Friday 30 May 2014

Petit Pan Squash or Zucchini & Potato Latkes

 


The promise of summer comes and goes.  One day we are melting, the next we are making a dash for the warm clothes we finally put into storage.  Yikes!  What is a girl to do? On those warm weather days, I love the lighter foods, but when the mercury plummets for this time of year, I crave warm comfort food, like these sumptuous squash and potato latkes.  Crisp on the outside with a soft and delectable inside. How can you go wrong? In addition to how satisfying these tasty bites are is the fact that they are SO budget friendly and made from basic pantry and freezer items - for me, a match made in heaven... Tasty, affordable AND made from around the house ingredients!

My recipe is my adaption of a Canadian Living recipe for Mini Zucchini & Potato Latkes for appetizers.
 
INGREDIENTS
2 cups grated zucchinis, about 3 or 4 small (I used frozen petit pan squash that was grated and in my freezer from last fall)
1 tsp. salt
Several grinds of black pepper (to taste)
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (about 1 lb)
3 green onions; green parts too, white parts finely diced, and green parts thinly sliced
1 egg from happy chickens, lightly beaten (next time I will try a Flax egg)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour or oat flour for gluten free
Keep 1/4" vegetable/olive oil combination in pan for frying (add more as required)

INSTRUCTIONS
With a box grater, coarsely grate zucchini. Transfer to fine meshed sieve and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. of the salt and toss; let stand for 30 minutes. Using tea towel squeeze out liquid.
 
Because I used 2 cups of grated petit pan squash I had in the freezer, I thawed it over night in fine mesh sieve to drain the excess water. Then I put it into the tea towel to squeeze out the moisture.  
 
Transfer to large bowl.
 
Coarsely grate potatoes. Using tea towel, thoroughly squeeze out liquid; add to zucchini.
 
With fork, stir in onion, egg, flour, pepper and remaining salt to combine. (Since I used frozen squash, I added the full amount of salt to the mix.)
 
 

 
In large skillet (I LOVE my cast iron fry pan!), heat enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan over medium-high heat.
 
Add a scant 1/4 cup measure of the  potato mixture per latke, leaving at least 1 inch  between each; flatten slightly.
 
Cook latkes, in batches, adding more oil as needed and turning halfway through, until golden and edges are crisp, about 5 minutes.
 
Drain latkes on paper towel-lined racks.
 
To Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze which will allow you to make ahead longer.  Just remember to thaw before reheating.
 
Reheat on a baking sheet in 400°F oven (375°F for convection), 6 to 8 minutes.

 
 



 
I made these ahead as an experiment.  I froze them in a single layer on a baking sheet and then popped them into a storage container and returned them to the freezer. When I was ready to use them, I set them out on a baking sheet to thaw.  Once they were thawed, I was ready to reheat them.  Leave yourself about 1 to 1 1/2 hours for counter top thawing. 
 
To Reheat:
I preheated the oven to 375° F. While the oven was preheating, I placed my baking sheet in to preheat as well.  Once the oven came to temperature, I let the baking pan continue heating for a few more minutes. I wanted the pan to be super hot. 
 
I, then, quickly took the pan out of the oven, placed the thawed latkes on the baking pan in a single layer. I let the latkes reheat for 4 minute, then carefully turned them, and continued re-heating for another 4 minutes or so. I watched to make sure they didn't start to darken too much.
 
I was very pleased at this reheating method. I would have to say, they were as good as freshly cooked.
 
My favourite way to eat latkes is to serve them with my homemade applesauce and a dollop of sour cream.  Tonight, I used a non-dairy sour cream substitute made from cashews, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. I got my recipe from Oh She Glows, one of my go-to vegan recipe sites.  This stuff is guilt free, has good fat, and is really tasty!  I highly recommend this condiment substitute. You could even flavour it up with herbs, or garlic and a little Dijon and use it as a creamy dressing or when I am eating my occasional "chippies for the hippies", a dip.



Zucchini and Potato Latkes
 
INGREDIENTS
2 cups grated zucchinis, about 3 or 4 small (I used frozen petit pan squash that was grated and in my freezer from last fall)
1 tsp. salt
Several grinds of black pepper (to taste)
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (about 1 lb)
3 green onions; green parts too, white parts finely diced, and green parts thinly sliced
1 egg from happy chickens, lightly beaten (Next time I want to try a Flax Egg!)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour or oat flour for gluten free
Keep 1/4" vegetable/olive oil combination in pan for frying (add more as required)

INSTRUCTIONS
With a box grater, coarsely grate zucchini. Transfer to colander and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of the salt and toss; let stand for 30 minutes. Using tea towel squeeze out liquid.
 
Because I used grated petit pan squash that I had in the freezer, I thawed it over night in colander to drain the excess water.  Then I put it into the tea towel to squeeze out the moisture.  
 
Transfer to large bowl.
 
Coarsely grate potatoes. Using tea towel, thoroughly squeeze out liquid; add to zucchini. 
 
With fork, stir in onion, egg, flour pepper and remaining salt to combine. (Since I used frozen squash, I added the full amount of salt to the mix).
 
In large skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan over medium-high heat. Add a scant 1/4 cup measure of the  potato mixture per latke, leaving at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each; flatten slightly.
 
Cook latkes, in batches, adding more oil as needed and turning halfway through, until golden and edges are crisp, about 5 minutes.
 
Drain latkes on paper towel-lined racks. (Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours or freeze.
 
To Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze which will allow you to make ahead longer.  Just remember to thaw before reheating.
 
Reheat on a baking sheet in 400°F oven (375°F for convection), 6 to 8 minutes as described above!
 
 
Non-Dairy Sour Cream
by Oh She Glows
 
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 4 hours, or overnight
1/2 - 3/4 cup water, add as required
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water.  Soak for a minimum of 2 hours preferably over night or 8 hours if you have time.

Drain and rinse the cashews and place in the blender

Add the lemon, vinegar, salt, and about half the water. Blend on HIGH until smooth.  You may need to scrape down the sides. 

Continue adding the water a little at a time until it is thick and smooth.

Transfer to a small container and store in the refrigerator until read to you use.  It will thicken a little more as it sits.


Friday 23 May 2014

Hummus... My Favourite Summer Spread and Greens

Warmer weather is upon us, and I hope it's here to stay. With warmer weather comes a whole new way of eating for this kid! I love the lighter foods during the spring and summer months.  Seasonal greens, the huge variety of salads, veggies and dip are the bomb, and of course, we can't forget the barbecue. The barbecue may be a little tricky for me this season because of my choice to cut down on my meat consumption, but that is for another post. 

I have been taking advantage of our local farmers market. One of the vendors there runs a chemical free farm. All of their produce is grown free of pesticides, herbicides and all things nasty. They aren't certified organic (that adds a lot to the overhead and the end cost of organic food), but I am confident that they are truly providing me with superior produce.  I have been enjoying a variety of mixed greens, Swiss chard, Russian kale (new to me this year), baby spinach, green onions, asparagus and fiddleheads. I tried fiddleheads for the first time but I can't say that they knocked my socks off. Maybe I didn't prepare them correctly. I will try them again next spring when they are in season.
 
Russian Kale - SO good in salads and green smoothies!


***Environmental Blurb*** As an aside, this farm also grows indigenous species of plants to sell to the public. Many plants in our gardens, are not from this country or area, and subsequently they "get away from us" because they are especially invasive, and are unleashed into nature. They take over our forests by choking out our indigenous species of greenery and trees.  For all you gardeners... this is NOT a pretty sight and something to be cautious about!

As I mentioned, I love eating dips in the warmer months.  One of my favourites is hummus. I have enjoyed hummus, even before my more plant based food journey. In fact, it was my preferred way to eat legumes... Well at least chickpeas!  On one of my grocery store trips, I decided to go all out and pick up a small sized bag of dried chickpeas, just to try. Traditionally, I have always opted to canned beans.  They are convenient, but as of late, I have been concerned about the BPA in canned goods. In addition, when you look at the price of 1 can of beans and look at the price of a bag of uncooked beans, the money saved is so worth a little prep and cooking time! Essentially I got 3 cans of cooked beans for the price of 1 can! I LOVE budget friendly food.

So, for the very first time, I prepared my own freshly prepared chickpeas. I soaked them overnight, drained them and cooked them till tender. Cooking soaked beans take 60 to 90 minutes. Not a hard process at all. I can't recall exactly how long I cooked mine, but I started doing "taste tests" around the 60 minute mark.  Once they were tender, I drained and rinsed them in colander. When they were drained, I poured them onto a tea towel lined baking sheet to remove all excess water. From this point, I poured 4 cups of the cooked beans into a container to be put into the refrigerator. I had plans for them (hummus and chickpea patties). For the remainder of the beans (conveniently, 2 more cups), I put into a mason jar to freeze them for a future use. I didn't know you could freeze them... I will let you know how my future chickpea recipe turns out using the frozen ones. As an added note about dried beans, my hummus and chickpea patties made from freshly cooked chickpeas were such a success, and now that I know that cooking them is SO easy, I decided to buy the HUGE bag pictured below.  Whoot... 2 Kilos of chickpeas and oh, so many more servings of hummus and a variety of MUST TRY new recipes! I can't wait.

 

And now... onto Hummus!  My favourite spread for snacks, lunches and light dinners.
 


Tada! Hummus so darn good, I think I could ice a cake with it.  This recipe is essentially Michael Bonacini's recipe that I have been using over the years. It is the recipe he provided from a City Line episode so many years ago.  Today, I ramped it up with the zest of half a lemon.  It was a perfect choice. The flavour of the hummus was raised to levels unknown to the run of the mill hummus'. I highly recommend it! Besides, since you need the freshly squeezed lemon, <BUDGET TIP> you might as well use the zest! 



 


I enjoy hummus with whole grain pitas, or "Thinbuns" (by Dempsters), or crackers; with veggies; or spread on a soft tortilla loaded with fresh greens and vegies, rolled up for a lunch. Oh the possibilities for this amazing Middle Eastern spread!

 
 
Hummus

 
INGREDIENTS
2 cups canned chickpeas (1 16-oz can)  (I used my freshly cooked one) 
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves lightly, finely minced 
Zest of 1/2 lemon (I added this component and I really like it 
Salt to taste
Water, as required, approx. 1/4 cup
 
(at serving time, optional, but quite lovely)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

 
NOTE:
When I made my hummus today, I used 1 teaspoon of good quality, large grind salt. If I were using canned chickpeas as I have done in the past, I use much less because the canned beans are generally salted. Note of caution, add your salt in small increments, tasting as you go, so as not to over salt the hummus.
                               
METHOD
Rinse and drain chickpeas in a small colander. (If using home prepared beans, you don't need to rinse and drain because you already did it!) Place in a food processor or blender, and add the lemon juice, tahini, cumin, garlic and if using, the lemon zest. Puree until almost smooth with a little texture, adding a little water if necessary. Adjust seasoning to taste. Once desired consistency is reached, remove to a shallow serving dish.
 
TO SERVE
Many people prefer this dip at room temperature. Yes, the flavours seem to brighten and intensify as the spread warms up a bit. For me, I am too impatient to wait that long!  If you like, you can drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with paprika and parsley, it does look really pretty.  I usually do this when entertaining.  But at the end of the day, I would be happy eating hummus standing in front of the refrigerator, door open, spoon in hand, and eating it straight out of the container!
 
Hummus with veggies and a mixed greens salad for dinner
 
Hummus with snap peas, red peppers and whole grain pita


The store bought hummus is not too bad; just fine in a pinch. Yes, it is convenient but when you have made homemade hummus ONCE, you will never want to go back there again. It is an easy and economical dish! 

Sunday 18 May 2014

No Breakfast Skipping For Me (Anymore)

Lately I have opted for liquid breakfasts.  I like to start my day with a big glass of not so cold filtered water; a good way to get the insides working followed by a cup of green tea to get my mini caffeine fix.  Since starting my food journey, I try really hard to start my day with breakfast. Lately, I have become quite taken with  my homemade juices, orange and green and of course my green smoothies.  My new Breville juicer gets plenty of work and as I mentioned in my last blog post, my blender has seen more mileage in the past few months that it has seen in the last 20 years.

Despite the fact that I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have never been big on it as I find it hard to face food until around 10 or 11 in the morning. Subsequently, I have forever been a breakfast skipper, traditionally opting for a large double double to give me that get up and go! I have found that my juices and smoothies are the perfect start to the day for this kid. These liquid breakfasts provide quick access nutrients for my body.  I feel better, think better and am better prepared for the day. 
 


Often, if I have opted to start my day with a juice, I am a little peckish around 10 so I have found that a whole grain pita bread is a welcomed mid morning snack. Other snack options might also be a homemade sweet potatoe muffin or a breakfast cookie (recipe below).  I have recently discovered that a natural organic peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds is really good and certainly gets me to lunch! The other day, I also had a little leftover dairy free chocolate pudding kicking around, so I thought I would try it on my pita toast sprinkled with some almond slices. YUM YUM YUM!   A bite of one and then a bite of the other. A match made in heaven!  Next time, I will make it easier to eat by actually spreading the peanut butter first, then spreading the chocolate pudding on top of that and finishing off with a sprinkle the almonds and chia seeds. 
 


If I have started my day with a green smoothie, I am usually good till lunch.  Smoothies tend to be more filling and long lasting. My favourite green smoothie contains a frozen, ripe banana, kale, spinach, almond butter, a little honey or maple syrup for some sweetness and some almond milk to blend. YUM! Green smoothies are an excellent way to get more raw greens into me quickly and easily! 

I have also discovered Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie are amazing and even though they do contain added sugar, they are certainly a MUCH better choice to those crappy made for you oatmeal bars. They even freeze well so you can make sure you have plenty on hand!These kid friendly cookies are tasty AND healthy.  Shhhh don't tell the kids!  They work as a quick sit down breakfast or because of their portability, these little morsels can be taken for breakfast on the go!   Who wouldn't say "Yes please" to a cookie or two for beakfast?  They also make a nice addition to a boxed lunch for a healthy dessert or snack.

The recipe I use does contain butter and eggs plus some added sugar. In the spirit of my food journey, I have started making some tweeks to the recipe to take this recipe from good to great. In the meantime, until I have tested my tweeks, the recipe as I have posted is lovely.  As a note,  I would definitely drop the sugar down a bit more, especially if your bananas are super ripe.  Please enjoy and let me know what you think.



Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies (W.I.P.)
 
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup coconut oil; 1/4 cup butter this time)
3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine were medium in size)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I added 1/2 a cup]
2 whole eggs (next time I will try flax eggs; 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water)
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp flour (I made 2 tablespoons of oat flour by processing large flake oats in my food processor)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries, nuts or a combination (I used 1/2 cup pecans, 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, topped up to 1 cup with cranberries)
 
As a special treat, I tossed in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, but you can omit this if you prefer!

DIRECTIONS
Mix first 3 ingredients together in a bowl.
Add eggs and mix.
Add remaining ingredients except nuts and/or dried cranberries
After dough is mixed add nuts and or cranberries.
Batter will seem too wet, but don't worry  
Drop by heaped and packed tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  
Flatten with fork to about 1/2" thick, patting edges to keep the cookie together and rounded.
Bake at 350° F. for 12 to 15 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for one or two minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to cooling rack.
Cool completely. 






 

Yes sir-ee.  No more skipping breakfast for this kid!  My next goal is to try out some home made granola.  I have a few recipes I want to try.  I will keep you posted. 


Thursday 8 May 2014

Re-organising My Kitchen and Chocolate Chip Cookies

When we put in our new kitchen, I chose to have 36" upper cabinets as opposed to the standard ones which left that goofy gap at the top.  My cupboards basically go the ceiling (I have a standard 8' ceiling) with a lovely crown moulding at the top.




I also have pantries that almost go to the ceiling.  Above these, my husband made a custom light box for bright general lighting.



I am a practical person and my home decor is no different.  I do enjoy beautiful things, but they need to be practical, and functional, and easy to clean as well a pretty.  My cupboard doors are Shaker style, because I love the simplicity, but I also think the doors themselves are easy to clean.  The cupboards go to the ceiling because I hated cleaning  the tops of my old cupboards which gathered grease and dust and a whole lot of ICK! Now, I have more space to store all my wonderful kitchen things and I don't have to worry about cleaning the tops of my cupboards again. BONUS!

So I bet you are wondering why this little blurb about my kitchen reno and what does this have to do with healthy food choices? Don't worry, I am getting to that.  When I first organised my kitchen after the renovation 2 years ago, I put the "sometimes" used things way up on the very top shelves as I required a little step stool to reach.  Makes sense, right?  So way up on the top shelves lived my blender, my food processor, and my salad spinner.  

Fast forward 2 years and my new food journey, these items have found their ways down to the everyday "reachable" parts of my cupboards.  In addition, the coveted place on my counter where my coffee maker once lived has been given to my juicer! My how things change.

The other day, I decided to make some cookies from one of my go to vegan sites. These particular cookies are gluten free too.  This was my first foray into baking vegan treats other than muffins. I had been thinking about these chocolate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for several weeks and finally decided to give them a try.  But wait, the recipe calls for ground flax seed and water for the "egg" in this recipe, and I only have whole seeds.  Whew, thank goodness I have a coffee grinder which I typically use to grind whole spices.  Grab the stool and way up on the VERY top shelf lives my 25 year old coffee grinder!  Long story short, I use the grinder for my flax seeds, use the food processor on the large flake oats to make it flour, make my cookies and then clean up.  Yes, I think my little coffee grinder will have to take its place in the accessible cupboard with my blender and food processor! 

Over the years in the kitchen, I have acquired decent knife skills and I was always quite able to prepare fabulous meals with just my box grater, chef knife and my paring knife. Now, I feel that with the change in how I eat and what I prepare for family meals, I will concede that I need to take a little help in the food prep gadget department!  I think in the past 4 months, I have used my food processor and blender more than I have in the past 20 years and will probably keep on doing so.  In addition, I think I will experiment a whole lot more with eggless baking too.  I bet my ancient coffee grinder and I will be getting much more acquainted!

Here are my wonderful gluten free and dairy free chocolate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Oh She Glows.  By the way, this lovely Canadian girl has a gorgeous cookbook out that is doing really well.  I strongly encourage you to check out her site and her book!

Tada... My cookies!






My unwilling participant in my food journey enjoying her healthier option cookies!



Friday 2 May 2014

Pancakes For Dinner, Chia Seed Jams, And A New Smoothie

For dinner on "Meatless Monday", we had my daughter's favourite breakfast...pancakes! Ok, I know my goal is to eat fewer meat based meals, but as it turns out, our meatless meal night fell on Monday and I was wanting to make do with pantry and fridge items already on hand!  Not to mention, I really had a craving for pancakes!  I took my "go to" pancake recipe and tinkered with it, yet again.  

It is essentially a half and half white flour and whole wheat flour recipe, with a little wheat germ tossed in for good measure. This time, I cut the white flour back by half and subbed in some quick cooking oats.  I also used almond milk instead of dairy milk. The pancakes were just as tasty, a little more dense than usual, and the batter didn't brown as well as usual.  Recently, I learned that I can make oat flour by whizzing large flake oats in my food processor with the S-blade.  I think I will give this a try next time and substitute the white flour with the oat flour instead. Perhaps this will lighten the texture a bit and allow the pancakes to brown better.  I will let you know. 

To make our pancake supper a little more special (and sneak in a little more nutrition), I made a raw chia seed strawberry jam out of my frozen strawberries and tried the Oh She Glows recipe for a cooked vanilla blueberry Chia seed jam.  Both jams were fabulous!  

Basic Pancakes
 
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup almond milk
2 tbsp canola oil
1 egg
1/4 cup white flour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats  (next time try oat flour)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbs sugar (I used organic evaporated cane juice)
1/2 tsp salt
 
DIRECTIONS
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together
In another bowl, combine all wet ingredients together
Preheat cast iron frying pan over medium heat
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just blended. Do not over mix.
Wipe fry pan with a light layer of cooking oil
Ladle batter into pan, cook until golden brown on the bottom and there are bubbles on the surface of the pancake. Flip and continue cooking until light brown on other side.
Keep warm in a 200°F oven.









Since our dinner was breakfast, I thought it would be fun to make smoothies to drink with our pancakes.  I used some fresh pineapple, a frozen organic banana and then decided to be adventurous and tossed in half a red pepper and 1/4 of a yellow pepper, organic of course.  The peppers were sweet and turned our smoothie into a pretty pinky-orange concoction.  I added just a touch of honey for a little extra sweetness and used a combination of almond milk and water to blend.  I thought it was yummy... The kid, not so much!  The only down side was that the peppers did not blend as smoothly as the pineapple and banana so there were teeny chunks through out the smoothie.  Perhaps, if I get a Vitamix one day, this won't happen?  Anyway, a good experiment and the smoothie was lovely with the pancakes!




It was a real treat to have breakfast for dinner.  We even ended up with 2 extra pancakes for a mid week instant breakfast for Erika!  


TIME SAVING TIP!
If you like making pancakes for weekend breakfasts, I highly recommend that you make a double batch.  Then you can take the extra pancakes and cool them on a baking rack. Once they are cooled, leave them on a cookii sheet in a single layer and freeze.  Once the pancakes are frozen,  put them into a large Rubbermaid container or a freezer bag. This  makes it easy to grab one, two or more pancakes in the morning.  The pancakes can be reheated in the microwave or thawed first and then put into your toaster.  Serve your favourite fruit topping or with maple syrup, Yum!