallions, cauliflower, and bread crumbs (I used the last of the focaccia to make the crumbs), leftover salad with herb vinaigrette, cherries

Wednesday, July 11:

• Breakfast - Yogurt and granola, oranges
• Supper - Rotisserie chicken, slow cooker baked potatoes, green bean salad, pears in brown sugar syrup with ginger.

Thursday, July 12:

• Breakfast - Applesauce bran muffins, cheddar cheese slices
• Supper -  Macaroni salad made with leftover chicken from Wednesday night and leftover vegetables from Monday night, cantaloupe.

Friday, July 13:

• Breakfast - Farmstead waffles, stewed rhubarb
• Supper - Stuffed eggs, carrot and celery sticks, sliced cucumbers, bread and butter pickles, pickled onions, apple slices tossed in lime juice.

Saturday, July 14:

• Breakfast -  Boiled eggs, whole wheat toast, prunes
• Supper -  Burgers on homemade olive bread buns (made using my olive bread pizza crust recipe), crispy fried onions, celery salad, oatmeal scotchies.

Sunday, July 15:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal and applesauce.
• Supper -  Salmon meatballs in an herb and lemon infused cream sauce over spaghetti squash, steamed green beans on the side, and lemon tarts.

Neptune's Pasta

My friend Karen recently gave me two cans of remarkably good tuna, caught in the waters off Vancouver Island and processed here too. 

It seemed far too nice a treat to spend on a tuna sandwich, so I used one of the tins to make Neptune’s Pasta.

I’ve been making this pasta for pretty much as long as I’ve been cooking.  The first time I made it, it came together as a means of making a supper from what I had on hand.  I’ve made it many, many times since, with all sorts of different fish. 

I’ve used tinned tuna, salmon – both canned and fresh, - prawns, bits of leftover white fish (cod, halibut, snapper), calamari, clams, and even sardines in this recipe and have yet to find a seafood that doesn’t work well with the basic ingredients.  If it lives in Neptune’s realm, it will taste well in this pasta.

Besides being a wonderful way to stretch a small amount of fish into several servings, Neptune’s Pasta is remarkably fast and simple to make, and quite good for you.  The quantities are easily adaptable, making it a suitable dinner for two or for twelve.  I’m sure it’ll still be in my repertoire years from now.

To make Neptune’s Pasta for the two of us, I used:

• 1/2 of a 375 gram box of whole wheat spaghettini
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• The zest and juice of a large lemon
• 1-170 gram tin of tuna
• A few sprigs of dill

I put a large pot of water on the stove for the pasta. 

While the water was coming to a boil, I grated the zest from the lemon and then ran my knife through it so that it was very finely chopped.  I chopped the dill (it came to about 2 Tablespoons when chopped) and minced the garlic.  When the garlic was very finely chopped I sprinkled the salt over it and let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Once it had rested, I used the side of my knife blade to mash the salt and garlic together into a paste.  

I also drained and rinsed the tuna, turned it out of the tin and broke it up with a fork.

When the water boiled, I added a generous amount of salt (enough to make it taste like the sea), and the spaghettini.  I cooked the spaghettini until it was almost ready but still very al dente.

About 4 minutes into the pasta cooking time, I heated the olive oil in a large pot and then added the lemon peel and garlic.  I cooked them, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds; just long enough to infuse their flavours into the oil. 

I added the tuna, the lemon juice, and about a cup of pasta cooking water to the garlic/lemon mixture. (I'm sorry I don't have a picture of this.  I was working pretty quickly at this point and couldn't stop to set up a photo.)

I drained the spaghettini and added it into the tuna mixture.  The pasta finished cooking in the sauce, soaking up some of the liquid as it cooked.  As soon as it was done, I stirred in the chopped dill and then portioned it into bowls.

I garnished each serving with a little more dill and served it immediately.

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This post is linked to the Gallery of Favorites hosted by Premeditated Leftovers and The 21st Century Housewife, to Foodie Friday hosted by Not Your Ordinary Recipes, to the Pity Party hosted by Thirty Handmade Days, to Foodie Fridays hosted by Rattlebridge Farm, to Foodie Friends Friday hosted by Walking on Sunshine, to Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters' Stuff, to Weekend Potluck hosted by Sunflower Supper Club, to Think Pink Sunday hosted by Flamingo Toes, to Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Addicted to Recipes, to Makin' You Crave Monday hosted by Mrs. Happy Homemaker, to Craft-O-Maniac Monday hosted by Craft-O-Maniac, to Busy Monday hosted by A Pinch of Joy, to Manic Monday hosted by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen, to Mix It Up Monday hosted by Flour Me With Love, to Delicious Dish Tuesday hosted by Full Time Mama, Mama Chocolate, and Coping With Frugality, to the Tuesday To Do Party hosted by The Blackberry Vine, to Tip Me Tuesday hosted by Tip Junkie, to Whatcha' Whipped Up Wednesday hosted by DJ's Sugar Shack, to Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, to Look What I Made hosted by Creations by Kara, to Wonderful Wednesdays hosted by Printabelle, to Thursday's Treasures hosted by Recipes for my Boys, to Tastetastic Thursday hosted by A Little Nosh, and to Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

 

 

 

   

   

 

   

   

   

 

Bacon, Apple, and Brie Grilled Cheese

My guy loves a sandwich.  Sandwiches rank in the top three of his go-to foods when I’m not at home, right after oatmeal raisin cookies and cold baked beans eaten straight from the tin.  I’m sure that, if I didn’t cook, he would eat sandwiches every single day.

Me…Not so much.  I don’t dislike sandwiches.  They’re an efficient way to get food on the plate or into my lunch bag, and some of them are quite tasty.   It’s just that I rarely find a sandwich exciting.  If you asked me to make a menu for my last supper, sandwiches would not be included.

That having been said, every so often there comes a group of ingredients that just need to be made into a sandwich.  Like the ones I used to make this grilled cheese sandwich last week:

 I cut two slices of fresh baked white bread.

I put grainy mustard on one slice and Brie on the other.

I topped the Brie with cooked bacon

and thinly sliced apple.

I buttered the outside of one slice of bread and put the sandwich, butter side down, in a pre-heated pan, over medium heat.  I buttered the other slice of bread while the sandwich was in the pan.

I cooked the sandwich until the bread was crunchy and golden, and the cheese all nice and melty.

I sliced it in half, put it on a plate and ate it

all

up.

Poached Eggs and Beet Greens

Aren't these beets beautiful?  We bought them at Russell Farms Market last weekend.  They grow them right there, in the fields beside the market.

We bought two bunches of beets, with their beautiful fresh greens attached.  

To prep them, I dumped a bunch at a time into the sink and gave them a couple of soaks and several rinses.  

I removed the leaves from the beets and set them aside. Working a batch at a time, I dried them in my salad spinner, then wrapped them in kitchen towels and stored them in plastic bags. 

I cut off the beet stems and set them aside to use for stock.  

I left the tips and tails on the beetroots, let them drain, then wrapped them in a kitchen towel and stored them in my vegetable crisper for meals later in the week.  

On Monday, we had beet greens and poached eggs for supper.

To make them, I began by giving the greens another quick rinse in the sink.  While they were soaking, I brought the egg poaching water to a simmer.

I transferred the greens to a big pot, with just the water that was clinging to their leaves.

I cooked the greens over medium-high heat, stirring often.  

When the leaves were wilted and most of the water evaporated, I added in a tablespoon of bacon fat (I know it's breaking the Meatless Monday rules but it tastes good!) and a teaspoon of cider vinegar.  

I put the eggs in the poaching water and continued to cook the greens until all the water had evaporated and the bacon fat and vinegar were distributed throughout.

I plated the poached eggs on top of the beet greens and served them immediately, with some warm cornbread on the side.  It was delicious.
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This recipe is linked to the Recipe Box at Bizzy Bakes.

Farmstead Waffles

I make yogurt at home quite often.  When I make it, I strain it through cheesecloth until it's similar in texture to the Greek yogurt you can buy in the grocery store.  The yogurt is wonderful, but the straining process leaves me with quite a bit of whey.

Whey is the liquid that remains after the yogurt is strained.  It's very nutritious and has a tangy flavour that is not unlike buttermilk.   I dislike wasting food of any sort so I'm always looking for ways to incorporate the whey from my yogurt making into different dishes.

I saw a post on Pinterest about using whey in place of buttermilk to make pancakes so yesterday, while cooking ahead for the coming week, I decided to make waffles using whey instead of the buttermilk called for in the recipe.

The recipe I used for my waffles came from the Country Living Country Monrings Cookbook.  It's a simple recipe that has worked very well for me in the past. 

The waffles turned out very well, with a light texture and a pleasant flavour.  I'll definitely be making them with whey from now on.

To make Farmstead Waffles, you'll need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups all purpose flour (1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour also works well)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whey (or buttermilk)
• 3 large eggs

Put the butter in a medium sized bowl or measuring cup (I used a 4 cup pyrex measure) and melt it in the microwave.  Set it aside to cool a bit.

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the whey and then the eggs into the melted butter.

Stir the wet mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.  The batter should still be lumpy.

You can see how well the leavening worked with the acidity from the whey!

Ladle enough batter over the hot waffle iron to cover 2/3 of the grid.  Close the lid and cook the waffle until it stops steaming and is golden brown.  This takes about 4 minutes in my waffle iron.

When the waffle is done, use a fork to gently remove it from the waffle iron. 

You can either cool the waffles on a rack and use them later, or put them on a baking sheet in a warm oven until you're ready to serve them.

If you're planning to use your waffles later, store them in an airtight container in the freezer.  Reheat them from frozen by placing them directly on the racks in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes.
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Recipe Source:  Country Living Country Mornings Cookbook, Hearst Books, New York, 1989


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This recipe is linked to Hearth and Soul Blog Hop hosted by The 21st Century Housewife, Premeditated Leftovers, Zesty South Indian Kitchen, Savoring Today, Penniless Parenting, and Elsa Cooks, to Gallery of Favorites hosted by Premeditated Leftovers and The 21st Century Housewife, to The Pity Party hosted by Thirty Handmade Days, to Foodie Fridays hosted by Rattlebridge Farm, to Weekend Potluck hosted by Sunflower Supper Club,