The Rut, Redux

It happens to all of us.  We find a recipe that we love so much we don't want to eat anything else. It's happened to me with this recipe, and I've written about it here.  I occasionally decide I only want to eat one thing for lunch - every day - even if it means I make the same dish back to back (and sometimes to back again).

It has happened again.  I first saw this Rice Noodle Salad recipe on two of my favourite blogs over two years ago.  I thought it looked amazing, and I bookmarked it, only to forget about it for a while. Every time I saw the bookmark I thought about trying it, but didn't think it could live up to the praise that Joanne and Tasha gave it.

I was thrilled to be proven wrong.  This salad is stand-at-the-counter-and-eat-it good.  I changed up their versions a little bit by substituting peanuts at the end instead of using shrimp or tofu.  It's the kind of recipe that you can personalize by adding what you like and eliminating what you don't.  I know I always make a big deal when I find a recipe that everyone in my house likes, but it happened with this recipe - and it is a big deal.

Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
(adapted from The Brick Kitchen and Eats Well With Others)

For the peanut sauce:
1/2" piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup warm water

For the salad:
8 ounces (linguini style) rice noodles
2 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 large red pepper, sliced into matchsticks
4 small-medium carrots, sliced thin

To serve:
3 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion (white and light green parts only)
Peanuts

Combine the ginger, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and brown sugar in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Add warm water a tablespoon at a time, blending until desired consistency is reached.

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil.  Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.  Keep submerged in cold water until ready to use.

Mist a large nonstick skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add zucchini, red pepper and carrots and cook until just tender, about 3 - 4 minutes.  (Carrots will still be fairly crisp.)  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Drain noodles and toss with dressing and vegetables in a large serving bowl.  Serve room temperature or chilled.  Sprinkle with green onions and peanuts to serve.

Mother's Day

For A Five-Year-Old

A snail is climbing up the window-sill
into your room, after a night of rain.
You call me in to see, and I explain
that it would be unkind to leave it there:
it might crawl to the floor; we must take care
that no one squashes it.  You understand,
and carry it outside, with careful hand,
to eat a daffodil.

I see, then, that a kind of faith prevails:
your gentleness is moulded still by words
from me, who have trapped mice and shot wild birds,
from me, who drowned your kittens, who betrayed
your closest relatives, and who purveyed
the harshest kind of truth to many another.
But that is how things are: I am your mother,
And we are kind to snails.

- by Fleur Adcock

I love muffins, and I love fruit desserts, so it was inevitable that I'd adore these tri-berry muffins. The original recipe calls for fresh fruit, but I tried them with frozen and the result was great.  Yes, I baked these myself, but one was served to me this morning as part of breakfast in bed!  

"Sam said to me the other day, 'I love you like 20 tyrannosauruses on 20 mountaintops', and this is the exact same way in which I love him."
- Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother, or has a mother.

Tri-Berry muffins

(adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup sugar (first amount)

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cup mixed frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

1 Tbsp sugar (second amount)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl and stir.

In another bowl, combine the milk, egg and melted butter.

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined.  Stir in the mixed berries.  Stir gently, just to combine.  Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle tops with 1 Tbsp sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are nicely browned.

Makes 10 – 12 small muffins, or 8 – 9 large.

Thursday's Child: Breakfast on the Farm, Nicaragua

One of the disadvantages of travelling with me is that I sometimes have a strange idea of what's fun.  Case in point:  getting up early in the morning while on holidays to make our own breakfast!

I wasn't sure if I'd get everyone up by the 7 am call time, but we all made it out of our rooms with a respectable degree of enthusiasm.  There were about a dozen intrepid souls that left the tranquility of the lodge to prepare and enjoy breakfast on the farm.  We climbed into the back of a dusty pickup truck onto a series of benches, and took a very bumpy ride to the small farm owned by our lodge.  It was time to get to work.

We started by milking the cow.  We took turns, producing an amazingly small quantity of milk. (Yes, even this farm girl, who didn't grow up on a dairy farm, had to work at at.)  

Next we moved to collecting eggs.  That was a bit daunting, as the hens were reluctant to let these foreigners forage for their own breakfast.  But forage we did, and we came out with our eyes intact, as well as (mostly) our toes.

After taking our turns in the kitchen at making and frying tortillas, we sat at picnic tables in the next room and were served a gorgeous breakfast of eggs, tortillas, and rice and beans.  This was the hardest I worked for any meal on the trip, but it was hands-down my favourite!

Recipes inspired by Musicals: Cats

I know Cats the musical has gone out of style.  But whatever you think about basing a musical on people dressed as cats, you could do worse than using the charming poetry of T. S. Eliot.  My sister and I saw Cats when it first came to Toronto in 1985 in the beautifully refurbished Elgin Theatre.  All these years later, I’m amazed by how many snippets of songs I remember:

 “And when you hear a dining room smash

Or up from the pantry there comes a loud crash

Or down from the library comes a loud ping

From a vase that was commonly said to be Ming,

The family will say, ‘Now which was which cat?

It was Mungojerrie AND Rumpleteazer’

And there’s nothing at all to be done about that.”

or

“Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity

He’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity

You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in a square

But when the crime’s discovered, Macavity’s not there!”

But the cat that inspired this week’s post is the oldest – Gus the Theatre Cat:

“Gus is the cat by the theatre door

His name, as I ought to have told you before

Is really Asparagus, but that’s such a fuss

To pronounce, that we usually call him just Gus.”

(Also from memory.  It’s no wonder I can’t remember why I went upstairs, if I’m using all this brain space for Cats lyrics.)

I was looking for a simple and seasonal recipe to round out dinner recently, and this asparagus salad was perfect in all regards.  It’s incredibly easy and the flavours are so simple that the fresh asparagus shines through.  In fact, this salad is so good, it might replace some of those lyrics you’ve been storing in your brain for 28 years.

Asparagus Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

(adapted from epicurious.com)

2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp good-quality balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried

1 tsp minced garlic

2 pounds asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Mix balsamic vinegar, oil, mustard, marjoram and garlic.

Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.  Add asparagus and bell pepper to dressing and toss to blend.  Sprinkle with pecans and serve.

Thursday's Child: Vivero Ecologico La Gallina, Nicaragua

We visited Vivero Ecologico La Gallina when we travelled to Nicaragua over the Christmas holidays.  This ecological nursery is located near the Masaya volcano, which is just south of Managua in one of the most fertile areas of the country.  We loved visiting this rural district for its beautiful scenery, local artisans, and impressive nursery.

Although the nursery is open to tourists, it primarily sells plants, plant products and accessories to Nicaraguans.  (As tourists, we weren't actually permitted to take plants out of the country.)  Farmers, townspeople and businesses all buy their decorative plants here.

The nursery specializes in native Nicaraguan plants, but carries some imports and a large number of grafted plants.  We loved the fresh scents of coriander and cinnamon, and were impressed by the jasmines, heliotropes, cacti and foliage of many kinds that covered several acres.

Recipes inspired by Musicals - Damn Yankees

Andrew’s favorite musical is one we saw in New York City in 1994, on a trip with our dear friends Garth and Colleen Jay.  As soon as Andrew heard Damn Yankees was playing on Broadway, we knew we’d get tickets. It had an amazing cast, starring Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and Victor Garber as Mr. Applegate, with fun musical numbers that include “You Gotta Have Heart” and “Two Lost Souls”.

In the show, Joe Boyd roots for the Washington Senators who always lose to the New York Yankees. He says he’d sell his soul “for one long ball hitter”, and Mr. Applegate (aka the devil) appears, to grant him that wish.  Joe Boyd turns into the young phenom Joe Hardy, who is poised to take the Senators to the World Series.  Is he successful?   That wasn’t even the biggest question posed in the musical, as Joe tries to break his contract so he can win back his soul and return to his beloved wife Meg.

Despite optimistic pre-season predictions, our hometown Blue Jays are once again trailing those Yankees in the standings.  However, I won’t be making any rash promises to Mr. Applegate or any other salesman in return for one long ball hitter.

This Yankee pot roast was a winner.  It swung for the fences and was a real home run with my family.  Best of all, I’ve included the recipe below, so you won’t have to sell your soul to make it.

Yankee Pot Roast

(adapted from From Away)

1/3 pound thick-cut bacon, diced

1 3/4 pound beef chuck roast

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp (about 2 branches) fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

3/4 cup water

14 ounces diced tomatoes (with juice)

3 medium potatoes, cut in cubes

3 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces

3 stalks celery, cut in 1-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large saucepan, brown bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon begins to crisp.  Transfer bacon to drain on paper towels.

Pat beef dry, season with salt and pepper, and add to saucepan.  Increase heat to medium-high and turn to brown meat on all sides.  Transfer to a roasting pan.

Reduce heat to medium, add 2 Tbsp butter to pan, and add onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn translucent (about 6 minutes).

Add garlic and rosemary, and cook about 2 minutes.  Add wine, water and bay leaves, and cook about 1 minute, while scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add tomatoes and mix to combine.  Pour over beef in the roasting pan.  Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until beef is almost tender, about 3 hours.

Remove from oven and remove bay leaves.  Add bacon, potatoes, carrots and celery around the roast.  Cook until vegetables are tender, about an hour more.  Remove beef from pot and let sit 15 minutes, then slice against the grain.