Ravioli

With vegetables to eat and a craving for pasta, let the games begin!

The eggplants were sliced in half, lengthwise, salted, patted and placed in the smoker with some cherry wood chips and allowed to absorb their sweet scent.
Once that was finished a ratatouille was prepared for a topping on the pasta.  Onions, zucchini, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, all from the (or a local) garden were cooked with oregano, fresh rosemary and a little molasses to cut the acid of the tomatoes (I do this every time a tomato or roasted pepper based sauce is made and it is delicious, make sure to taste the sauce for the right flavour and use a little at a time.)  The ratatouille was left to simmer on low heat for as long as it took me to get the rest together.....I like to make the sauce first and let it cook as the pasta needs my full attention for making, shaping and cooking.

Time to make the pasta.  As usual Spelt flour was used, the pasta was made and left to rest in the fridge for about 6 hours.  You don't have to let it rest that long but I like to........Usually I will make the pasta in the morning and leave it for the day.

The filling for the ravioli was a mixture of unpasteurized old Cheddar cheese, Pine and Chantrelle mushrooms, which grow in abundance and were picked in the wonderful valley that I live in.  They were cooked with garlic, salt and some butter and then put into the food processor to become the filling for the ravioli, the cheese was grated and added at the end and once the mixture was cooled.  Using my "guns" aka. Kitchen-aid mixer, the pasta was made into long sheets and then into the ravioli that became dinner.

Of course cheese was added to the mix and then dinner began!!!

What is your favorite pasta??

Have a magically delicious day!

Foraging in the woods

A friend stopped by the other day to deliver some fresh picked pine mushrooms and chantrelle.  Apparently in some parts of the world these are items that are very expensive and here they grow abundantly and are delicious.  
This pasta was purchased with the idea of stuffing it and baking it with cheese.  So that is what was done!
I sauteed the mushrooms, leeks, fennel, garlic and bacon.  Put said items in the food processor and proceeded to stuff the blanched but slightly cooked pasta.  It was placed in a pan covered with a fresh tomato sauce and CHEESE.....some local organic nostrala and brie.  Baked in the oven for about 10 minutes and 1 minute under the broiler and then onto the plate with salad, wine and smiles to share.

What grows naturally in your area?  Do you like to forage for your food? 

Have a magically delicious day!!!

Harvest time and a garden raid!!!!

 

Once upon a time there was a 1.5 acre garden with food that was going to waste. Step in two wonderful ladies to harvest the garden and I was the lucky girl who was included on the split (as I was not around for the harvest).
Beautiful ladies,some wine and a three way of these amazing vegetables.  Peppers, leeks, carrots, eggplant, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, parsnips, beets, zucchini, greens and now it is time to eat!!!
I also found some pasta that will be dined on tonight to accompany these delicious veggies as well as some local pine mushrooms and chantrelle mushrooms.

The next step with the veggies is storing them for the winter and a little gardening will be done for that as well as making space in the basement for a root cellar.  Some day I will learn how to can and have a cellar full of wonderful food but until then, I will learn how to preserve what has been given!
What are the gardens like in your town?  Are there people with too much food to harvest?  Do you have a program to make sure that food doesn't go to waste.....like a volunteer program to pick the food and crop share?????

Have a magically delicious day!

 

The last turkey standing.

A week has past with many turkey dishes, good friends, renovations, beautiful weather and smiles galore.  The leftovers were abundant from the 20lbs of delight that came out of the oven.  So what to create???
Turkey sandwiches were a hit the next day as we went on a hike to the top of Idaho peak in New Denver.  Turkey tacos, I will use any excuse to make a taco night and the leftover turkey meat was inspirational.  Turkey poutine also blessed our stomachs as friends brought real cheese curds from Quebec.

Turkey salad and finally turkey stew which is just being finished off today!  It was a good turkey fest this year and I look forward to another one soon.
What did you do with your leftovers???  

Have a magically delicious day!

Turkey hangover.......mmmmmm

Basking in turkey glory, a little rest once out of the oven and hello dinner!!!  Stuffing, gravy, "Deydey family traditional potatoes", a "ted-i salad", root veggie mix, cranberry sauce and of course a deluxe local, farm raised, happy life, turkey!  = GOOD TIMES!   

Happy Turkey Roasting Day!!!

The bird is in, two desserts are made, stuffing is prepped and ready for the oven later this afternoon.  Now it is all about the gravy, cranberry sauce, bread and one more layer to one dessert.......oh yeah.....
I will post more pictures later and I hope everyone has a fabulous day and fabulous turkey and enjoys it all with friends!

I will be here if you have any questions!!!

AHHHHH surfing, camping, beach, memories of a vacations past....

Well ok only a month has past, but the cool fall air is reminding me of Tofino and a wonderful surfing vacation.   After our all day escapades on the beach and being completely exhausted, cooking seemed like such an effort but it is not!

Here are some of my favorite gourmet camping dinners, there is nothing like cooking over an open fire, it is easy and the clean up little....that is probably the real issue cleaning up after dinner being exhausted!

Rack of Lamb

 This was placed on a metal stick that was locally made for $5 (one of my favorite purchases, next to the new surfboard).  Seasoned with salt, pepper and nothing else.  Letting the hot coals do their magic and having control of the turning of the meat for perfect cooking led to a delicious, easy meal.   This was enjoyed with a salad of spinach, grated beets, goat feta, avocado and tomato.  Simple, easy, fast and made with love.

Fish Tacos 

My all time favorite meal.   I could get really obsessive over these ones as they can be done in many different ways and having them while camping is the best.   These are time consuming but worth every cut of the knife, wipe of the board and rinse of a dish......trust me!

 These ones were done with fresh tuna....cause we are on the coast and lets eat, what we can, that is locally available and fresh and irresistible!  Cooked in my "baby", aka-cast iron pan, we ate some raw, some seared and with fresh salsa, guacamole and chopped cilantro and a Tofino classic chipolte mayo, (this is everywhere and on everything).

The sun is shining and I will talk to you soon!

Have a magically delicious day!

The bottom is the new top recipe...........

Here is the recipe for the bottoms up muffins!

First I would like to make a shout out to the amazing Tara who has the cookbook that I use the most for many of my base recipes.  They are reliable, delicious and nutritious...TARA YOU ROCK MY SOCKS!!!

2 cups Spelt (use whatever flour you like and mix it up by using 1 cup of each of various flours)

3/4 cup brown sugar
1Tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs beaten
1 cup of plain yogurt or sour cream (i like a high fat 8-10% organic yogurt)
4Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup of cranberries or raisins or dried fruit of your choice, I prefer one that is tart to offset the sweetness of the mixture on the "bottoms up".
1 cup of something else that you would like in your muffins, chocolate, sesame seeds, almonds, coconut use a mixture of all or just one to really spruce up the muffin!!!

Dice up 2 apples and 2 pear (leave the skin on) or however many you might need and this will differ as the size of the muffin tin or loaf pan will determine the amount of apples and pears you will need.  Mix them in a bowl with some brown sugar, you decide, some softened butter and fresh cinnamon of very comforting especially this time of the year!   Place in the bottom of the greased muffin tin (use unsalted butter to grease.......as a matter of a fact us unsalted butter forever and leave the salted butter out of the kitchen and off the table)

Combine the first 5 dry ingredients.  In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt and cooled butter.  Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in the rest of the dried fruit, nuts, seeds or whatever you are adding.

Pour mixture over the apples and pears and place in the oven and bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy and have a magically delicious day!!!!

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The Bottom is the new top!

I love muffins but with all these apples and pears lets get down to business.   My only issue with muffins is that they can be dry and a little boring at the bottom.  Unlike the muffin tops which are crunchy and delicious.   This is where the bottom becomes the new top.   I cut up some apples and pears and mixed them in a little brown sugar, maple syrup and a few small pieces of butter.   These were added to the bottom of the muffin tins.  The batter was then placed on top and baked in the oven.   When they were finished I flipped the muffin tin upside down and voila, a beautiful muffin with delicious apples and pears......try it and tell me how it goes....any questions, just ask!

Birthday dinner and bliss!

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!!!   Today is Jonathan's and he gets to decide what he wants to eat and his dinner choice was Shepard's Pie.   So, two will be made and I am going for it today.  The first one is going to have ground moose, potato and a cheesy crab deliciousness on top.   The second is going to have ground beef, potato and a cheesy bacon crisp........go big or go home!   I am still working on dessert and have friends coming over so let the birthday festivities begin!!!

What is your favorite birthday dinner, cake etc.......if you could have anything to eat on your birthday what would it be????

More pictures will be posted!!!