Getting Festive: Caramelized Onion and Cranberry Focaccia

 This is a sponsored post. While I was compensated financially, all opinions are my own. 

I’m back with more Spanish Sweet Onion love, and this recipe is so perfect for the upcoming holiday season. I mean, just look at it! This is the sort of thing I want to nibble on while the furnace is purring and the windows are frosting up. It’s decidedly winter here, with the massive dump of snow from last weekend putting us firmly in place. Literally. I ventured out on the roadways for the first time in a week and only got stuck once, which is rather successful I think. It was nice to come home and relax with a slice of this savoury onion and cranberry focaccia. There’s enough sweetness from the onions to play with the tart cranberries, and that sprinkle of flaky salt brings everything together. It was a big hit in my house!

Overnight Sensation: Jan Scott's Faux Sourdough

Well holy doodle. Here I am. Is it me or was this winter just the worst? I mean, really. Here in Saskatoon I think it was the coldest winter since 1930. Extreme cold warnings filled my phone for most of February. I didn't leave the house if I didn't have to, if I'm being totally honest. I hunkered down big time, baking to keep the house warm(er). And then there was that one day when the furnace conked out in the morning and left me with a giant repair bill I wasn't prepared for. Yeah, that was sucky. So was finding out that my sweet Sunny, a senior feline at 10 years old, is diabetic. He's taking the daily insulin injections like a champ, and he and the other cats are finding a new normal when it comes to eating. No longer is the bowl of dry food a free for all, and Sunny is on quite the low carb diet. In just a few weeks, he has improved greatly, and his overall health is better than it has been in awhile. This all makes me happy, though I do fear that every time I inject him with insulin I'll hit a nerve in his neck and he will die. Maybe I'm being a paranoid and neurotic cat mom? It has been a long winter, after all.

California Dreaming: Roasted Peach and Ricotta Focaccia

This is a sponsored post. I was compensated financially to write about California Cling Peaches. 
All opinions, thoughts, feelings about canned peaches are my very own.

With summer months and months away, this is the time of year when I start to daydream about wearing flip flops, eating burgers outside in the shade and hearing thunder rumble off into the distance. Alas, my reality is feet in slippers, stew for supper and freezing rain being the crazy menace that it is. Oh, a girl can dream. When it comes to eating fruit, California Cling Peaches bring me a little taste of summer in the dead of winter. Easy to find on the store shelves, and affordable as all heck, canned peaches have no preservatives and according to a study by the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, canned peaches are higher in antioxidants and Vitamin A and are nearly four times higher in Vitamin C and 10 times higher in folate than fresh peaches. Healthy and tasty, I love opening a can of these beauties.

Mushroom and Kale Bread Pudding with Bacon

When most people think bread pudding, they think sweet and dessert-y.  And it's delicious.  I'm a fan.  But I'm also a huge fan of the savoury bread pudding, you know, with vegetables and cheese and meat.  Same premise, but instead of dessert, it can be a side dish or even prepared for brunch.  Heck, this mushroom and kale bread pudding I created for the Mushrooms Canada blog was so good I ate a giant portion for supper.  Because bacon and mushrooms were always meant to be together.  And those crispy edges - oh man.  Don't get me started.  With the holidays just around the corner, and I mean just, this is a good little recipe to have in your back pocket, if you want to switch up the sides or wow your fam at brunch, after all of the presents have been opened and the coffee and Baileys are flowing freely. 

When Bloggers Brunch: Shakshuka and Rosemary Foccacia

So what do you make when one of your favourite food bloggers comes to town?  This was my dilemma a few days ago when Dan came to my little house for a visit.  A Saskatoon ex-pat, and an all-around awesome dude, Dan is one of my favourite people in the whole world.  He does all kinds of great things for the Calgary culinary scene, and he's even started a program that teaches university kids how to cook.  Like I said, dude is cool.  So I do what you're not supposed to do when a guest you wanna impress is soon to be seated at your table:  I make recipes I've never made before.  For carefree entertaining, you're supposed to stick with the tried and true.  But not me.  I go into uncharted territory.  However three things brought me to safety:  1) The source.  It's Ottolenghi.  It's bound to be perfect. 2) It's eggs.  How hard can you mess up eggs? 3) It's homemade bread.  Even if it's not perfect, it's still perfect.  Plus I've seen shakshuka a million places around the interwebs and figured it was time to share it here.  So glad I did.  Unbeknownst to me, it's one of Dan's favourite dishes.  Also unbeknownst to me, we were practically wearing identical plaid shirts.  Great minds!  Great taste!

Cozy: Savoury Kale & Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding

It's (un)officially winter here in my neck o' the woods - the heavy parka and fleece lined boots have come out of the basement and flannel sheets have cozied up the bed.  The snow is deep and heavy and in the cold dark mornings my boots loudly crunch, and when I exhale you can see my breath rising to the stars.   Long winter nights stretch out before me, and with that comes a cozy house:  candles burn, twinkle lights twinkle, tea brews and keeps hands warm, cloves and cinnamon sticks simmer, the cats curl up in a cat nip-induced coma and the low hum of the furnace is the background acoustic.  And then of course there are the cravings, mainly consisting of cheese and chocolate.  Happily, wine goes with both.

Soda Bread with Dark Chocolate & Blood Orange Peel

 

It's a mad chocolate world out there right now.  Heart-shaped boxes; kisses wrapped in pink tin-foil; delectable cupcakes overflowing with buttercream and boxed up with pretty bows.  Valentines are running amok, finding sweets for their sweet ones.  Such displays of confection (and affection) are so very welcome during these hard-fought days of Winter.

My Seven Links and First Year Blogiversary!

 

One year ago today I put forth into the world my very first post on my brand shiny new food blog.  It was all about gingerbread waffles and caramelized pears and I was pleased as punch.  One year.  Time has flown, friends.  Almost 100 (!!) posts later, and I'm still over the moon that I've created a little world here for you to stop by, stay awhile and hear what I have to say about food and cooking.  Given the healthy measures of gardening, cat talk, single-girl bitching whining, lots of lovely photos and perhaps an over-active imagination when it comes to my boyfriend Don Draper, I hope you've enjoyed letting me share little pieces of my world with you.

Bacon, Potato & Leek Soup with Rosemary Beer Bread

 

"To feel safe and warm on a cold, wet night, all you really need is soup."  Laurie Colwin

Soup (and sweater) weather has finally arrived here in Saskatoon. My boots have been smashing through fallen leaves - that is a most lovely sound, is it not?  Inside, the tea pot is constantly cozied; an extra blanket thrown on the bed.  While September leaves me maudlin, October re-kindles a little fire of optimism in the spirit, (or maybe it's just my post-Thanksgiving Tiramisu high).  I'd forgotten how good it feels to be all swaddled and cozy; to slip inside a warm house, with a runny nose and cold hands aching to be wrapped around a warm mug of tea. 

With the garden quietly put to bed, all that is left out there now are some droopy-headed sunflowers, left behind for the birds to munch on.  The last of the carrots, beets and Yukon Golds were dug up a few days ago, weeds creeping happily into their place. Outdoor chores are mostly done (I'm not fond of ladders or heights, so the eaves trough clean-out is one task I put off and off and with any luck snow will come then I really have no excuse honest but to do it next year oops!), focus turns to inside projects, like organizing cupboards, dusting behind the TV and reacquainting myself with this contraption called an iron.  My habits in the kitchen once again tend to produce good, comfort, soul-warming food - my favourite kind.

You may find it hard to believe that I haven't made a soup in my little green kitchen since this beauty...but it's true!  Summer here was so fantastically hot, the last thing I wanted to make or eat was soup.  All of that has changed now, of course, with the dipping temperatures and dark nights.  I wanted to use the last of the Yukon Golds in something triumphant - a real showstopper.  Paired with smokey bacon, fragrant leeks, and lotsa Gouda this soup is one of my go-to bowls of comfort. Omit the bacon and sub in vegetable stock if going the veggie route, and feel free to use whatever cheese you have.  Cumin Spiced Gouda was lingering in my fridge so that's what I used, but a nice old white cheddar, or Gruyere would be amazing too. Simple and easily made under 30 minutes, it's great for weeknights when all I really want to do is curl up with a blanket and a cat and watch my new favourite show - "Downton Abbey".  Have you seen it?  I'm a sucker for Upstairs/Downstairs type shows about behind the scenes servants in crazy rich households, with all of the drama and secret passages and stellar costumes. If you've seen and loved "Gosford Park" - you'll love Downton Abbey.  Plus, it's full of cute British boys. 

The first night I made this soup, I dunked hot, heavily buttered toast in it, and it was glorious.  Then I remembered this super, I mean, SUPER delicious beer bread recipe my friend Ashley gave me a few years ago.  It's a quick bread, and yes the beer imparts a wonderful earthiness to it, but the best part is the melted butter poured over the batter before it gets baked.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Imagine this buttery golden crust, completely surrounding a warm, rosemary scented loaf of goodness. I know.  It is just as good as it sounds. The first time I made it I was in awe of how something was so few ingredients could be so darn good, then I had to restrain myself from eating the entire thing in one day.  Perfect for dunking in stick-to-your-ribs stews, too - this is one bread where you'll fight over who gets to eat the end pieces.  Seriously.

A word of warning though:  I used a smaller loaf pan than usual (where is my good aluminum one I've had for years?!!!) and the butter runneth over, giving a whole new meaning to the term brown butter.   The smoke alarm went off (good to know it works!) and all of the windows and doors had to be opened.  There was a small fire small incident inside the oven, easily contained with a large stainless pot lid.  All the while I was thinking, maybe I should take the bread out?  Nah, it was all self contained, and the smoke dissipated soon after.  Besides, I know how good this bread is and I was bound and determined to see it through.  The lesson from this cautionary tale?  Use the largest loaf pan you can muster, or maybe a 8x8 square pan.  I've reduced the amount of melted butter, and maybe after you pour it over the batter, take your knife and run it around the edges of the pan just so the butter doesn't stay on top.  There.  I do hope you aren't scared off by my small fire kitchen excitement, the bread is well worth it.  For a fun side note - I don't have a self-cleaning oven and frankly have not peeked inside since I took the bread out.  Don't think my baking soda paste is going to cut it.  Any suggestions?

Soup and bread go hand in hand and these two are the perfect pair.  It's not a low carb feast, but what the hell.  It's a meal so good it might just get me up on that ladder, sooner, rather than later.  Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to tuck into another piece of rosemary beer bread, snuggle in a little deeper and watch another episode of "Downton Abbey."  The cocooning has begun. 

Cheesy Bacon, Potato and Leek Soup

4 pieces of bacon, chopped small
3 leeks, white part only, washed thoroughly, then sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 medium potatoes, Yukon Golds, or other white
5 cups of chicken stock, or veggie stock
2 tsp Dijon mustard
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper
1 cup grated cheese, such as old cheddar or Gouda
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup milk

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy.  Remove crisp bacon from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping the fat in the pot. (If not using bacon, melt 2tbsp of butter in pot and proceed with recipe).  Add the leeks, and cook until a little bit soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, cook a minute longer.  Add the potatoes and stock, scraping up most of the brown bits from the bottom.  Stir in the Dijon mustard and cayenne.  You want the potatoes to be covered with about an inch or so of broth.  I used about 4 cups, but you may need a bit more.  Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft and falling apart, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.  Put back on low heat, stir in the cheese until melted.  Add crisp bacon back into pot and stir in milk and cream. Adjust seasonings with more salt, pepper, cheese and if too thick, thin out with more milk or stock.  Garnish with again, more cheese, chives and diced bacon.  Serves 4-6.

Rosemary Beer Bread

This is my friend Ashley's recipe - she wrote it out for me on a small recipe card before I left Edmonton.  Besides being a wonderful cook, she has two blogs: one where she knits and crochets like nobody's business, and another where she gives insights into her vegetarian world.  You have her to thank for this recipe!  And hey Ash!  Has your oven ever started on fire too?!

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped, or 1 tsp dry
1 12oz. can of beer (I opened it about 30 minutes before baking)
1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl.  Add beer and stir well to incorporate.  Batter is quite thick. Pour/press into greased LARGE loaf pan, or an 8x8 inch baking dish.  Pour melted butter over batter.  Run a knife around edges so the butter runs down sides. Place in the middle of your oven and bake for about 50 minutes if using loaf pan, and about 30 minutes if using 8 inch square.  If butter runs over, place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and place this on the rack beneath your bread.  Put out any fires with baking soda and a large lid. :)   Let bread cool for about 15 minutes, then run knife around edges and remove from pan.  Serve warm. 

Easter Bread with Candied Ginger and Dried Sour Cherries

For the past few years now I've been baking Easter bread on Good Friday.  I'm not a huge baker of bread ~ my excuse is mostly the time thing.  But I clear my calendar and set aside a few hours on this day to knead and roll and wait and punch down and wait and bake.  It's a bit of a process, but the smell in my house is worth it, as is the nice little loaf of bread in the end.  Making this bread is a welcome ritual, and I like how you really have to be physical with the dough.  If I had any frustrations, they were sure to be gone by the end of the day!

I wasn't crazy about last year's bread - it was ok, just nothing special.  For this year's Easter bread I wanted to use up some candied ginger and sour cherries I had lurking in my pantry, and I wanted a bit of a sweet dough.  The recipe I found was in this old school baking book I bough at a second hand store for a dollar.  Sweet deal!  There's a European twist to the recipes and they all have photos circa 1980.  It's good stuff, if you are a retro nerd like me.

The original recipe called for candied lemon peel and raisins.  You know by now I have a strong aversion to raisins, and the lemon peel would probably be good, but I wanted to use my ginger.  Substituting the raisins with dried cherries and a little bit of dried mango, I thought the flavours would go well with the toasted chopped nuts, and a hint of orange rind.  Once the bread comes out of the oven it was to be brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar.  My kind of bread!  

To be honest, this bread was a bit of battle right off the start.  I thought I was following the instructions correctly, but it seemed terribly terribly dry, so in a mild panic I dumped a bit more milk and a couple more eggs into the KitchenAid, and let the machine work like mad to try and knead the dough into submission.  When it had come into a decent ball, I kneaded it like hell too, because I like the rhythm of kneading dough ~ it reminds me of the ceramics classes I used to take.  It was only after I had put the dough in my pretty blue bowl and was waiting for it to rise when I realized I had added my ginger too early into the process, and that may have explained why the dough hadn't come together easy.  So for a little while I thought maybe there would be no bread this year, that all of my kneading was for nought!  Not having lots of bread baking experience I wasn't sure how this goof up would affect the way it would rise in the first stage.  But soon I saw a growing bump under the tea towel.  It was rising as planned!  I poured myself a cup of tea and sat outside in the sun for a bit, awaiting the second stage.  It was smooth sailing after this...cutting the dough in half, kneading in more fruit and nuts, letting it rise again, and then finally baking it. 

I'm always a little impressed with myself when I bake bread, and it turns out half decent.  Not sure what these two golden orbs were going to taste like given the mishmash of stuff I threw in, but I was pretty pleased with the result. The bread has a wonderful light texture, the candied ginger pairs well with the cherries and sweetness of mango, and I love the toasted almonds inside.  I maybe would have added more citrus zest to perk things up,  and a tad more sugar, but overall the battle was worth it.  Spreading butter on a slice of bread so warm it melts on contact is one of life's best indulgences.  It was a good Friday indeed. 
 

I made all of the changes to the recipe, so next year I know exactly what I'm doing!

Easter Bread with Candied Ginger and Dried Sour Cherries

Yeast dough:
1/4 cup plus 4 tbsp sugar
2-3/4 cup warm milk
4 pkgs. active dry yeast
9 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp melted butter (if using unsalted butter, increase the above amount to 2 tsp salt)
4 eggs
grated zest of 2 lemons (or oranges)

Fruit loaf:
1 cup chopped toasted almonds
1 cup chopped candied ginger (or candied lemon peel), chopped
1 1/2 cups dried sour cherries (or raisins), chopped
1/2 cup dried mango, chopped
3 tbsp rum
4 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp sugar

To make the yeast dough:
Stir 2 tsp sugar into the warm milk and sprinkle the yeast.  Let stand 5 minutes until frothy.  Stir gently to moisten any dry particles on top.  Sift flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.  Melt butter and cool slightly. Lightly beat the butter, eggs and lemon zest into the yeast mixture.  Pour this into the flour mixture, combining to make a dough.  Knead by machine or by hand for 5 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Put into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for one hour in a warm place.  
To Make the fruit loaf:
Preheat oven to 375*F
Combine the nuts and fruit/ginger in a bowl.  Sprinkle with rum and stir well.  Let stand for 35 minutes. 
Divide the dough in  half, kneading each half  a little.  Knead half of the fruit mixture into each half (I let the Kitchenaid do this bit!)  shape into a ball, let rest another 45 minutes in a warm place.  Cut a cross into the top, brush with egg yolk and bake for about one hour.  I turned the oven down to 350*F after about 40 minutes because I saw the bread getting a little too brown.  When the loaves come out, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.  Makes 2 glorious loaves (I gave one to my mom!)  Delicious fresh, and delicious toasted, with lots of butter.  Recipe adapted from "Best of Baking" by Annette Wolter and Christian Teubner.

Breakfast For A Blogger: The Make-Ahead Sausage and Cheddar Strata

I was gone for a few days, visiting my sister Juanita and her family.  She and her husband were celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than to rent a hall, an '80s cover band, invite 100 of your closest friends and throw a party?  Man, what a party it was...the lights were dimmed, the seats full of family, friends and neighbours, the band rocking, and then rocking some more.  Felt good to shake out the winter cobwebs, get glammed up and dance until the wee hours.  Seeing my sister and her husband so happy and in love, well, that kind of rocked too.

Having the foresight of knowing no one was going to feel like cooking breakfast after a night of such revelry, (and maybe one-too-many spiced rum and gingers), I brought ingredients for a breakfast strata....something that can be prepped the night before, thrown in the fridge, and baked the next morning.  I layered sourdough bread purchased from one of my favourite bakeries here in Saskatoon, with locally made Italian sausage, aged cheddar and an egg custard. Baked until golden brown and crispy and bubbly, it hit the spot that Sunday morning.   As did the extra-strong pot of organic Guatemalan coffee...

My niece Miss O was a big help in whisking the eggs....who knows, maybe another chef in the family?

A strata is super convenient for feeding a large crowd...and you can prepare it in advance, so you have more time to mingle with your guests.  I have a friend who prepares something similar for Christmas morning, freeing up valuable time for opening presents. Other variations on this recipe could be chorizo sausage and pepper Jack cheese; bacon and fontina; bacon and mushroom and Swiss; etc. Assorted veggies and cheese would be amazing too.  I have a feeling I'll be making this again, and again.

 

Sausage and Cheddar Strata

1 14 inch loaf Italian bread, or Sourdough, ends trimmed
1 pound (454 g) Italian sausage, or breakfast sausage
1 small onion minced
3 cups extra sharp cheddar, grated
12 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups whole milk
1 tbsp Frank's hot sauce (if using Tabasco, use 1 1/2 tsp)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400*F.  Slice the bread in half lengthwise, then slice each in half crosswise, 1/2" thick slices.  Spread the bread in layers on bake sheets and bake until golden, flipping the bread halfway through.  Cool 15 minutes.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  Take the sausage out of its casings, and cook until no longer pink inside.  Add the onion and cook until golden. 
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Shingle half the bread so the edges overlap slightly.  Top with sausage mixture and 1 cup of cheese.  Repeat with remaining bread, sausage, and cheese. 
Whisk the eggs, milk, and seasonings.  Pour evenly over the bread.  Wrap the casserole in plastic and weigh it down, either with juice boxes, or boxes of chicken broth.  Or you could place another 9x13 inch pan on top of the plastic, and place canned goods on top of this for weight.  You really want the bread squished so it absorbs the liquid.  Refrigerate one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Let the strata stand at room temp for 10 minutes while the oven is heating.  Remove the weights, unwrap, and bake until edges golden and puffy.  About 1 hour.  Let stand 10 minutes before dishing out.  Serves about 8.  Adapted from "The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011".

Sweet and Smokey! Roasted Yam and Garlic Soup with Irish Soda Bread

When people first meet me, and find out what I do for a living, I'm almost always asked "Hey Renee, what is your favourite thing to make?"  Invariably my answer is always soups and desserts.  If you haven't already noticed, I have a major sweet tooth.  Love me some sugar.  But I'm also a Taurus, and I crave comfort.  Be it in my home or  my food.  Comfort food is king.  And of course, you can't get more comfort than a big steaming bowl of soup. I'll make big batches of it on the weekend, and freeze portions so I have something to take out on a weeknight for dinner, because like you, I don't always feel like cooking after a long day at work.  The soup has to be hearty, like a ham and lentil, or a spicy Thai noodle, with lots of shrimp and chicken.  Or classics like minestrone, mulligatawny and of course cream of mushroom (but definitely not your Campbell's variety!)

This Roasted Yam and Garlic soup ranks right up there amongst my favourites.  It's super easy, has loads of flavour and freezes really well.  And it looks pretty! Yams are superfoods, and we should all eat a bit more yam.  I like mixing mashed yams with good ol regular potatoes as a topping for Shepherd's Pie. Slice them into wedges, toss with olive oil, oregano, a bit of chili powder and Parmesan cheese and they make great oven fries.  This soup has other roasted vegetables in it too, and the mellowness of the roasted garlic is a nice touch.  Your house will smell amazing!  Maple syrup, lime juice and spicy, smokey chipotle peppers are the stars of this soup though - the flavours complement each other really well. The basis of any good soup is a good stock.  So either make your own chicken or veggie stock, or look for a low sodium organic variety in the grocery store. 

Roasted Yam and Garlic Soup

3 large yams
coarse salt and pepper
3 garlic bubs (can roast with the yams, or roasted separately (slice tops off, place on tin foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap up tightly,roast for about 30-40 minutes, until golden and fragrant)
4 tomatoes
2 red peppers
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. chipotle puree, or chipotle hot sauce
8 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 tbsp. maple syrup
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 375*F

Peel and chop yams into 1-2 inch slices.  Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, coarse salt and pepper.  Place on a parchment lined bake sheet and roast until soft and golden, about 35 minutes. If you haven't roasted your garlic separately, you can add the bulbs to the bake sheet as well.  When done, squeeze the flesh from the roasted bulbs. 
Halve and seed the peppers. Place them and the whole tomatoes on a parchment lined bake sheet and roast until skins puff and turn brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 15 minutes.  Peel away the skins, and set aside.  (OR, you can add one small can of stewed tomatoes, and a few tablespoons of roasted red pepper spread, if you want to save a step.  Still turns out
beautifully.)
Heat the veg oil in a large soup pot.  Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and spices and herbs and cook until garlic is golden.  Use medium heat.  Stir in the seeded and roasted veg
and soup stock.  Stir really well.  Add the chipotle puree or hot sauce.  Bring to a boil,  reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender, and stir in the maple syrup and lime juice. If it seems too thick, add more stock.  Season with salt and pepper, more hot sauce and lime juice if you like.  Garnish with toasted pecans. Serves 6.

Of course you can't have a nice hearty bowl of soup without a hunk of bread.  I seldom make yeast bread.  I love it when I do, but somehow I never find time for it, except at Easter, when I make this lovely egg bread, studded with dried fruit and nuts.  But for everyday occasions, you can't go wrong with this rustic Irish Soda Bread.  It's hearty and substantial enough and yet not lots of work.  My favourite!  With whole wheat flour and bran, it's full of fibre, and like I've said before, you can never get enough fibre!


Irish Soda Bread

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup bran, or oat bran
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 scant cups of buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375*F.  In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter, until crumbly.  Combine buttermilk and egg in a separate bowl.  Stir this into the dry mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead gently about 10 times.  Shape into round ball and place on parchment lined bake sheet.  With a sharp knife, cut a X shaped slash in the top.  If you like, sprinkle some poppy seeds on top.  Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.  Serve warm.  Makes one large loaf.  (recipe adapted from a Five Roses booklet)

There you have it ~ one of my favourite soups and my all time favourite quick bread.

Cooking For My Mama: Sausage and Shrimp Jambalya With Cheddar Cornbread





I have a good Mother.  We've always been close, and since my big move back to Saskatoon a couple of years ago, we're even closer.  Three blocks apart, actually!  I pretty much love being this close to my Mom, and given that I moved out when I was 20, and was on my own for so long, it's nice being able to have each other over for dinner, or go for lunch or a movie or scout for deals at the vintage stores in town.  My Mom is my hero and inspiration in so many ways.  As a single parent, she raised four pretty great kids, and if you ask her how she did it, she'll just say she just did it for us. There's no doubt I get my strength and bravery from my mom. She sets a fine example.  When I was a young lass, and wanted to move across the country, to a city where I knew only one other person,  and where I would be studying, of all things, art, she let me go.  Not once did she try to persuade me to study something more "practical" or to talk me out of following a passion of mine.  Given my, um, stubborn nature, I probably wouldn't have listened to her anyway, but at the time, and even more so now, I appreciate that she let me go.  While I was brave to jump at that chance to have an adventure, and let the rest of my life begin, my Mom was brave for letting me go.  Inside she probably had massive reservations, but to let her daughter run out and see the world and study art, well, that was pretty cool.  When it dawned on me that I need a practical skill to balance out the creative, she was a strong supporter of my going to Culinary school.  So cheers to my mom! She's a huge part of why I do what I do.  If I keep rambling, I may start crying, and I've told myself, there's no crying in Food Blog! 

I had my Mom over for dinner one night last week, because she wanted to see the "blog thing" I've been working on.  She loved the first post, but didn't think I should have had the orange slices on the plate.  (She's not shy about giving her opinions!)  So what to cook this mama of mine?  I had some beautiful Chorizo sausage and some juicy jumbo shrimp; the makings of a fine jambalaya.  Comfort in a bowl, and it's always so satisfying. My sister's kids love it. This recipe is a keeper!   You can always substitute chicken for the sausage, if you like.  I'm picky about meat, only buying from the local farmer's market, or driving out and purchasing from farms around the city.  After seeing movies like "Food Inc."  and "Fresh", I just can't eat feed lot meat any more.  Quality and peace of mind are totally worth the small increase in price. (I tend to get a little preachy about meat. Please forgive?) The recipe is adapted from one of Bonnie Stern's Heartsmart cookbooks, thumbed through many times. I can't have jambalaya without cornbread, so whipped some of that up too.  It's best eaten the day of, spread, of course, with plenty of butter! 

Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya

2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red sweet pepper, diced
1 green sweet pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 pound of hot Italian sausage or Chorizo sausage, OR boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes.  I take the skin off of the sausage, and cut into chunks
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups of long grain rice (OR if substituting brown rice, add an extra 1/2 cup of stock and bake casserole for 40 minutes, until rice is tender)
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 cups of homemade or store bought chicken stock
1/2 tsp (or more!) of hot sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch (or more!) of cayenne
1/4 pound (125g) peeled and cleaned shrimp
2 green onions chopped
lemon slices for garnish

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in large, flat  oven proof casserole dish that can be used on the stove top.  Add onion and garlic, cook on med, for a few minutes.  Add peppers and celery, cooking a few minutes  more.  Transfer mixture to a bowl, and set aside.  Heat remaining oil, and cook off the sausage or chicken on medium high heat, browning on all sides.  Stir stir stir.  Return the veg to the pan, stirring in tomatoes and rice, cooking for 3 minutes.  In a bowl, combine the tomato juice, stock, hot sauce and seasonings, and stir this into the rice mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  Add the shrimp to the casserole, and bake 5 minutes longer.  I like to garnish with chopped green onions, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and more hot sauce, cuz I like it spicy!

Cheddar Cornbread

11/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/3 cup honey
3 tbsp butter
1 egg
11/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated old cheddar


Preheat oven to 350* F.  Butter a loaf pan.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing very well.  Melt the butter and honey together. In a medium bowl, beat the egg, stir in the milk and the honey mixture.  Add this to the cornmeal mixture and stir in the cheese.  Stir just until everything is combined. Scrape into prepared pan, and bake for about 25 minutes, testing with a toothpick (it'll come out clean, of course!) when it's done.  Loaf should be golden brown on top.  Serve with the jambalaya and a nice garden salad.  Delish. Cheers to your Mama too!