The Last Pumpkin!!

A delicious pumpkin preserved from the harvest of 2010.  Some delicious cheese cooked with white wine and garlic in a beautiful ceramic dish.  Fresh salad with all the favorite fixings and one of the favorite dinners is served!

Roasting the pumpkin in the oven to bring out the natural sweetness lends to a perfect balance for the chilies that were dried by the fireplace.  Adding coconut milk (great for the digestive system) and 1-2 tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar the spicy, sweet and sour effect is created.  Personally this is my favorite the combination and balance of these three ingredients satisfies all the cravings.  Add some cheese, homemade crackers and a fresh organic salad then sit down to enjoy a delicious meal have some fabulous discussion and take away the "little shy", as Jonathan calls it with a glass of vino tinto.  A favorite night in these parts!

I am going to make crackers again today and will give the recipe and details very soon.  Ever had "Raincoast Crackers", a little pricey very delicious and incredibly easy to make.....seriously you can make a few batches in an hour and have them for a few weeks.  Unless you are like us and eat them all!!!

Have a delicious day everyone!

Little Pizza for the Soul!

Pizza, one of the favorites in this kitchen.  A great way to use up leftovers, satisfy a cheesy craving and making it is a fabulous way to get everyone involved in what they are eating!

This particular night there was a feisty almost two year old who loves to do everything we are doing soooooo he got to make his own pizza.  Although distracted by a bracelet when it cam time to eat, he was fully involved in the making of the pizza and got to pick his own toppings. 
When using up leftovers,one of the favorites is to put the greens on the top of the pizza especially heartier ones as they crisp up and give a great texture to the pizza and when a little sea salt is added the flavour is delish!
The fridge is now ready for one of the two favorite Fridays of the month, the organic food bin.  Every two weeks a bin of delicious organic vegetables is delivered to the door and for about $75.00 it feeds two of us for two weeks with little else to buy for fresh veggies and fruit.
This bin of beauty arrives tomorrow and tonight is all about eating what is left for veggies in the fridge.  More creations to come and pictures that I hope you will enjoy!
Have a Magically Delicious Day!

Pounding out the Pastry

Getting ready for a weekend of fun, the birthday of a very dear friend and brushing up the pastry super powers here come the croissants and pain au chocolate, using up all the leftover pastry for a very sweet and delicious dish.
It has been a long time since puff pastry was made and the first time in the home kitchen.  So far I have made it twice and many more times this delicious and delicate pastry will find itself the star of my day!  Starting with the classics and moving onto the creative there will be more fun creations to come.

The first batch of croissants were a little heavy and a longer rising time was used for the next batch.  This process is very slow and patience is required in order to really get the most out of the pastry.  The whole process for this recipe is close to 17 hours from start to finish.  I could be a lot shorter but I like the dough to have time to ferment, rise and produce and light and fluffy delicious pastry that brings me back to mornings in France with a cafe noir and pain au chocolate in the morning.....in the end that is all I am trying to recreate!

Have a magically delicious day!!!

The Wild Boar....and learning how to use everything edible!

Knowing where my food comes from is very important to me.  How the animal is raised, fed, loved and watching it grow and live a very happy life.  This past fall we bought a Wild Boar and a Lamb.  The freezer is now stocked but yesterday was a day of thanks and gratitude for this beast that is now going to feed us for quite some time!  Chops, ribs, belly, scraps for sausage, roasts, ribs roasts and one giant leg intact for an outdoor fire roast this summer.....OH YEAH!

I am also learning about using as much of the animal as possible.  So with fresh organs ready to eat, we dove into the heart and kidneys last night.  It was actually delicious and the heart is really good!   Sliced thin, marinated in garlic, marjoram and olive oil then covered in corn flour and added to a salad.  I also slow cooked the belly, crispy on the outside and delicious fat dripping from the inside.....just a small amount is very satisfying!

I am keen to make heart and kidneys again and now that I have the flavour and texture taste for it, Now it is time to up the stakes and go delicate and delicious.  Tonight is rib roast night and I am very stoked.  Also stay tuned for Pain Au Chocolate, Crossiant and other treats as I am also diving into pastry perfection!

Busted

About three weeks ago I broke my leg, the Tibial Plateau to be exact.  Now two weeks after surgery, three pins in my leg, a drilled hole to fix a chip and depression in the bone, the body is finally starting to come around.  Having a lot of time to muse over what will be cooked the next time the kitchen is entered with confidence and strength in the leg is hard, as the cravings change everyday.  This is however giving a lot of time to read the kitchen books that have been collected over the years.  The ones that are picked up often as they have the recipes that are used a lot and with confidence and the ones that aren't touched nearly as much for their inspiration and culinary delights.  The favorite book which will reign forever as the bible of my kitchen is "The Professional Chef", this book has everything for the basics, the skills and great tips.  I recommend everyone have this book....sorry no pictures today but will get everything together soon with photo's.  I will share my favorite cook books over the next bit as the healing is happening and the strength is growing for me to stand for more than 15 minutes at a time without succumbing to the pain.
I did however manage to make a sweet and sour green lentil soup with garlic sausage and Portabello mushroom yesterday.  I didn't take too much standing and was worth every minute I stood solely on my right leg.

I hope everyone is feeding themselves good food and cooking with love as everybody and every body deserves this in daily life.

Learning on the road.....

Reminiscing about the wonderful learning experience in the kitchen and on the road traveling, that has brought me to where I am today, I came across some pictures and thought I would share them with you all.
A few years ago I was working on a private yacht and traveling through the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic side.  Once we were there a big storm blew in and kept the Yacht docked for a couple weeks.....hmmmmm what to do for a couple of weeks?   Here are some pictures from Colon, Panama.  The fish and seafood was astounding and the people were delightful, well as long as you knew someone.  The statistics show that for every week a tourist is in Colon they will be mugged once.  Avoiding this scenario I had a fabulous guide who was a local and kept me very safe.  I was even invited to his families home for dinner.  There were 6 people living in a 400 square foot, concrete home.  His father had a Mango tree in the back yard filled with hanging baskets and orchids, stunning!

 This was my favorite picture.  It needs no explanation.

 Here is the snapper that I bought at the market.  Such an amazing experience to bring all this fresh fish back and then figure out how it is going to be prepared.

 This is the Cordova or Sea Bass.  This was incredible and look how fresh it is!

 Nothing is wasted and thrown away.  Every part of the animal is for sale for eating.  This is the greatest way to learn how to use the whole animal and not just have the Tenderloin!  Yes that is a jar of blood in the back ground!

These were my buddies.  They sell plastic bags for $0.25 and will carry everything for you.  I gave them $5.00 each at the end because they had a lot of food to carry and look after.  Such sweethearts!!!
The best dish I learned while on the Atlantic side and in Colon was Fish Head Soup.  Roberto, the guide, introduced me to his family and his mother and I made fish head soup and then sat down with the family and ate dinner.  This is a memory I will have forever and am grateful for.

Where have you traveled and learned something fabulous to cook?  Where is your favorite food country where you have learned the most?

I will find more pictures and share more food and traveling experiences!

Have a fabulous day!

Dinner For One!

I find it funny that we are so devoted to making good, healthy, colourful and delicious food for everyone, but how often do you make yourself a delicious meal that just you enjoy.  You get to make exactly what you want, how you want it and then sit down and enjoy the love you have just put into a meal and now yourself.  Is there any better way to nourish your soul?

My boyfriend works a lot in the winter and is away a lot so this leaves me the opportunity to have some selfish time and take care of myself and put some love into the food I am putting in my body. 

Here is a meal I had the other night.  I sauteed Shitake mushrooms, Pancetta, Spinach and Sunflower seeds in a pan.  Starting with the Pancetta and Shitake mushrooms then adding the Sunflower seeds and the Spinach.  Once this was slightly cooked some roasted beets were added and mix together along with a sprinkle of Pear Balsamic vinegar.  This was then put into a ramekin covered in some delicious local cheese and baked in the oven.  Delish!

And after a day of Heli-skiing I deserved this healthy and delicious meal!

Don't forget to take care of and love yourself because at the end of the day when you lay your head on your pillow, you matter most!