Fiddleheads

Fiddlehead season is over and once again I haven't lived up to my solemn vow to eat lots of fiddleheads while the going is good.  Instead, we had them exactly one time.

This season I really wanted to incorporate fiddleheads into some kind of pizza topping.  I tend to like them roasted rather than steamed or sautéed so this was a good method, and the pairing with smoked salmon (lots of it) and plenty of capers was perfect.

I buy our pizza dough now from our favourite bakery, it's just so much better than my homemade stuff, and the purchased dough made this a really easy dinner.  This might be my favourite sort of dinner to throw together theses days, because I literally threw the toppings on the rolled dough and shoved it in the oven.

A nice sprinkling of a good olive oil over the top meant the fiddleheads were crispy and not charred.

I'm having one of those phases in the kitchen when I need inspiration... it's time to hit the cookbooks today.
If you have any easy dinner ideas please share them!
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 We've been having a winter storm here for the last couple of days, and it has gone like this: rain, freezing rain, snow, more freezing rain, rain, more freezing rain... on and on.  Freezing rain feels quite terrible when it hits one's face while outside... best to stay in.
I've been lighting lots of candles, like this Diptyque dragon candle in the family room.

Sweet Violets sent over a yellow bouquet for my monthly flowers on Saturday, isn't it like looking at sunshine?

Just the thing.

 I made French onion soup on Saturday, mostly because I had about twelve onions lying around.  Working near a candle is meant to reverse the crying that occurs while cutting onions.  It didn't really work for me, tears were streaming!

 Brandy and herbes de Provence really create a nice finish to a French onion soup.

This is my latest kitchen tip, and it wasn't my idea, it comes from my friend Les.  Store your Costco sized bags of underripe avocados in the refrigerator and remove them one at a time, as needed, 6 to 12 hours before you want to consume them.

Such a rare thing: a perfectly ripe avocado.

 I can't believe it, it works wonders.

Today it is still looking grim outside and I have a million little tasks swirling around my brain, I'd better get down to it and make a list.

Later today I'll be making good use of these apples.  I'm going to cook up The Pioneer Woman's applesauce recipe.

I hope your week starts off beautifully.
xoxDani

The Pantry

 I spent some time re-organizing the pantry this week, a task which has meditative qualities not to be underestimated.

When we renovated our kitchen in 2015 we were slightly limited as to the pantry design.  We weren't adding space to the kitchen, and wanted the La Cornue range to be the centre of the entire room.  This meant that our pantry cupboards would be chunky ones, placed in the corners of the room.  They have plenty of space but they are deep cupboards, which isn't ideal for seeing everything at a glance.

In our last house we built an addition to house a new kitchen that was open to the dining area, complete with a fireplace.  It was a really terrific room and one of the best things about it was the pantry we designed.  It was basically a little room just off of the cooking area that we could walk into.  It had narrow shelves from floor the ceiling: the narrowness of the shelves meant that pantry items could be stored one layer deep, no looking behind jars and cans for whatever was needed.  It was brilliant!

I really have to stay on top of these deep pantry cupboards or they get to be "a right mess" as they say in Newfoundland.

Before
A Right Mess

 This particular corner pantry is just to the right of the range and it holds spices and dried herbs as well as various beans and grains.
The clutter of labels was making me crazy, and you can see that in order to find items at the back of the cupboard everything has to be moved around: so annoying!

The only way to do this job is to remove everything, give the interior of the cupboard a big scrub, and then make decisions on what gets to go back in.  I moved some items to different locations in the kitchen and stored some of the labelled items in clear glass jars.
The result is much more reasonable:

After
That's Better

 At the front of this pantry I place the coffee tin and the basket which holds the filters and accessories for the coffee machine, all within easy reach.

COFFEE is Key

 This type of task is so satisfying, immediate results that just keep giving: cooking is easier and it's so calming to see a perfect row of organized jars and containers.

What's on your agenda on this Saturday?  Domestic tasks?  A day out?
I hope you enjoy it, whatever you get up to.
xoxDani

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I remember trying spaghetti squash back in the days when I was on a gluten-free diet and it was just all too depressing:  this was meant to be a substitute for beautiful pasta?
 Now that I'm back into eating real pasta  I thought I'd try spaghetti squash again, and think of it as the healthy vegetable it is, rather than a substitute for something quite different.

This is a great recipe because it's basically a loaded half of a spaghetti squash that requires no cooking besides roasting the squashes themselves.  Considering that this only involves cutting them in half and shoving them in the oven, it really is a no-fuss meal.

 I did brush some olive oil on the tray, and after scooping the seeds out of your spaghetti squash you'll want to sprinkle them with some sea salt.  Then lay them face down on their tray and roast for 45 minutes at 375.
Once you've taken them out of the oven you'll want to carefully turn them over (they'll be hot and steaming as Hades) and gently pull the squash apart into spaghetti-like strings.

I then filled them with raw kale, finely chopped (place this in the centre of the squash, right down in the hollow where you removed the seeds, the heat will wilt the kale a bit) and a very satisfying mixture of julienned sun dried tomatoes and whole walnuts.

I topped this with pitted kalamata olives and a squeeze of lemon juice.

The original recipe came from a digital cookbook of "reset" recipes I bought from Simple Green Smoothies (you can see their website here).

The recipes are part of a seven day "cleanse" type program that is actually quite nice.  I'm not really doing the program (nothing comes between me and my morning coffee) but there are plenty of really terrific smoothie recipes and delicious plant-based dinners.

One recipe I will take away from the collection for sure is one for a "vegan cheeze" topping.  I used it to top this spaghetti squash, and it added some protein as well as flavour.
Basically you get out your food processor, add a cup of raw cashews, a cup of raw almonds, half a cup of nutritional yeast and a teaspoon of large, flaky sea salt (such as Maldon sea salt).  Give that several pulses in your processor until it looks like fine breadcrumbs and voila, a lovely topping for this dish and all sorts of grain dishes, soups and vegetable dishes that would benefit from a sprinkling of "cheeze".
I've got mine stored in a big jar (which you can see above on the left), and I'll keep it in the fridge to be sure it stays fresh.

This dinner was so good I'm going to buy more spaghetti squash today!
Hope your day goes as well as it possibly can,
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

Arrangement from Sweet Violets Flower Shop

 What do you think of red roses contrasted with eucalyptus in a bouquet?  I love the colours and shapes together, a perfect centrepiece for the table.

Making any healthy snacks?  I made this roasted carrot and red lentil hummus the other day and it has been a huge hit, everyone loves it, even Lil Rascal.
You can find the recipe here.

Roasted Carrots for the hummus.

 I've been plodding on with the storage room Death Cleaning.  De-cluttering takes such a long time whenever there are family mementos involved.
I have trunks in the storage room for my older rascal kids to hold various memories of childhood.  The blue trunk was Ole Rascal's camp trunk too, so it is a memory itself, before it's even opened.

Rascal Trunks

 Cooking up any detoxifying soups?  I made this one the other day and it would have been much better without the addition of beets.  I don't care for them in the slightest but I keep trying, they're so full of vitamins.

 The next time I'll skip the beets and just add more butternut squash.  Here is the recipe if you feel like giving it a try.

We've had a busy weekend not just with our rascals but with a little getaway to Langdon Hall.  I've got an overnight travel Colour Story coming up and some photos from our trip.  Stay tuned Tooties.
I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 Anyone else feel like wearing pastels absolutely all the time?
Me too, must be the grey, gloomy days of Foreveruary.

An antidote to this time of year?  The movies of course.  We went to see The Shape of Water yesterday afternoon, it's a must see.  I give it a thousand stars.


I made a fennel and romaine salad on the weekend and it was so good, crunchy and delicious.  A lemon-shallot vinaigrette is what you want for this salad.  I go heavy-handed on the lemon and make it several hours in advance, that gives the shallots time to slightly pickle.

 Leeks are so good with their subtle flavour, but cleaning them, what a tricky business.

Leeks, after much cleaning.

 This is my trigger mitten tea towel from Newfoundland.  Trigger mittens are very popular on the island and are sold in all of the tourist shops.  They're quite ridiculous looking, really.

Linen tea towel with a trigger mitten printed on it.
From Newfoundland of course.

My best tip for getting your pizza dough to rise efficiently?  Instead of placing in under a tea towel to stay warm, simply invert the bowl you've used to mix the dough over it.  This creates a warm, sealed environment with zero draughts.

How's your day shaping up?  I have a long to-do list which I haven't written down yet so it feels overwhelming.  As soon as I jot it on some paper all be well, the key is to have a plan.

Have a terrific start to your week!

xoxDani

Productivity

 My best day is one in which I cross major to-do items off my list and yesterday was just such a day.  I completed one of my Year End projects right to the end, and it sits ready and waiting to be handed off to our accountant this morning.

It was several hours of work at my desk so I was very happy to tackle more physical work once it was done:  organizing my vegetable delivery and planning meals for the week.

 We'll be eating lots of red cabbage salad this week.  I grate mine in the food processor and store it in the fridge until I'm ready to dress it.  My favourite dressing for a basic red cabbage coleslaw is Vegenaise (delicious vegan mayonnaise which I buy at our organic market, you can read about it here)  mixed with fresh lemon juice, about half and half.  Add some salt and pepper and you're done, and I have to say that even picky people like this (and by picky I mean Lil Rascal).

I roasted up lots of butternut squash after peeling and chopping it into small pieces.  I'll serve it over couscous with some sautéed portobello mushrooms and red onions stirred through it.  I'll sprinkle some walnuts over that dish for some extra crunch and protein.

You know it's Foreveruary when the sight of a fresh green and white fennel bulb fills one with absolute delight.  I'll slice this up and toss it with some romaine lettuce and a lemon shallot vinaigrette, the perfect green accompaniment to a baked bean gratin.

I was able to tackle some housework yesterday as well as that dreaded task: de-cluttering the storage room.  I've decided to take a week to do it so that it seems manageable (that's on the advice of the Swedish Death Cleaning Lady).  So far I have a giant bag of winter clothing to donate.

I'm hoping to continue on with the productivity today: more housework, errands on foot, checking in on my elderly neighbours and lots of cooking this afternoon.
I hope your day fulfills your vision of a productive one!
xoxDani

Best Pasta Ever

 I made a pasta dish this week that I've been thinking about ever since, it was so delicious.
I was inspired by these diced San Marzano tomatoes from Italy that were preserved with a big basil leaf.  I'm not always able to find these tomatoes but the Costco gods smiled on us last week and there they were... I'm kind of wishing I'd bought more so I could have hoarded them.
I wanted to put together a pasta dish that combined the richness of cashew cream with a savoury, red-wine tinged tomato sauce.
Three of the main ingredients can be seen above: the San Marzano tomatoes, some dried parsley and the homemade cashew cream (recipe I used for this dish here).

I also wanted to serve the pasta with a little something on the side, another vegetable yes, but something crunchy and salty: kale crisps!

 Kale crisps are so easy to make, but the key is the kale has to be super dry.  If you need to wash your kale be sure to do it the day before, you don't want any water droplets hanging on to the leaves, and in all of those curly crevices.
I place my kale on a parchment covered baking sheet before dusting it all over with nutritional yeast, some salt, and then finally drizzling it with olive oil.  Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes, oven depending.

The sauce I made was really simple, I sautéed one shallot in olive oil for a few minutes before adding a tablespoon of dried parsley and a bit of salt.  I gave those ingredients a quick stir together before adding the tomatoes and about half a cup of dry red wine.  Simmer for 20 minutes, while your kale crisps are in the oven.  Meanwhile get your pasta water boiling and cook up your favourite shape!

 Plate your pasta with a good dollop of sauce and some kale crisps perched on the side.

 Then add the piece de resistance: a generous drizzle of cashew cream.

Best Pasta Ever

I'm definitely cooking this tonight for dinner.
It's Saturday too, what could be better?  I hope yours is happy and fun.
xoxDani

Kitchen Flowers

Emma Bridgewater tea mug.
Inspiration for some yellow tulips in a vase.

 This is the time of year, more so than any other, when I really crave the colour and life provided by some flowers in the kitchen.
I trotted over to Sweet Violets yesterday morning to pick up some yellow tulips for the countertop and these primula for the windowsills in the kitchen.  Primula are in the shops at the perfect time, clearly I'm not the only one who's looking to brighten things up the end of January.

I always like to see the girls who run the flower shop, they're a lovely bunch.  Sara was helping me with my bouquets and so I was able to get an update on her chickens, yes she has chickens and they're quite the characters too!  The last time I was in she was taking them back and forth to the veterinarian in a laundry basket due to illness, now they are happily healthy and she told me she's getting better at giving them care when they're sick all by herself.

When I returned home I was thinking about those chickens as I walked Scout around the neighbourhood in the sunshine.  Then, what did I come across but a magnificent, bright green wooden chicken coop with all the bells and whistles, parked right in the garden at our neighbour The Chef's house!

Looks like we'll be getting some new neighbours, I wonder when the chickens will actually arrive?  I'll attempt a photo of the coop at least on a day when the sun makes a return appearance.

What have you got planned for this last Saturday in January?  We're going to stock up on groceries and champagne, I'm hosting a birthday dinner tonight for someone special, details tomorrow!
Have a really wonderful day today, I hope it's colourful,
xoxDani

Lentils as Roman Coins

 There is a tradition I've noticed in many cultures of ringing in the New Year with some sort of bean dish.  In the south it's black-eyed peas cooked up into a Hopping John, in Japan it's a black bean dish, some areas of Europe cook up split peas in a soup, and in Italy the popular dish is lentils, said to resemble Roman coins.
I guess most people the world over like the idea of good fortune in the new year!

I think a lentil dish is perfect for January in many ways, not just the Roman coin aspect.  They are so easy to cook, full protein, minerals and vitamins, and have a satisfying, filling texture.

 I had some fresh oregano and parsley hanging around the fridge, which I chopped up with a red onion and some garlic.  After a quick sauté with some dried thyme, I placed the brown lentils in the pot and then added in some vegetable stock.

 I made a huge pot of vegetable stock this week in part to hydrate the house!  With our extreme cold the central heating is running constantly, it's so drying that we need things boiling away on the stove, producing steam and humidity.

 These type of lentils are so easy to cook, I simmered them in their stock for about half an hour, then let them rest until I could taste the texture.  I then added a little more stock and cooked them a further ten minutes before dinner.
We had them with vegetable side dishes and some fresh bread.

Today I need to source out some more lentils, green, brown and red.  I'll likely head to the health food store for them, then store them at home in big jars in the kitchen: a little inspiration for the kind of simple cooking I'm planning to do all winter.
I'll also be doing some Classical Stretch today in between the laundry and ironing I have on my list.  I went back to the gym yesterday for the first time since before Christmas and I'm definitely feeling it.

I hope this 3rd day of January is a good one for you!
xoxDani

Slapdash Baking

 The truth is I'm not much of a baker.  Bakers need to be very precise, measuring and weighing and paying particular attention to pre-heating the oven, timing the baking etc.  I prefer to bake things the way I cook: slapdash, with room to improvise and without paying much attention to measuring.
So an easy apple strudel is pretty much my perfect baking "recipe"!
I had some Granny Smith apples lying around and beginning to look slightly worse for the wear, so I peeled them up and chopped them into chunky slices.
After a quick spritz of fresh lemon juice I stirred cinnamon sugar into the whole lot: basically about 3 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.

 Meanwhile I prepared the thawed phyllo dough, layering five sheets on top of a layer of parchment paper with generous brushings of about a third a cup of melted butter (for plant-based diets melted Earth Balance baking sticks work really well).

Topple the prepared apples onto one end of the prepared phyllo dough.  Then you've got the fun part: grab the full end, pull the dough up all around the apples and roll to the other side, tucking in the whole way.
You'll want the seam of the roll to be underneath the strudel on the parchment-covered baking sheet.

 Brush with whatever remaining butter you have, then sprinkle the whole thing fetchingly with more cinnamon sugar.

 I baked this strudel for about 20 minutes in a 350 oven, but my La Cornue convection oven is super hot.  Your oven might need more time.

Voila you have a gorgeous strudel, perfect for dessert on a winter evening!

The finished strudel.

I leave you with a picture of our neighbourhood in the deep freeze.  It's been so cold yet also quite beautiful, the light is low yet bright.
Today it's time to re-stock some cupboards, so I'll be out and about procuring supplies.  Then this afternoon Middle Rascal and I are off to visit with one of the Lauras and her older daughter (who's also home on a break from Uni), we'll have cocktails together as they discuss school and life, and Laura and I will remember them running around at age four and five, playing with their "habitat animals" and sidewalk chalk!
Enjoy your day today, maybe you'll do some slapdash baking?
xoxDani

Perspective

 Happy New Year!
There's something so fresh about the first day of the new year.  I was thinking about new approaches and beginnings yesterday afternoon, while I was tidying up my bathroom.  This painting, above, hangs in that room (and pretty much dominates it).  It's funny because while there doesn't seem to be lots going on in the painting (it's a simple landscape after all, painted in a slightly out-of-focus technique) to me it's quite powerfully full of potential.  I think it looks like a new slate, free of decisions, fresh, approachable.
Rather like the new year...we get to decide what kind of year we will have.
I hope yours is full of possibility and happiness, and that you are able to accomplish what you choose to!

 I had a really good day scrubbing, polishing and fluffing up the house.  MrBP was hunkered down in his office preparing for a really busy first week of January but we were able to sit down with a glass of wine by about five and settle for the evening.

 I didn't have the heart to take down the Christmas tree although I did start rounding up many of the decorations.  Middle Rascal is home until January 4th and she loves that Christmas tree... I'll wait until the 5th to take it down.

Today I'll do a bit of baking, nothing too fussy, maybe an apple strudel.  I'll definitely bake some more of that no-knead bread, in our family we can easily get through a loaf a day.  It's delicious with dinner of course but it also toasts up perfectly for breakfast and lunch.

Fresh bread in the kitchen... what could be better.

Wishing you a very happy first day of this new year!
xoxDani