I recently began working in an organic grocery store that also provides home delivery (check out cleanfoodconnection.com) (as an aside, you should know that I accidentally typed "hope" in stead of "home" in that last sentence there... now there's a Freudian slip!). You can order small, medium or large packs of fruits and veggies or a variety of meats, and as I'm packing people's orders onceor twice a week I find myself thinking of what I would do with this beautiful box of organic goodness if it was my door that it was being delivered to. So, here begin my (mis)adventures in the kitchen. I rarely use recipes, so it's difficult to share. My method is that I decide what I'd like to eat, I then read over several recipes on the internet or in books and then end up mish-mashing them together. Also, I have learned thatyou should put maple syrup in everything, just so you know. It can go in
coffee, it can go in meat balls. Honestly, it really doesn't matter what, it will always make a dish better. However, thesefirst few dishes from last night's dinner that I'd like to share did not involve maple syrup. Why? Because when I went to get the bottle from the fridge I discovered that there was none to be had!So, without further adieu, here is last night's menu of liquid awesome... except the only liquid was the wine, and I didn't make that...
Lamb Patties
Can you guess whatthe main ingredient is? I'll give you one guess... did you guess lamb? How did you guess!? Well, ground lamb to be more precise. After that in went an egg. Then it was on to the spice cupboard where I found some cumin, coriander and what I'm guessing was dill because it looked and smelled like it. Oh!And salt. Can't forget the salt. Sorry to those who can't eat it. Once all the ingredients were sitting lovely in the bowl I got to do my least favourite part of cooking, which is to stick my hands into a bowl of raw meat to mush up the ingredients and then form it into patties. I really should be a vegetarian, but that is a whole other blog. I fried these, but I think they would have been better broiled. Something to try next time.
So, to recap, here's the ingredients:
Ground Lamb
1 egg
Coriander
Cumin
Dill
Salt
I can't really give measurements because I just threw everything in. It really depends on which spices you like best. I'm obsessed with coriander, so I tend to flavour things heavily with it. Not everyone may appreciate this. Honestly, it's hard to go wrong with patties. If you don't like the way it turns out the first time, make a note of what you did and don't repeat it!
To go with the lamb I made a cilantro and mint raita.
Ingredients:
Cilantro
Mint
1 green chili
Juice of half a lime
250g of yogurt
The cilantro and mint can be used to your preferences. As I already mentioned, I love coriander, so I go heavy on the cilantro. However, mint can also be the main flavour here if you prefer! So, put the first four ingredients into a blender and blend into a beautiful green paste. Then add the paste to the yogurt et voilà!
Sautéed Fiddleheads with Sweet Peppers, Garlic and Lemon
Fiddleheads are back in season for a brief time! Although I've never cooked with them before, I have tried them and quite enjoyed them. When they arrived in the store I was eager to experiment, and I was so happy with the results!
Ingredients:
1lb Ontario Fiddleheads
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Juice of half a lemon
It was recommended to me that I blanch the fiddleheads first, as they can be quite bitter if sautéed from a raw state. To do this, simply bring some water to a boil, throw the fiddleheads in and boil for just a few minutes. Remove from the water and put them into a pan with some heated olive oil. Then toss in the sliced peppers. I stirred this frequently so that nothing would settle and burn. Once I felt my veggies were soft enough I turned the head down and put the minced garlic on top so that it would soften and lose that raw garlic edge. After a few minutes of letting that sit, off goes the head and on goes the lemon juice. Simply delicious!
Roasted Garlic and Chive Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
2lb red mini potatoes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Chives, chopped into 1/3 inch pieces
Margarine
or butter
This dish is super easy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is busy making itself hot, you should be scrubbing those 'lil taters! You want to leave the skin on. Potato skin is not only delicious, it's also where all the nutrients live! So scrub it good! Unfortunately, potato skins are also chalk full of chemicals in conventionally farmed potatoes, so please, although I recommend that all your ingredients be organic for the best taste and for the sake of our health and the environment's, if nothing else please make sure your potatoes are organic! Okay. Back to the task at hand. Once the potatoes are scrubbed put them in a covered roasting pan with 1 table spoon of margarine distributed throughout the pan. Put that in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and stir so that the potatoes become coated in the melted margarine. If you think they need more margarine now's the time to add it. Then back in the oven they go for another 40 minutes, or until you can easily spear one with a fork. Once removed from the oven after the 40 minutes, take a potato masher and smash each potato. Then throw in the garlic along with 3 more table spoons of margarine and mash a bit more. Remember, these are smashed potatoes, not mashed potatoes, so don't get too carried away. Then throw the chives on top and you're ready to go. Alternatively, you can add the chives with the garlic as well so that they get distributed throughout the dish rather than sit on top. This is what I like to do!
Dinner concluded with some cranberry orange cookies with a cameo by some chocolate chips, but I'm not 100% convinced that the recipe is ready to be shared yet. It's one I made completely from scratch. They're both wheat and egg free! I will share the recipe after the next time that I attempt them so that I can do some tweaking!
And I just noticed that it's after midnight and I need to turn in. Happy May 10th everyone!
