UnTracked

Welcome back, Spring!

After a looong winter, spring has finally sprung! And Harry enjoyed this sunny second day of spring with a trip to the park.
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Harry Learns "Cheers"!

Oh, they are such mimics. And this will probably come back and bite me in the ass.

Harry has learned to raise a glass and "say"  Cheers!  He thinks it's pretty funny.  And I think it's pretty funny, but that might be the Lemon Drop talking...

Where's Harry?

I've been remiss in my Harry pics as of late.  Although in my defense I have a very good excuse.  My son is a techno-geek.  It's true.  When he sees a camera (or telephone, or remote...) he makes a beeline for said battery-operated gizmo.  And forget about giving him his own.  Somehow he knows, KNOWS!  when the battery has been removed and it doesn't work the same.  So.  When the camera comes out and I keep it out of his reach, huge crocodile tears appear and he yells at me.  Yeah... not crying, yelling.  Damn little manipulator.  Who did he learn that from?  Too bad I can't blame the kids at daycare.

OH!  A camera!

Here he is, scrambling towards the technology...

And, for kicks, here's one of the 6 pictures he took in rapid succession.  How did he know immediately where the button was!?!?  (And yes, those are healing double shiners.  Kicked in the face!  Want to guess how many expletives came out of my mouth when I came home to this?)

For you, I will try to fool the little whippersnapper for your viewing pleasure.  On the other hand, I could show you a bunch of pictures of him yelling at the camera?  Nice.

Scrabbled

I have to thank my Grandma Jean for my playing prowess.  I think I was 6?  Seven?  when she graduated me from cribbage to Scrabble.  She and I would play quite regularly. I think her goal was to create a worthy opponent.  Because once you got good.... you played for money, for keeps!  Oh yeah.  It started early in my house.  Needless to say I play a ruthless game (if I do say so myself).  Colin on the other hand plays a very thoughtful game; thinking on what word would be witty and eloquent with the particular tiles.  I really don't care what the word is as long as it scores.  A lot.  Case in point...

Here's our last game board.  Admittedly, I had great tiles, all of the high-scorers and Colin was stuck with mainly vowels.  At one point he asked if Farmer McDonald's phrase would count as a word. You know, E-I-E-I-O.  I said no.  I told you I'm ruthless.  (He also tried to play "HEELYS", like the shoes; denied that one too.)

Anyways, these are my favorite moves; stacked words.  The last play I had before he conceded was "PORN"  (awesome, right?)  I laid down a total of three tiles (ORN) for a pittance of a score (3).  BUT!  Tack on the triple word score and the two other words I got to count, that beauty was worth 31.  I "tried" to giggle really quietly, since I was ahead by more than 100 points (as I said I had really good tiles)

So, he then conceded.  Probably for the best since I had the "Q" and a "U" racked up for my next attack.

Hee hee.

XXX Chocolate

Xocolatyl was an evil Aztec chocolate god who sacrificed humans and made chocolate from their blood!

Luckily, there is no need for a sacrifice, unless you count your waist line, because these cookies will leave you begging for another hit of the triple X.

XXX "Xocolat" Cookies

10 bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chunked
3 large eggs at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp instant coffee powder
2 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Put chopped chocolate, cocoa and butter in a bain marie and heat until melted and smooth.  Let cool slightly.
Whisk eggs, sugar, coffee powder and vanilla into chocolate mixture.  In another bowl mix together flour, b. powder & salt then slowly incorporate into chocolate.  Finally stir in chips and nuts then cover dough with plastic film and chill about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F.  Scoop dough onto parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheets.  Flatten slightly.  Bake until the cookies no longer look wet and you can see a slight sheen on the top (they look a lot like brownies), about 10 minutes.

Rich.  Dense.  Slightly chewy.  So chocolately.  Worth an extra 1/2 an hour on the treadmill.  The sacrifices we make...

(This recipe was adapted from The Sugar Cube, thanks to Sunset once again.)

Hummus en Bloc

I'm bored with what I've been cooking lately.  Same old, same old...

Just my luck the March issue of Sunset shows up and I'm saved from the doldrums of my pantry!

One of my new faves is the Spicy Chickpea Sandwiches adapted from the Garden State food cart in Portland, OR (My old neighborhood, nonetheless!  Sadness for me that I'm not there to enjoy it in P-town, but gladness that I can have a taste here in Vernon.)

Chickpea patties

1 1/2c chickpea flour

1 1/2tsp kosher salt

1/2tsp black pepper

1/4tsp each ground cumin and cayenne

1/4c chopped flat leaf parsley

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a 3 - 4 qt pot and gradually whisk in 2 1/2 cups of water. Place on stove over medium heat and keep whisking until it starts to thicken, about 3 - 5 minutes.  Then switch to a wooden spoon and continue to stir for another 4 - 6 minutes, until mixture begins to pull away from the sides and mound in the centre of the pot.  Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.  Spread into an oiled 9 x 13in. baking pan and let cool.

In Sicily, these chickpea flour patties would then be fried as "panelle" and served on a roll.  Following Sunset's suggestion, I cut them into squares and placed them under the broiler to give them a little crunch on the outside.  Then added a carrot and radish slaw with a spicy mayo and some greens to top it off (See Sunset's website for the recipes...)

These are easy and delicious!  They taste a lot like hummus (for obvious reasons) but with a denser consistency and a little crispiness on the outside.  The spicy mayo/aioli takes this a higher plane of deliciousness.  Add a fresh crusty bun and you've got a meal worth eating, veg-head or not.

It's a Bad Day to be a Pig

Once upon a time, there lived five heritage pigs.  One cool March day, they decided they would head to the City of Roses to have a look around.   "The City of Roses will be wonderful" said the Magnalitsa, "I love to eat roses."  So off they went.  The Berkshire said, "Where should we go first?" 
And they looked around until they saw this friendly-looking man wearing a chef's touque.  Surely, they agreed, a chef would know where the best food would be.  Indeed he did; he said "follow me, and I will lead you to 5 chefs that are preparing a great meal with lots of wine and chocolate, all to benefit charity and to raise awareness about local farming."
Those pigs were duly impressed and grateful for their good fortune and they followed the chef....

Well, I DID say it was a bad day to be a pig.

It's probably best if I just end this story right now.  And promise not to write children's stories from now on...  Harry doesn't have a hope of turning out "normal".

What started this randomness was an email and link to this fabulous foodie event: COCHON555: 5 chefs, ,5 pigs, wine & chocolate.  And I missed it.  Still, I was able to honor National Pork Day thanks to Sunset and the following recipe...

Island-style Pulled Pork LINK

No pictures?  I know, sorry, but if you've seen one pulled pork sandwich, you've seen tham all...

Mmmmmeatloaf

Believe it or not, I just made my first meatloaf.  I've never seen the draw or the charm.  Frankly, it's seems too... common... to make for dinner.
I found myself with a hankering for hamburgers and the accompanying thawed ground beef but no desire to head out to the grill in -15C weather.  So I succumbed to the All-American comfort food, meatloaf sandwiches.
I am a convert.  Granted this may be a little more upscale than your traditional sammy: organic, pasture-raised beef; local, free-range eggs; panko bread crumbs; cayenne aioli and freshly baked bread still warm from the oven.

The recipes were adapted from Caprial's Soups and Sandwiches

Meatloaf
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1/4c panko bread crumbs
1 tsp tomato paste
1tsp anchovy paste
1 Tbsp cayenne or other hot sauce
1tsp each: dried thyme, basil, rosemary, salt, pepper

Saute onions and garlic in the oil until tender.  Let cool some.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well before placing in a loaf pan
Cook in a 350F oven for 45 to 50 minutes.  Let cool about 10 minutes before slicing.

Cayenne Aioli
juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4cup white wine vinegar
2 anchovy fillets (I used paste)
2 cloves garlic
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 c olive oil
Salt, pepper and cayenne/hot sauce to taste

For the easiest prep, use a food processor or hand blender to make this emulsion.

Damn.  This was a two-napkin dinner thanks to the juices dripping all over.   The spicy aioli and slightly sweet caramelized onions played well with the thickly cut, well-seasoned meat.  Once I picked up my sandwich, I was unable to put it down.
I concede traditional comfort foods have a place in any cooks kitchen.  May I have another?