Celebrations

Reverend Ted Grady

What a busy week, with so much to be grateful for!

-       My oldest daughter performed a Hamlet monologue as part of her English class requirement.  She chose the passage that ends “The play’s the thing/wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.”  That passage is 59 lines long.  Where does she get that memory from?  I can’t even remember a five-item grocery list.

-       Andrew and I celebrated our twenty-first wedding anniversary on Friday.  Our wedding day was about 33 degrees Celsius (over 90 Fahrenheit) and very muggy.  Twenty-one years later, it was 15 degrees (59 Fahrenheit) and my hometown got about 2” of rain.  Luckily, we celebrated our love, not the weather, with a beautiful dinner out.

-       We attended two weddings of our dear friends.  We don’t go to many weddings at this stage in our lives – most of our friends are already married, and our friends’ children aren’t there yet.  What’s the chance we’d be invited to two in the same day?  We loved sharing our best wishes with the brides and grooms, and dancing at the end of the evening.  (And the mother of one of the brides asked that I bring my chocolate raspberry cake to the dessert table!)

-       And this morning, we heard the first sermon given by the Reverend Ted Grady.  Ted grew up in our church, and we’ve known him and his wonderful family ever since we started attending.  Ted’s parents, Jack and Isla, are absolute blessings to our church, and it was an honour to celebrate their joy by their sides.

Factor in last weekend’s visit to my oldest daughter’s future university campus, and preparations for my youngest daughter’s church musical performance next weekend, and it feels very much like we’re in a time of transitions. 

When life is super-busy, sometimes it’s hard to find time to eat, let alone to prepare a meal. This recipe is quick to prepare and tastes delicious, and you can feel virtuous about all the vegetables in it.  And whether you’re celebrating weddings, anniversaries or new beginnings of any kind, that’s definitely something to take pride in. 

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

(adapted from Ellie Krieger, Food Network)

3 large red peppers

3 onions

3 medium zucchini

3 Tbsp oil, divided

3/4 tsp salt, divided

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

4 chicken breast halves, skinless and bone-in

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary leaves and 1 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the peppers and onions into large chunks.  Slice the zucchini in half crosswise, then cut each piece in half lengthwise once again.  Cut each strip into three chunks. 

Put the vegetables in a large baking pan, and toss them with 2 Tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt.  Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan with the vegetables.

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of salt, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Rub the mixture into the chicken in the pan.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then stir the vegetables and add the rosemary.  Cook for about another 20 – 30 minutes more until the chicken is done and the vegetables are tender.

Book Group

Our book group has been meeting for nearly eighteen years.  I remember precisely how long we’ve known each other because I was on maternity leave with my oldest daughter at the time.  When she was a month old I realized I wanted more adult company.  I found a book club that was just getting started, and these wonderful women have become some of my best friends.  (For a picture of our group, and a description of the fund-raising some of them started, see here.) 

I’m hosting our book group tomorrow night, and I started thinking about the best books we’ve read together.  Over those years we’ve read a lot of books, and it would be impossible to list all the ones I’ve loved.  But here are three that came to mind first when I started thinking about my favourites:

The Sparrow – the best part of being in a book group is reading something you never would have picked up on your own.  I hadn’t even heard of this book, and if I had, I wouldn’t have read it anyhow since it’s classified as science fiction.  It’s so much more than that, with a great story that explores ethics and theology.  All these years later, I can’t get it out of my mind.

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams – this is one of the best Canadian books I’ve ever read. It combines fact and fiction in telling the story of the entrance of Canada’s tenth province into Confederation.  I was lucky enough to meet its author, Wayne Johnston, last year, and it was an honour to tell him how much I loved this book.

Wintergirls – this young adult book is an astonishingly powerful story about a teenager with an eating disorder.  I found myself holding my breath as I sped through the pages.  Half of me wanted to slow down, to admire the excellent writing, but the other half was desperate to know what happened.  Let’s just say we ate dinner late that night.

Almost as important as the books is the food at our meetings. 

I tried a couple of dip recipes earlier this week.  Often I just buy vegetable dips, but as the author of a cooking blog, I thought the least I could do was whip up a couple of them. 

The first is a white bean and roasted garlic dip.  It’s a great basic dip, with a mild flavour and a smooth texture.  This is the kind of dip we all need in our repertoires.

And then there’s the peanut dipping sauce.  I would eat it with a spoon.  I would eat it with a trowel.  I would make a mega-batch so I could dive into a pool of it.  This stuff is ambrosia.  And if ambrosia grants immortality, then I am living forever.

So I’ll be making both of these dips tomorrow, in addition to a few other treats, to serve while we chat.  And if you’re reading this and you’re in my book group … try to act surprised.

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip

(adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger)

One 15.5 ounce can white beans, preferably low-sodium, rinsed and drained

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (first amount) 

1 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (second amount)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

salt and white pepper, to taste

To roast garlic, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut the top third of the garlic head off so the tops of the cloves are exposed.  Place garlic head, unpeeled, in a small ovenproof dish and drizzle with 1 Tbsp oil.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Let cool.  Set aside 1 Tbsp roasted garlic for this recipe and mash it.  Reserve the rest for another use.

In a food processor, combine the beans, roasted garlic, oil and lemon juice, and process until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.  Serve with your favourite vegetables for dipping.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

(adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (she suggests using natural peanut butter)

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Ginger

I think ginger is the perfect ingredient.

Ginger has a heat and an indescribable kick that are unbeatable.  My favourite cookies as a child were my Grandma Baker's ginger snaps.  One of my best food memories of our trip to China was the ginger chicken we ate with our friends, the Jay family.  Add ginger to your cooking and you'll bestow it with the grace of Ginger Rogers and the smarts of Ginger Pye.

I regularly keep three kinds of ginger in my house.  Ground ginger in my spice cupboard (well, everyone has that), fresh ginger in my vegetable drawer (often useful for savory dishes), and candied ginger in my cupboard (perhaps not a necessity, but it makes me happy just knowing it’s there).  I’m not sure everyone regards ginger as a household staple in the way I do, but a week rarely goes by when I don’t use it in at least one of its forms.

This was a week when I used all three in a variety of recipes.  And the fresh ginger worked beautifully in a sauce to accompany these salmon cakes.  I love Ellie Krieger’s cookbook, The Food You Crave, and I think its title is perfect.  I’m amazed at how I crave the gorgeous, and healthy, recipes that are contained within.

Especially the ones that use ginger.

Salmon Cakes with Ginger-Sesame Sauce

(from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger.)

Note: This recipe makes twelve large salmon cakes.  I halved it when I made it.

5 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread

Two 15-ounce cans salmon, drained and picked over for skin and bones

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

5 green onions (white and green parts)

1/2 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 tsp olive oil

Ginger-Sesame Sauce (recipe below)

Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until you get fine bread crumbs.  In a large bowl, flake apart the salmon with a fork.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Finely chop 4 of the green onions and add to the bowl.  Add the water chestnuts, cilantro, pepper and bread crumbs and mix well.  Shape the mixture into 12 patties.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat half the oil over medium heat.  Add 6 patties and cook for 5 minutes on each side.  Transfer the cooked patties to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the rest of the salmon cakes in the same way. 

Chop the remaining green onion.  Serve the salmon cakes with the sauce on the side, garnished with the onion.

Ginger-Sesame Sauce

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt, or 6 Tbsp plain Greek-style nonfat yogurt

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

If using regular yogurt, place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel.  Set the strainer over a bowl and let drain and thicken for 30 minutes.

Place the drained or Greek-style yogurt in a small bowl.  Add the mayonnaise, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce and whisk until smooth.