Meat Loaf

It's been rainy and cool so something warm and comforting was calling out to be cooked.  I wandered along the meat counters. Not fish. Not Angus steak. Not pasta. Not chicken. Not pork. Hmmmm. How about  meat loaf? I picked up a small pack of ground pork and went back to the Angus section and picked an equal size package of lean ground. Asparagus was on special so I picked that up too.

I put the meat in a bowl and added 2 tsp salt, a palm full of bread crumbs, 1 tbsp paprika, fresh ground pepper, two finely chopped garlic cloves and 1 tbsp dried oregano. Mixed it all up with both hands. I put 1/4 cup tomato ketchup in the bottom of a loaf pan and laid the meatloaf on top.  I put two sprigs of rosemary and two of thyme on top and put it in the oven at 375ºF. I should have also put a couple of bay leaves on top but didn't think of it till it was too late. It took an hour and a half to cook.

I made mashed potatoes, carrots and asparagus.  The carrots I did in the microwave and when they were done I put a drop of molasses in them hoping to get that brown sugar taste without extra sugar.  I got the slightly bitter molasses taste overwhelming the carrots.  I'll use brown sugar next time or just butter and salt, like the asparagus.

A friend dropped by just before dinner so I made extra for him and he was very happy to accept.  He loved the meatloaf, so did Fern and I thought it was pretty good too. Next I know I can make it even better.

Curry Chicken with Peanut Sauce

We haven't had chicken in a while and it was time to make fresh stock so I picked up a couple of chicken breasts. When I got home I boned the breasts and put the bones in the stock pot with an onion, celery, carrot, clove garlic and 2 bay leaves. Brought that to a boil, actually it boiled over but there is a good side to that.  All the foamy impurities were boiled out of the pot so I didn't have to skim the stock.

I was in more of a curry mood but not coconut so doing the usual creamy curry wasn't where I felt like going.  I like peanut sauce so I decided to pound the breasts to double in size, coat with salt and Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder then serve with peanut sauce. I put rice on and readied the steamer for the vegetables.  The BBQ was warming up for the breasts.

I cook the chicken over the heat for the first 8 minutes so I can get crossed grill marks on the meat.  Then I move it off the heat to roast for the remaining 12 to 17 minutes. I poured the skin fat over the breasts in the BBQ to keep them moist and carry the flavour into the meat.  The peanut sauce was simple.  I put a teaspoon of flour in the pan and enough oil to make a paste.  I cooked the flour taste off for a minute then added 1/4 cup chicken stock. I added more stock till I had a thinner sauce.  I added 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and  2 teaspoon soy sauce. I should have added a few drops of rice vinegar to the sauce to brighten it up but I didn't think of it.

The vegetables were done so I cooled them under running water.  Then I put them in the pot with some extra virgin olive oil.  They warmed up while the oil cooked. I have been doing my vegetables this way for nearly a year.  It always produces better tasting vegetables. Of course, it didn't occur to me to think about what extra virgin olive oil cooked onto vegetables is going to taste like with peanut sauce.

I served the chicken on the rice with peanut sauce over top and vegetables on the side.  The vegetables were good until I had some peanut sauce.  The peanut sauce was good until I had some vegetables. There might have been more wrong with this meal but that seems to be the worst part.  The vegetables just didn't go with the meat and sauce. If I had stir fried the vegetables the dish would have been much better.

Roast Pork with Chinese and collard greens

Fern had to drive to Vancouver to see a specialist. It's 8 hours minimum travel time due to two ferry trips each way, so it's an exhausting trip in one day.  Also, he'd be home late so I decided to do a pork roast, it'll be hot when he gets home. It didn't hurt that roasts were on special so I found a little one, maybe two pounds.

When I got home I immediately readied a brine with 3 cups water, 3 tablespoons salt, 2 tsp sugar and one tablespoon molasses. I used an immersion blender to dissolve it all.  In went the roast so it was covered by brine and put in the fridge for a few hours.  Even half an hour brining will help so it's always worth doing if you can squeeze in the time.

About two hours before Fern's estimated arrival time I put the roast on a rack in a small roasting pan. I laid 3 bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme on the roast, inserted the meat thermometer and put it in the oven. I use a digital thermometer with a cable out the oven door which I highly recommend.

Our neighbour Deirdre dropped off some fresh greens from her garden so we even had fresh new vegetables to try. I wasn't sure what to do with them so tasted them both.  The Chinese greens tasted like cabbage and the collard greens tasted neutral. Collard greens are another type of cabbage but they didn't have the usual cabbage flavour.  They were sweet and seemed to meld with all the other flavours on the plate. I sliced up both bunches of leaves and readied the steamer which took the Chinese cabbage.

I had potatoes boiling on the stove when I took the roast out of the oven.  I immediately put the roast on the cutting board, removed the herbs and covered it with foil.  A roast has to rest out of the oven so the moisture driven out by cooking is drawn back into the meat.  Also, the moisture has to be cooled below boiling so it doesn't escape as steam when the roast is carved. This small roast I was planning to rest at least 20 minutes or until Fern arrived home.  Turned out to be 30 minutes and the meat was still warm and delicious.

I put the cabbage on the steamer and let it cook a bit then put the collard greens in the boiling water beneath.  A few minutes later they had softened so I drained and strained them both.  Then I tossed them in separate pans with butter and salt. The Chinese greens are plated on the right.

In the roasting pan I sprinkled a teaspoon of flour over all and put a quarter cup chicken stock in it.  A little salt and pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce along with a few drops of red wine vinegar.  Heat to simmering and stir the dried drippings into the gravy.

We weren't thrilled with the Chinese greens, neither of us likes cabbage but the collard greens were really good. The steak was perfectly cooked for our taste, medium rare, so it was tender and juicy. The gravy was really good too, glad I took the extra trouble. 

Angus Rib Eye Steak

Once in a while I splurge and buy a nice steak, this was one of those nights. I picked two Angus rib eye steaks with a little marbling in the eye and a little fat around the outside.  Fern doesn't like fatty meat so I have to trim his a bit. 

I did the baked potato in the microwave and removed it before it was completely cooked.  I set it on foil and added salt, butter and fresh chives. I rolled up the foil and put the potatoes in the BBQ but not over the heat.  The steak had just salt and black pepper on it and it was cooked for 8 minutes on the BBQ. Rotating and turning it over so it gets crossed grill marks on both sides.

The carrots and broccoli were done in the steamer and finished with xv olive oil in the pot. Looks like I forgot to put some home made yoghurt on the potato but I didn't miss it.  Somehow just putting a potato on the BBQ seems to add flavour. The vegetables were slightly over done but not mushy so they were still pleasant to eat.  The steak was medium rare, juicy and full of flavour. Yum!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Homemade Frozen Yogurt

I made yogurt yesterday.  I heat the milk to 180ºF in a double boiler, then cool it quickly to 110ºF in sink of cold water. Add some yogurt from the previous batch and put in the machine to ferment. I have the Yolife with the high lid so I am able to make 2 one liter jars and 1 500ml jar at the same time. I gave a jar to Kevin the gardener who loves lots of yogurt and works for free. I'll make him all the yogurt he wants! He phoned later to ask what to add to the yogurt, it's too sour.  Sugar, start with 3/4 cup in a liter of yogurt. Then add more till it tastes the way you like. He hasn't called back so presumably he succeeded.

To turn the yogurt into frozen yogurt add one cup of sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 cups yogurt, 1 cup milk and 1 packet gelatin.  The gelatin has to be sprinkled in a quarter cup cold liquid then the same amount of boiling water is added to dissolve the gelatin. Then add the gelatin to the ice cream maker. Churn the yogurt.

The carrot cake was a half recipe from a 13x9 cake. I lined a bread pan with parchment then:

Carrot Cake

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 large or 2 small eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple (I used chunks)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Mix the wet ingredients, then the dry.  Put in a 350ºF oven for 40 minutes.  Test for doneness with a toothpick. Only crumbs, not batter, should be on the toothpick.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup (250gm  1/2lb) cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup icing sugar

Cream the warmed butter and cheese.  Add vanilla, then sift in icing sugar and beat till fluffy. Cut the cake in half horizontally and fill with layer of frosting.  Replace top piece and frost with remaining icing. 

Fern says it's the best carrot cake I've ever made and the best he's ever tasted. I know that's hyperbole but it does mean he likes it. The frozen yogurt is light with a lemony tang. It washes the cream cheese icing down leaving the mouth clean for the next bite. This is a perfect example of two components working together to deliver more than either could alone.

Pork Chops

Pork chops were on special so I bought the smallest pack, which was still too much.  Half of that chop would have been plenty. Anyway, cauliflower was also on special so I bought a head of it too and trotted off home.

I got the potatoes on to boil first.  Then I readied the carrots and cauliflower for the steamer.  I sliced up an onion but wasn't sure what to do with it.  I decided to season the pan with caramelized onion so I put some oil in and the onions. The chops I seasoned with salt first then I put them in a bag with corn flour and shook to coat them evenly.  I ground some mixed pepper on the coated chops and and shook some mustard powder on too.  I got a sprig of rosemary and one of thyme from the garden for each chop. I took the onions out of the pan and put the chops in with the rosemary and thyme laid on top. Then I put the cauliflower and carrot in the steamer. 

I put the herbs aside into the hot oil while I turned the chops.  This released the flavor much better when I laid them back on the chops. I'll cook the herbs for a few seconds first next time. When the chops were nearly done I put the onions in with them.  

Plated the chops with the onions on top. I put butter in the cauliflower and carrot with some salt and pepper.  The potatoes were mashed and butter and milk were whipped in with a fork. An immersion blender will turn potatoes into a stiff, unpalatable paste.

Fern said several times during dinner that the pork was really good. It was well done but not quite dry so it was pleasant to eat. The rosemary and thyme were in there as was the mustard and the sweetness from the corn flower. Fern loves caramelized onions so it's almost cheating to put them on the plate. He'll 'LOVE' it.

It's interesting to note that we didn't have Fern's ketchup with the pork and neither of us missed it. That's probably a first.

Crab Cakes

I like these crab cakes because they are a terrific flavor/price bargain.  I use Louis C. Kemp imitation crab with 3% real crab. It has a crab like texture, the taste is good and it's less than $4 per pound. Real crab is $17 per pound. I can afford to serve these cakes every week whereas real crab would be a rare treat.

I keep varying the recipe to see if I can improve the result.  This time I didn't, they were still good, but not better.  I started by caramelizing a diced onion to which I added two crushed and chopped garlic cloves. The caramelized onion didn't melt into the crab mixture very well so there were incongruous dark spots in the crab. The flavor wasn't improved either so that was my first mistake. I should have used shallot or red onion and sweated it with the garlic and a little celery, that would have produced a better result.

I broke the crab apart and added 3/4 cup flour to the crab, that was my second mistake. I was hoping the extra flour would hold the cake together better and give nicer browning. It just made them really heavy, half a cup or less would have been plenty.  I forgot to add salt at this point but I should have added 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to the crab. That was my third mistake.  I did manage to grind some pepper into it.

In a separate bowl I thoroughly whisked a very large egg.  Two small eggs worth at least, and added it to the crab. I mixed in the egg, onion and garlic into the crab and flour. I formed 4 balls and flattened them into patties.  The extra flour made them extra sticky so they held together better but they also stuck to my hands and the counter. I put them in plenty of hot oil but they quickly progress from brown to scorched so I keep an eye on them. Next time I will try putting them in hot oil for a minute so they are seared, then turning them over and turn the heat down to medium so they cook without burning. Turning them again to finish cooking the first seared side. Hopefully that will give me the result I'm looking for.

I also made basmati rice, carrots and broccoli.  The carrots and broccoli I did in the microwave but near the end I drained the water and added extra virgin olive oil then returned them to the microwave to finish cooking. I took them out 30 seconds before then end of their cycle so they weren't quite as over done. It worked surprisingly well.  The broccoli still had a little firmness and the oil was pleasantly cooked.

The tartar sauce is just 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon sweet green relish. The amounts can be varied to personal taste.

The crab cakes tasted good but could have been better.  They were much too heavy though. I could only eat one, the dogs shared the other. The extra flour made a huge difference, I probably could have made small dumplings with them and fed a crowd.