April Bloomfield's Ricotta Gnudi

Here I am, almost a month into the new job, and I'm still breathing, still employed! I say it as a joke, but after my recent disastrous shift (which you can read about here) I was a little concerned that I was about to get the boot. Thankfully I followed my nightmare shift with two weeks of work that I can be proud of. I feel relatively good about walking into my shift tomorrow evening, though I know it's going to have a whole new string of challenges. 

So what is this mysterious new job that I keep alluding to? While I like to keep some things private on here, I will say that my new gig has me acting as an assistant teacher in the cooking classes at a fantastic food studio in downtown Toronto. What makes these classes so exciting is that they are very hands-on, which means getting my very own group of students to myself (which can be anywhere from 2-12 people!) for an hour, while we work through our assigned dish. It sounds simple enough, but there is so much work that goes into the preparation for each class (washing, chopping, making stocks, blanching, preparing appetizers and charcuterie boards, pre-baking, and so much more!) all within a strict time limit. Not to mention the stress of guiding a group of strangers of varying degrees of expertise and experience through a recipe that they are unfamiliar with, while working within our hour of cook-time, and all the while worrying about people burning and cutting themselves...oh and the dish has to actually taste good too, because guess what? Our students get to sit down at the end of the class, and enjoy the beautiful meal that we have all prepared together. Us assistants and teachers, plate and style each individual dish so the students can also get a little lesson in restaurant plating. Pretty cool, right?

The scariest, but also probably the most exciting part of the job, is that almost every class I will be given a new recipe to work on, oftentimes that I have just received the previous day, and may have never made in my life! That's what happened last week when I was responsible for teaching my group how to make the appetizer in our Rustic Italian-themed meal. I was in charge of guiding the group through making Spinach & Ricotta Gnudi with Sage & Walnut Pesto, something I had never made nor even eaten before! If you're unfamiliar with gnudi, think of them like naked ravioli. They are like the ricotta filling of ravioli, but without the pasta shell. Or another way of thinking of them is like gnocchi, but instead of potato, you're using ricotta. Having never made nor eaten gnudi before, I made sure to give myself enough time prior to class to do as much gnudi research as possible. This led me to learning about what is often considered to be one of the top 50 dishes to eat in New York, April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig's Ricotta Gnudi.

The moment I first saw an image of Chef Bloomfield's gnudi, I could think of nothing else. It looked like pure heaven. Fluffy little balls of ricotta, resting in a bath of buttery, cheesy, thickened pasta water, with a few crispy fried sage leaves, and a light drizzle of browned butter...sigh...perfection. You would think that getting to make the delicious Spinach & Ricotta Gnudi with my class would have satisfied my craving to make and eat them, but no. I was so wildly intrigued by Chef Bloomfield's bizarre method for forming gnudi, that I would literally lie awake each night until I finally got my butt outside to the market to buy some good quality fresh ricotta, to replicate her infamous dish at home. 

What I found so alluring about Chef Bloomfield's gnudi was that it only contained ricotta, parmesan, and salt. That's it. To prevent the gnudi from breaking apart when boiling, Chef Bloomfield has created an unusual method that requires lightly tossing the gnudi in semolina, and then allowing it to rest in what I like to call a "semolina sandbox" for three days. This semolina sandbox step encourages the ricotta dumplings to form a natural shell around them, keeping the soft and fresh ricotta contained within. 

I have to say, though the final dish looks incredibly labour-intensive, Chef Bloomfield's gnudi are actually very simple to prepare. The trick was following Serious Eats slightly adapted method, which kept my hands relatively clean, and got all of my gnudi rolled out in just a few minutes. While Chef Bloomfield used a piping bag to pipe her gnudi mixture into the semolina, and then cut them to size using scissors, Serious Eats recommended spreading out the gnudi mixture in a shallow dish, and setting it aside to chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. This quick chill in the freezer allowed the mixture to firm up just enough so it was easy to handle and form into balls. The other tip they gave was to use a small quick-release cookie scoop to scoop the mixture into the semolina. Genius! This method made making April Bloomfield's gnudi so wonderfully easy to prepare!

After hanging out in their "semolina sandbox" for three days, my gnudi were finally ready to be served! Following Bloomfield's recipe (as shown in this video from Mind of A Chef), I boiled the gnudi for about a minute, and then quickly tossed them in a mixture of pasta water, butter, and parmesan cheese. By gently shaking the pan, the remaining semolina clinging to the gnudi will break off and naturally thicken the pasta water and butter sauce. After only about a minute the gnudi are ready to be plated! Served with a light drizzle of browned butter, crispy fried sage leaves, and a dusting of parmesan, April Bloomfield's Ricotta Gnudi were just as heavenly as expected. Melt in your mouth, fluffy, little balls of heaven! De-lish! The only thing I would change for next time would be to add more fried sage, and perhaps add some sage to the brown butter to infuse its flavour into the sauce, as well as garnishing the dish with toasted pine nuts for crunch.

I encourage you to check out Serious Eats method for making April Bloomfield's Gnudi and give them a try in your own kitchen! Remember to let me know how it went and tweet me on Twitter: @thisgingerrose.

Listening To:
Aluna George - Not Above Love

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Oh joy! Spring has arrived! Or...has it? There's a thick blanket of snow on my balcony and a chill in the air. Excuse my language, but what the f**k?!?! I guess there's nothing left to do but embrace what little time we have left of soup weather by indulging in a cheese-and-cream-filled soup. Enter Broccoli Cheddar Soup, one of my favourite excuses for eating melted cheese. Some soups I get sick of after the first bowl, but Broccoli Cheddar, I could eat that shit for days on end! It's just so comforting, hearty, and stick-to-your-ribs-delicious that I don't think I could ever get sick of it.

You can always add but you can never take away!

Though I've listed ingredient amounts with this recipe, I encourage you to forget about your measuring cups and spoons and just eyeball everything. Soups are so incredibly forgiving and are a great way to practice your improvised cooking skills. It's all about adding little bits at a time, tasting as you go, and remembering the golden rule of "you can always add, but you can never take away."

Tweet me @thisgingerrose to let me know what you thought of my recipe, or tag a photo of your soup on Instagram @gingerrosefood! 

Remember:

- Why do we cut our vegetables into the same size? So they cook at the same time! 

- Soups are so forgiving, so ingredient amounts can be flexible based on what you have. You can also play around with using other vegetables that you have on hand such as carrots and celery.

* If your soup tastes like it's missing something ask yourself is it salt? Pepper? If it's not salt and pepper, it's likely that it's missing some acid. Try stirring in a little bit of fresh lemon juice and see if that does the trick! 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 dried bay leaf

4 heads of broccoli, chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

3 Tbsp sour cream

3/4 cup half-and-half cream

salt & pepper to season (preferably white pepper)
cheddar cheese, grated, to garnish (optional)
soup cream, to garnish (optional)
walnuts, toasted, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot or dutch oven set to medium-heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook, while stirring, for 30-seconds. 
2. Add stock, bay leaf, broccoli, and potatoes and cook for about 30-minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are very tender. Let cool.
3. Remove bay leaf and discard. Pour soup mixture into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour back into pot along with cream and re-heat. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream. Taste and season once again, if needed*. 
4. Serve immediately garnished with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped walnuts, or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Listening To:
Disclosure - Omen ft. Sam Smith

Cocoa & Raspberry Chia Seed Pudding

Image by me, Danielle Rose

We all have that number one insecurity that always seems to be lurking behind you any time you start to feel confident in yourself. For myself that number one insecurity has been my skin. Ever since high school and especially in university I have suffered from acne. Though it's had it's ups and downs with deep, dark, scary downs in university that often left me feeling such extreme self hate that I wouldn't want to leave my bedroom. I would fake sick just so I wouldn't have to go to work and have the beautiful people I worked with see my embarrassing skin. I would keep my head down in lectures to try to cover my face with my hair so no one would have to see my face. I remember bursting into tears while catching a glimpse of my reflection while out at a restaurant with my mom because I thought I looked like a monster. As extreme as this all sounds, and though my skin has drastically improved, I still have those days where I feel like a monster. 

Image by me, Danielle Rose

Through the many ups and downs with my skin I've learned that much of my skin issues have to do with my diet. Of course there's the obvious food no-no's for having clear skin like reducing the amount of alcohol I consume (thank goodness I hardly drink at all) as well as greasy and fried foods (damn, I love those!), but what I didn't realize was affecting my skin so much was dairy. Now if you know me at all you will know that cheese is my secret lover. We have had a passionate affair since I first tasted it and I refuse to ever let go. So if I'm going to be keeping my dear cheese present in my daily life, I'm going to have to be extra diligent about reducing all the other dairy I consume. 

With a new healthy diet on my mind since, you guessed it, January, I've been trying to curb my late afternoon foodie cravings each day with a yogurt and granola bowl as a way of upping my fruit intake as well as delivering other great health benefits such as probiotics, chia seeds, flax, and more. Though those yogurt and granola bowls were awesome for keeping me satiated throughout the day and gave me a great boost of energy, my skin was not happy with having all this dairy in my system. I started breaking out like crazy igniting the awful pattern of self hate that I'm all too familiar with.

Image by me, Danielle Rose

Thanks to my savvy Pinterest hunting, I was able to come up with an alternative to my fruit and yogurt bowls in the form of chia seed pudding. I have kept a steady supply of chia seeds in my kitchen ever since I first learned about its incredible health benefits, which include being packed with antioxidants, fibre, protein, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Completely flavourless and very tiny, chia seeds have been great for shaking into salads, onto my yogurt bowls, in smoothies, and so much more. More than just a garnish for adding a hit of nutrients, chia seeds are also fantastic thanks to their texture when moistened. Chia seeds are a lifesaver for vegans, as they are a fantastic egg substitute when stirred with some water and left to rest. When moistened, chia seeds expand and take on an almost gelatinous texture, giving them the ability to bind many different foods. The binding properties in chia seeds make them the magic ingredient in creating a vegan pudding, ie. chia seed pudding.

Photograph by Kristi Giambattista

Because chia seeds have no flavour, they are a wonderful base for pudding, allowing you to get creative and play around with different flavours. This time, inspired by a recipe by Minimalist Baker, I chose to make a cocoa flavoured chia pudding, seasoned with cinnamon, a little bit of sea salt, and a touch of maple syrup for sweetness. Chia seed pudding is insanely easy to make, just stir and let rest, that's it! It's ease of preparation means you can whip up a big batch on a weeknight and spoon them into individual jars, topped as you wish, so you can have a variation of chia puddings each day, all week long! Though it may not be quite as creamy and decadent as a traditional pudding, it certainly satisfies a craving for pudding thanks to the delicious combination of chocolate, cinnamon, raspberries, and coconut. I love that I can still have my easy and healthy afternoon treat each day, without worrying about how it will affect my skin. Give my chia pudding a try and let me know on Twitter if I've made you a chia convert. Tweet me: @thisgingerrose. 

The above image was photographed by the talented Kristi Giambattista. Check out more of Kristi's work on her website!

Recipe adapted from Minimalist Baker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond milk (I used Vanilla flavoured)

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Valrhona cocoa powder)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

agave syrup or maple syrup to taste (because I used the Vanilla flavoured almond milk, I didn't need to add much additional sweetness)

fresh raspberries

toasted coconut, for garnish

chocolate curls, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together almond milk, chia seeds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk vigorously until well combined and no lumps remain.
2. Taste and season with agave or maple syrup and additional cinnamon and vanilla, if needed. Stir to combine.
3. Transfer to a jar and chill for at least 3-5 hours, preferably overnight.
4. Spoon desired amount into a jar or serving dish. Top with fresh raspberries, toasted coconut, and chocolate curls and enjoy! 

Listening To:

Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight

Pulse-Packed Chilli

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend Pulse Feast, the Canadian launch party for the International Year of Pulses. Confession: When I received my invitation for the event, I had no clue what the hell pulses were. In all honesty, in my quick scan of the invite, in the midst of the busy holiday season, I somehow got the impression that pulses had something to do with food trends. Though pulses aren't a word to describe food trends as a whole, they are actually a food trend for 2016 in itself. In fact, the United Nations declared 2016 to be the International Year of Pulses! So what the heck are pulses? 'Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Pulses grow in pods and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours." Some pulses that you may be familiar with, and may already be apart of your diet are dry beans, dry broad beans,  dry peas, chickpeas, and lentils, as well as six other less popular varieties that I haven't mentioned. 

Though pulses may be considered a major food trend for 2016, the host of Canada's Pulse Feast, Chef Michael Smith, disputes that pulses aren't a trend at all, they're here to stay! Thanks to their versatility, sustainability, affordability, and vast health benefits, Chef Michael Smith believes that pulses will soon become apart of Canadians everyday diet. As a way of inspiring North Americans to eat more pulses the Pulse Pledge campaign was launched in conjunction with the International Year of Pulses kickoff. The Pulse Pledge is a 10-week campaign that encourages North Americans to commit to eating pulses at least once a week, each week for the 10-week period. The goal is  that the healthy habit of eating pulses on a regular basis will continue past the designated 10-weeks.

After taking my own Pulse Pledge at the Pulse Feast, I was inspired to make a hearty pulse-packed chilli that would allow me to get my pulse intake throughout the week as I continued to eat leftovers. I love this chilli recipe because it's super easy, is big on flavour, is incredibly satisfying, and will provide leftovers for the rest of the week. Though I like to simmer my chilli on the stove for at least an hour to let all of the flavours develop, this dish can easily be rushed and be on the table in less than an hour when short on time, sacrificing the flavour only minutely. Though canned pulses aren't the ideal thanks to their added sodium content, I often cook with canned beans and chickpeas because they're so incredibly convenient. Because this recipe is all about ease, I chose to use a canned bean and chickpea medley for my chilli. When purchasing canned pulses I try and look for ones that have reduced sodium or are from a brands healthy line (for instance President's Choice Blue Menu). To ensure that I can control the amount of sodium going into my chilli, I also make sure to rinse my canned beans and chickpeas very well and strain before adding them in. 

Give my Pulse-Packed Chilli a try this week and let me know how you enjoyed it on Twitter: @thisgingerrose. Also, be sure to take the Pulse Pledge yourself and commit yourself to eating pulses every single week for the next 10-weeks! 

Source: Pulses.org

* Please adjust the spices based on your own heat tolerance. I can handle a lot of heat and usually use this as my base and add more heat if needed, though this may be quite spicy for some. 

** If you're in a hurry, you can simmer the chilli for as little as 30-minutes, though some flavour may be sacrificed. 

Ingredients:

about 2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, small dice

4 stalks of celery, peeled, small dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 jar (680mL) strained tomatoes (no salt-added)

1 can (540mL) six-bean medley, well rinsed (I like President's Choice Blue Menu)

2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes*

1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced + 2 Tbsp. adobo sauce*

1 Tbsp. chilli powder*

cheddar cheese, grated, for garnish (optional)

fresh cilantro, finely chopped, for garnish (optional)

sour cream, for garnish (optional)

salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a a large pot set to medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion and celery and sweat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30-seconds).
2. Add ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. 
3. Add strained tomatoes, bean medley, red pepper flakes, chipotle, adobo sauce, and chilli powder. and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for at least an hour in order to impart the most flavour**. Taste and season as needed with salt and additional chilli powder. Serve immediately garnished with cheese, cilantro, and sour cream, or continue simmering on stove for up to 3-hours until ready to serve. Chilli may be kept in fridge for 3-4 days or up to 6-months in the freezer. 

Listening To:

The Do - Sparks

Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Seeds

Holiday traditions have always been a big deal in my family. Every year during Christmastime we always spend a day making Christmas cookies with my Oma, we always open presents from "Santa" on Christmas morning, we still do a gift hunt each Easter, and ever since I was old enough to hold an exacto knife in my hand my family has always taken the time to carve intricate pumpkins each Halloween. 

My 2015 Halloween Pumpkin Carving

Though busy schedules and different living arrangements has meant that we don't get to carve pumpkins all together as a family anymore, my sister and I have still carried on the tradition on our own, taking great care to carve our own pumpkins inspired by the ones our dad taught us to make growing up. Though the greatest delight for my sister and I was getting to spend hours dedicated to focusing on a craft (yes, carving pumpkins is the ultimate craft!), we also found joy in utilizing the slimy pumpkin seeds scraped out of the innards of the pumpkin by making Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Seeds. 

I can't even remember when I first came across Martha Stewart's recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, but that too has now become an annual Halloween tradition thanks to its wonderful contrast of flavours and addictive appeal. I make these every single year a few days before Halloween, and even though I use sesame oil all year round, that smell of the sesame oil hitting the pan will always remind me of Halloween thanks to these delicious seeds. While Halloween brings out the worst sweet tooth in me as I find myself craving all of my favourite Halloween chocolates and candy, my Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Seeds are, dare I say, my favourite of all the Halloween treats! 

Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart. 

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
4 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. On a rimmed baking sheet, evenly spread pumpkin seeds. Bake for 1-hour or until seeds are golden-brown and crisp. Stir several times during baking.
2. In a medium bowl combine 2 Tbsp sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne pepper.
3. In a medium non-stick skillet heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar. Cook while stirring until all seeds are coated in caramelized sugar. 
4. Immediately transfer seeds into bowl of spices and toss to coat. Let cool. Store in an airtight container for about 1-week.

Listening To:

Mater of None Playlist on Spotify

Recipe's I Love: Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

This past Fall I made the big (and long overdue) move out from under my moms roof, and into a lovely, downtown condo with my boyfriend Chris.  The move sparked many wonderful changes in my life, but perhaps the most unexpected one was how it affected some of my favourite recipes. 

You know that exhilarating feeling that you get when a recipe turns out fantastic, knowing that you have a new killer dish to add to your repertoire? Anyone who has experienced that feeling, must also know how quickly that feeling can diminish the more that dish gets repeated. It becomes apart of your routine, making that first bite a little less special each time it's made. It's disappointing when you can become so disinterested in something that you used to enjoy and appreciate so much. 

Like I said, moving in with Chris has ignited a lot of change in my life, but what surprised me the most was how it breathed new life into those old stand-by recipes, reminding me why I still find myself turning to them time and time again. Watching someone else get to experience those first bites of a great dish made me remember what made them so special in the first place. Suddenly the smells became more fragrant, the juices flowed more freely, and my tastebuds were more alert. It was like that first bite all over again! 

Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Though recently I had declared that I wanted my blog to primarily focus on recipes that I have personally developed myself, getting to revisit these old third-party-sourced recipes with new eyes made me want to start a new series on my blog entitled 'Recipes I Love.' With so many recipes on the Internet, it's easy to get overwhelmed and not now where to begin. It can be incredibly discouraging when you put the time, money, and effort into making a dish, only to have it fail, wasting all of those ingredients, and your precious time! This is exactly why I want to start sharing my favourites with you, so you can learn which resources to trust, and which recipes you can turn to when you're in a bind.

This brings me to the second dish in this series (the first being Ina Garten's Aglio E Olio), which also just happens to be from the lovely Ina, Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin. Firstly, what I adore about this recipe is just how simple the marinade is to prepare, filled with ingredients that I always like to keep in my kitchen. I also love that I can quickly prepare the marinade in the morning, and leave the raw pork tenderizing and soaking up all that flavour while bathing in it all day. Doing that little bit of work in advance means simply searing and roasting the pork come time for dinner, allowing you to relax and enjoy your night off. This dish always comes out perfect, with a great herbaceous and tangy crust, and a vibrant pink centre that will have you and your loved ones salivating! I love everything about this simple recipe and know that you will too! Give the recipe a try here and let me know if you have added it to your favourite-recipe-repertoire as well! 

Listening To:
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (full album!)

The Risotto Myth

Homemade Asparagus & Green Pea Risotto with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Garnish

It was only October of 2013 that I was nervously preparing for my evening class at George Brown Chef College, my stomach in knots over the thought of making risotto from scratch for the first time ever. I remember feeling sick with worry over making the notoriously difficult-to-prepare dish. I had heard how difficult it was to achieve the loose, yet not soupy, creamy, yet not mushy texture of the starchy rice, as well as the dedication involved to the preparation, leaving the cook handcuffed to the stove for the duration of the cooking process. Now look at me! Just over a year later, I feel like a risotto-making pro! It turns out that risottos reputation as being a difficult-to-prepare dish is actually nothing more than a myth! In fact, I even find making risotto relaxing, and simple enough to whip up mid-week when I feel like I have a fridge full of nothing! 

The trick to making risotto is patience and practice. Yes, it's true, you do need to man the stove for the duration of the cooking process, but that doesn't mean that you can't step away to begin setting the table, or prepare an accompanying dish. The trick is to allow yourself to control the product, as opposed to the product controlling you, which comes with practice. It takes practice to know when to add another ladle of broth and when to season, and when you start to trust your instincts and understand how your product and your equipment (pan, stove, etc.) works, everything becomes second nature. Of course much of what you learn about making risotto will come from physically making risotto, but I do have some helpful tips to offer you before you dive into your first successful risotto-making experience. 

Make Extra - First off before you even begin, ask yourself what you're having for dinner tomorrow. If you don't know the answer to that, or don't have a side dish, make extra risotto! Trust me, you will be thanking yourself the next day when you are turning that leftover gummy risotto into beautiful crispy on the outside, and creamy and cheesy on the inside arancini (AKA fried rice balls). 

Mince Your Onions - Whether you use onions or shallots, make sure that you mince your onion as finely as humanly possible. This will take a little extra time and effort, but the results will be worth it. Think of it this way, you want the pieces of onion to simply flavour the dish, but otherwise go unnoticed. You want them to melt right into the dish. This means cutting a very fine julienne, and then cutting a just-as-fine cross-section of that. 

Cook But Don't Colour - When cooking your onions you just want to soften them, and get them translucent. You do not want to colour your onions in any way. 

Season From Start To Finish - Just like any dish, risotto wants to be seasoned throughout the cooking process, allowing the flavours to marry and develop. I tend to season my risotto with salt and white pepper at every addition of broth. Every time I stir a new ladle of broth in, I immediately follow with a pinch of both salt and pepper.  

You Can Add But You Can't Take Away - As much as you want a well-seasoned dish, you must remember the golden rule "you can always add, but you can never take away." I find at the beginning of the cooking process I begin with very generous pinches of salt and white pepper. Because I've made risotto before and know how bland it is to start, I feel confident with a bit of a heavy hand at the start, knowing that I will not over-season. About ten or so minutes into the cooking process, begin tasting for seasoning. This will allow you to know if you should continue with generous pinches of salt and pepper, or whether you should transition to more delicate pinches. Continue tasting and seasoning, going lighter on the seasoning as the rice begins to soften.

It's near the end of the cooking process that you need to be careful. This is where you must remind yourself of that golden rule. It's always better to err on the side of caution and add too little salt and pepper (you can always add more!) than too much. You can look up every trick in the book for how to fix an over-salted or over-peppered dish, but you're pretty much stuck. Also remember that you will be adding grated parmigiano reggiano to your risotto as the final step, meaning that the natural saltiness of the parm will season your risotto as well. I like to leave my risotto slightly under-salted before adding the parm to ensure I don't over salt once the cheese is added. 

The Wooden Spoon Trick - One of the best tricks for knowing when to add another ladle of broth is the wooden spoon trick. The trick is to drag your wooden spoon (I use a flat-ended wooden spatula) down the centre of the pan and watch how the product reacts. If the spoon left an empty trail behind it and the risotto mixture isn't swimming to cover it, you are ready for another ladle. If the risotto mixture quickly pools to cover the trail, you may wait before adding the next ladle. The more you practice making risotto, the less you have to rely on this. 

Soupy Is Better Than Gluey - This is one of the most vital steps to making risotto. When you are removing your risotto from the stove to serve, you want it to be loose, but not soupy, BUT soupy is better than gluey. Am I confusing you yet? The optimal texture for risotto should be loose enough so that when you put your mound of risotto on a plate, and shake the plate side to side, the risotto should expand to the sides of the plate. If the risotto stays in the mound on the plate and doesn't expand, it needs another ladle of broth to become looser. I say that soupy is better than gluey because even soupy risotto will begin to congeal as it cools, which means that a soupy risotto may reach that perfect texture a few minutes after it is removed from the stove. An even slightly gluey risotto will begin to congeal as it cools as well, meaning that your initial gluey risotto, will become even gluier in a matter of minutes. Again, finding that optimal texture will take practice. 

Serve Immediately - As I stated above, risotto begins to congeal and become gluey the moment it is taken off the heat (this doesn't mean you can just leave the pan of risotto on the heat either, when it's done it's done!), so the moment that risotto hits the plate, it must be served immediately if you want all that patience while cooking to be worth it. 

I hope all those tips haven't scared you away from making risotto, and instead have you amped up to try your hand at making it yourself! Please give risotto a try in your own kitchen and let me know how it goes! If you should find yourself the middle of making your risotto and scared that you're doing something wrong, shoot me a tweet @thisgingerrose and I may be able to jump in and give your my two cents! 

Listening To:

Alt-J - Lovely Day

Recipe Testing with Roasted Golden Beet Soup

Ever since I was a little girl, my food hero has always been my Oma, my mothers German mother. My foodie admiration over my Oma had to have started with her sneaking me naughty treats that I wasn't supposed to have, behind my mothers back when I was just a wee little gingy. My foodie admiration for my hilarious Oma grew as I started helping her out in the kitchen, rolling and cutting cookie dough, beating eggs, dusting icing sugar on treats, and so much more. I adored my Oma's cooking as a child, but I didn't see her as the cooking and baking wizard that she truly is until I started really playing around in my own kitchen all by myself. It was only then that I realized how special her natural knack for creating the most satisfying of comfort foods really was. She had a way about making flavours explode in your mouth, seasoning and adding her secret little touches until the dish was just so. It was this natural knack for seasoning and flavouring that I always admired and aspired to have myself, and one that comes to mind almost each and every time I find myself in the kitchen.

It was last week after I unexpectedly had a free weekday to myself to play in the kitchen, that I was faced with three golden beets the size of my head, that I purchased from Pete's Fresh Organics at the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market, that my Oma's cooking once again popped into my head. One of my Oma's most beloved signature dishes is her out-of-this-world beet borscht. Made with beef shank and lots of love, her beet borscht is one of the most delicious and satisfying comfort foods to ever touch my tongue. So naturally, at the sight of those giant, golden beets, I could think of nothing else but trying to create a golden beet soup that maybe, just maybe, might compare to my Oma's infamous borscht. 

Having cooked mainly with red beets in the past, and after seeing lots and lots of golden beet salads and not a whole lot else in my research, I was a little weary at whether golden beets would work just well as red beets when made into soup. Some sources stated that golden beets are sweeter and more flavourful than red beets, while other sources stated the exact opposite! I had no idea if the golden beets would work at all, but the only way to find out was to try! 

With a cool chill in the air, I didn't feel like venturing out to get groceries, so I decided to make the soup using only what I had on hand. To mimic the meaty flavour of the beef shank in my Oma's soup, I sautéed some chopped bacon, cooked the onion in the bacon fat, and re-added the bacon back into my soup while it simmered, as well as adding a rich beef stock. I also chose to grate the beets after being roasted to create the same texture that my Oma's red beets had in her borscht. I added basic flavour enhancers like salt, white pepper, a bay leaf, and garlic before and while the soup was simmering, thinking that that would be everything I needed to achieve a flavourful soup. I was wrong. After simmering for a half hour, as I kept tasting and lightly adding salt and pepper, my soup still tasted very bland and lack-luster. It was here that I lost all chance at posting an exact recipe for the blog right away as well as replicating my Oma's borscht, as I began to transfer cups of the soup to various different pots, and play with different arrangements of seasonings and spices in each one, finding the perfect combination that could make soup worthy of serving to anyone but myself. 

A little lemon juice, grated ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, a whirr of the immersion blender, and a quick strain through a sieve got my soup to a place that I can say was absolutely incredible! It was when I decided to follow my intuition and trust my taste buds, as opposed to trying to copy someone else's dish, that I was able to achieve greatness (yes, the soup was THAT great!) and something that I could be proud to say was uniquely my own. 

This soup was a great lesson in cooking inspiration. It showed me that although something may spark an idea in the kitchen, you have to trust yourself and your taste buds above all else, and be willing to take some chances every now and then in order to get the results you crave. My Oma's tried and true comforting German recipes will always inspire me in the kitchen, but it's her natural kitchen wizardry, and knack for going with the flow and trusting her instincts that has truly shaped me to be the cook I am today. No, my Roasted Golden Beet Soup didn't taste anything like my Oma's beet borsht, but it was just as delicious and may just spark some other passionate foodie to try and replicate in the kitchen!

* Note: Because I have only made this recipe once and there was so much seasoning play involved, the recipe is not exact yet. I am hoping to make it again soon so I can post an exact recipe for you to try, but until then, I welcome those familiar and confident with seasoning to have a try at making this. You're going to have to do a lot of tasting, have a lot of patience, and add your seasonings and spices little by little, but if you trust your intuition, I think you will too will be proud of your final product! 

** Beets may be roasted and grated in advance, and left in the fridge until ready to use.

*** Remember, when seasoning you can always add, but you can never take away! Use a very light hand when seasoning, and always taste before adding more!

Ingredients:

3 very large golden beets (or enough beets to equal 3 very large beets), greens cut off

olive oil

2 strips of bacon, diced small

1 tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced or pureed

4 cups beef stock

1 bay leaf

sour cream stirred with a little lemon juice to garnish

Seasoning to play with:*

salt and white pepper to season

approximately 2 tsp lemon juice

approximately 1 pinch cumin

approximately 1/2 - 1 tsp grated ginger

approximately 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Rub beets in olive oil and place in baking dish. Bake for 1 hour to 1.25 hours or until tender when pierced with a fork. Allow to cool. When cooled, rub with a dry paper towel to remove skins. Grate roasted beets into a bowl and set aside.**
2. In a large soup pot, add the bacon and turn heat to medium - medium/low. Cooking, stirring occasionally until browned and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
3. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil and the butter into the soup pot. When heated, add in the onion and sweat, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic in the 30-seconds of cooking.
4. Add in one cup of the beef stock to deglaze the pan, and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. Add the remaining 3-cups of stock. Add bay leaf and grated beets. When warm, taste, and season with salt and white pepper. Reduce heat, and allow to simmer for 30-minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf and puree using an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender or food processor to puree until smooth. Strain and press the soup mixture through a sieve, and re-heat, if needed, on the stove. Taste and season a little at a time with the lemon juice, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt and white pepper. Continue tasting and seasoning until just right!***
6. Ladle into serving bowls and top with a drizzle of the lemon sour cream. Serve hot. 

Listening To:

Michael Jackson - Beat It (or should I say "Beet It?" hah!)

Market Inspired: Caprese Salad

Is there a more perfect sight in the world than a farm fresh, colourful, spontaneously placed caprese salad? Is there a more perfect taste? If there is, I've certainly never seen it or tasted it. With the first of the colourful, multi-sized, farm fresh tomatoes finding their way into local farmers' markets, I've found myself more and more taken by the vibrant, bright colours and big, sweet, and juicy flavours from Ontario's most loved savoury fruit. My newfound love for the humble, Ontario-grown tomato has me so utterly smitten, that I was even moved to change the header on my webpage to reflect this new inspiration. I recently shared a quote that summed up the experience of eating a farm-fresh tomato perfectly: 

"It's difficult to think of anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard

It's true. Not one bitter thought could permeate the blissful barrier of flavour that tomatoes welcome upon biting into. With dancing, colourful tomatoes on my brain last week at the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market, it was an absolute must for me to stop by the Cookstown Greens tent to chat with my new friend John about all the different varieties of tomatoes we are now beginning to see in our province. There was no doubt that I was walking home with a bag of those red, orange, yellow, and purple balls of perfection, to be utilized in the only way I could imagine, paired with Monforte Dairy Water Buffalo Fresco Cheese (similar buffalo mozzarella, but more crumbly and absolutely divine!) as apart of a simple caprese salad. Toss in my best quality olive oil that I got from an olive press in the Golan Heights in Israel, some leaves of fresh basil growing on my kitchen windowsill, and finish it off with a generous turn of fresh cracked pepper, and one of the most perfect sights and tastes in the world (no hyperbole here) is complete. 

Visit the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market webpage to learn more about our growing community market.

Note: I have not provided the quantity of each ingredient, as it is really not needed. When preparing, just remember that each bite should contain every ingredient. I prefer to go a little heavier on the cheese,  basil, and olive oil rather than not have enough.

Ingredients:

small Ontario farm-fresh tomatoes (a combination of different varieties and sizes)

Monforte Dairy Water Buffalo Fresco cheese

fresh basil leaves

very good quality extra virgin olive oil

fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Cut some of the larger and medium-sized tomatoes in half, leaving the remainder of the tomatoes in tact. Tear off pieces of the cheese and place overtop. 
2. Tear the basil leaves overtop and drizzle over enough olive oil so that each tomato gets a slick coating. Finish with fresh cracked pepper. 

Listening To:

Neutral Milk Hotel - King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1

Market Inspired: Shiitake Mushroom & Leek Risotto

It's gotta be one of the best feelings in the world, watching as something that was once just a concept, just a dream, come to fruition with such success! It's been only two weeks of having the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market open for business, but already our little dream-come-to-life has been filling me with so much inspiration! Getting to work at the market each Thursday, interacting with the farmers, artisans, and chefs who work so hard to come into the city to proudly sell their wares and share their love for Ontario, has been such a fulfilling experience for me. I love getting to explore all the new produce, products, and dishes on display each week, with my imagination going wild at the possibilities for play in the kitchen. 

So incredibly overwhelmed by the spectacular selection on opening day, it took me a while to decide what exactly I would make from my market finds on day one. With my grocery bag already filled with 100-Acre Bakery Walnut Sourdough and Sundried Tomato Sourdough bread, Mad Gringo Hot Sauce BBQ Sauce, Albion Hills Farm Pepperettes, and Allison's At The Best Frozen Chicken Curry Pot Pies, and my belly full of a steak and grilled bell pepper sandwich from Localista food truck, I had to stop getting distracted by food I could begin devouring immediately, and start thinking about a special meal I could prepare for the weekend. 

After chatting with the lovely couple from Waymac Mushroom Farm about all of the incredible health benefits of mushrooms, particularly shiitake mushrooms, I couldn't get the idea of a savoury shiitake mushroom risotto out of my head. Anne from Waymac assured me that although I was more familiar with creminis for risotto, the shiitakes would leave me very pleased with my results. With a paper bag full of Waymacs gorgeous shiitakes, I made my way over the stunning presentation of vegetables at Highmark Farms tent, with my sights set on fresh leeks. Although the bright green asparagus would have been a delicious addition to the risotto, I wanted something that would compliment the shiitakes, but not overpower it. With their delicate yet distinct flavour that can be compared to a very subtle garlic and onion flavour, leeks were the perfect accompaniment to the shiitakes. 

Come Sunday night, after a busy weekend, I couldn't wait to attack my market finds in the kitchen by preparing a special market-inspired Shiitake Mushroom & Leek Risotto for my mom and my boyfriend Chris. With Chris being Italian, I was a little nervous that my risotto wouldn't be up to par, but thank goodness for those market finds, with their big fresh flavours, and wonderful textures, my risotto turned out pretty damn awesome...if I do say so myself! I was so proud of the results, and kept rejecting my lemon chicken, that was also served that evening, to go back for more servings of risotto. As if I wasn't amped up enough at the idea of cooking with my market finds each week, after finding such success with my market-inspired Shiitake Mushroom & Leek Risotto, I was downright giddy walking through the market this week, dreaming up what market meal I would create next! 

Be sure to come by the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market at Avenue Road and Roe Avenue each Thursday from 3:00 - 7:00 pm! 

* You will likely not need all of the chicken stock, but it's good to have heated on hand just in case.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp cold butter, separated
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1 Ib shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 cups arborio rice
about 3/4 cup dry white wine
approximately 900 mL low-sodium chicken stock*
salt & white pepper to season
about 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
a handful fresh parsley, finely chopped, to garnish

Directions:

1. Place chicken broth in a medium pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer.
2. Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp butter and melt. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes. Add the leeks and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook until liquid has been released and evaporated, and mushrooms are softened.
3. Add the arborio rice to the mushroom mixture and coat in vegetable and butter mixture and heat through, about 1-2 minutes. 
4. Add just enough wine to cover mixture and cook until reduced by half. 
5. Pour in 2 large ladles of chicken stock and cook, stirring constantly. You want your mixture to remain soupy at all times. As the rice soaks up the liquid, continue to add ladles of chicken stock in, seasoning with salt and white pepper at each new addition. Continue repeating this process, while tasting for seasoning often, until the rice has reached an "al dente" texture (about 20-minutes). Finish by stirring in 2 tbsp cold butter and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Garnish with parsley and additional Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

Listening To:

Coeur de Pirate - Wicked Games (The Weeknd Cover)

Quinoa-Stuffed Butternut Squash: Celebrating Celiac Awareness Month with Campbell's

I was probably in grade five or six when I first learned what Celiac disease was. My Zhada was diagnosed with it, which at the time didn't mean much to me other than less challah at our Shabbat dinners. It wasn't until a few months after that when one of my best friends at the time, Nikki, was also diagnosed with the disease that I realized how much it can affect ones life. I witnessed Nikki's frustration at not being able to eat pizza at parties with all of her friends, or eat her moms amazing Israeli couscous salads that drove everyone wild at BBQ's, as well as watching her give in to temptation, and be faced with horrible, debilitating stomach pains for the remainder of her day. I thought it was so unusual that all of a sudden I knew two people who had this strange disease that was previously foreign to me. Being such a big food lover myself, with my favourite foods at the time being pasta, pizza, baguette, breaded chicken fingers, and pie (I swear I wasn't a fat kid) I couldn't understand how my Zhada and Nikki would be able to happily go about their days excluding these wonderful treats that I had taken for granted my whole life. 

Now it seems you can't go through one day without hearing the words "gluten-free," with a huge spike in the Celiac population in Canada, and much greater access to gluten-free products. Although many people claim to be gluten intolerant (which recent research has shown is actually a fallacy), those actually struggling with Celiac disease have much more serious repercussions to going against a gluten-free diet such as the inability of your body to absorb important nutrients (such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, and minerals) as well as symptoms such as anemia, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, cramps, bloating, and irritability. Not fun. 

For the month of May the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness has declared it to be Celiac Awareness Month to spread information, tips, recipes, and more all about the disease that now affects 1 in 133 persons in Canada. To take part in this health-focused month, Campbell's Canada challenged select Canadian food bloggers to help raise awareness for Celiac disease, by creating a unique, gluten-free recipe featuring their newly launched No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth (that is of course, gluten-free!). Campbell's generously sent myself and the rest of the bloggers participating their brand new broth for us to play around with, and create something we would be proud to share and serve to our Celiac friends and family. After much thought and research I finally came up with a recipe for Quinoa-Stuffed Butternut Squash with sauteed spinach, onions, sage, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese that I knew anyone (Celiac or not!) would go wild for! This is a great side dish to serve at parties thanks to its large portions and striking presentation, and is a cinch to prepare! 

To encourage readers and at-home cooks to play around with their own gluten-free recipes, Campbell's has been kind enough to provide me with coupons for FREE cartons of their No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth for me to give out to my readers! Want to get your hands on some free Campbell's broth? The first 25 readers to comment on this post will have a coupon sent directly to them*!  #CampbellsGlutenFree #promo

*Coupons will only be sent within Ontario.

Ingredients:
1 medium/large butternut squash
olive oil for roasting & frying
1 cup quinoa
2 cups Campbell's No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 handfuls baby spinach
4 heaping tbsp ricotta cheese
2 sage leaves, very finely chopped
salt & white pepper to season
about 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut vertically down the centre of the butternut squash. Rub exposed flesh with olive oil and place, cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until fork tender. Cool until ready to handle.
2. In the last half hour of the squash baking, prepare the filling. Add quinoa to a medium pot and add the Campbell's vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook for 15-minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5-minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. In a medium sauté pan, heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent and softened. Add the garlic and spinach and stir. Cover with a lid and steam for 1-2 minutes, or until spinach has wilted. Remove from heat.
4. Carefully cut a 1/2-inch border around the inside of the butternut squash flesh, and scoop out flesh inside (leaving just enough to allow the squash to stand up and act as a carrier for the quinoa filling). Add the scooped out flesh to the cooked quinoa and combine with a fork while mashing the squash.
5. Add the onion and spinach mixture, ricotta, and sage to the quinoa mixture. Stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and white pepper as needed. Taste again and season once more if needed. Fill hallowed out squash shells evenly with quinoa mixture and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. 
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until re-heated. Serve immediately. 

Listening To:
Misun - Eli Eli

Hot Honey Garlic Wings

Today makes it officially one week since my last day at the soul-sucking, tired pub that I had been working at for almost two years. Although I feel great relief leaving a place that was bad for my self esteem and personal and professional development, there are still many things that I will miss, and in fact already miss. Firstly, a week without my lovely co-workers who had become part of family has felt like an eternity. I miss our stories, tricks, dancing, singing, silly voices, and hijinks and hope so deeply that we can hold onto that as we pursue new paths. Despite the stress it caused me at the time, I miss the crazy characters that stuck to the bar like fruit flies on a hot day, merely for the zany stories that I could share and act out once back in the comfort of my own home. And though I hate to say it, I can't help but miss the terrible-for-my-diet pub food that I would get to indulge in almost every shift. 

Perhaps it's because I miss all of what I've left behind, or maybe it's just as simple as I was craving wings, but digging into a big serving of hot and spicy wings may always remind me of the two years I spent playing the role of "waitress." No matter the reason, wings were a fantastic choice to make for myself and mom in the midst of a busy and productive week full of school assignments, presentations, and projects, and trying to wrap my head around finding a job that will allow me to get my foot in the door to start my career. My Hot Honey Garlic Wings may taste nothing like those from the pub (oh these babies are worlds better!), but they still give me that same feeling of escape that I would feel when I got those 5-10 minutes to myself to sit at the bar and ignore everyone around me for a break. Super quick, sticky, and sweet with a big hit of heat, these wings are a great escape for anybody to indulge in!

Ingredients: 

24 chicken wings

1/4 cup brown sugar

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1 cup water, separated, plus more if desired

3 tbsp honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup chilli sauce 

3 tbsp Sriracha Hot Sauce

5 dashes Franks Red Hot Sauce

2 tbsp corn starch

salt and pepper to season
cilantro, chopped, for garnish (optional)
toasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish (optional)
limes, sliced, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly spray a baking sheet (preferably nonstick) with oil. Arrange chicken wings in a single layer and lightly season with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crispy. 
2. Towards the end of the chicken wings baking, begin the sauce. In a small saucepan set to medium heat, bring the brown sugar, garlic, ginger, 1/2 cup water, honey, soy sauce, chilli sauce, Sriracha Hot Sauce, and Franks Red Hot Sauce to a boil. 
3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water to a small bowl and stir in the corn starch. Stir into the sauce and continue cooking until thickened. You may add more water at this point if you so desire.
4. Remove chicken wings from oven and place in a medium bowl. Add the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Arrange the coated chicken wings back on the baking sheet and place back in the oven. Set the oven to broil, and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Keep your eyes on the wings so they don't burn! Serve immediately with additional sauce (as needed) and cilantro, peanuts, and limes for garnish.

Listening To:

Wild Beast - Mecca (Present Tense)

Mini Potato & Kale Gratins Featuring Summer Fresh Kale Dip

Getting to take part in the Summer Fresh 2013 Blogger Tour was a ton of fun and a great way to learn about how a large and successful company like that runs, but one of the best parts of the day was getting to try out a number of Summer Fresh's new products! All of the products I got to try were fantastic, but the one that I couldn't get off my mind was, surprise surprise, Summer Fresh Kale Dip.

My love affair with kale continues with this new and easy way to make kale apart of your diet. It's easy to get sick of kale when you are continually using it in the same way, which for me is always a mostly raw salad, but Summer Fresh's new Kale Dip allows you to make kale apart of just about any meal in a new and interesting way. Before ending our day-long tour, Summer Fresh handed each of us a large box full of exciting new Summer Fresh products (with the kale dip being a last minute addition) and asked us to play around with them to create an appetizer AKA "Appy" recipe featuring one of the products they sent home with us. The best part about all this? All of the submitted Appy recipes will be voted on by the public, and the winner will win a grand prize worth $850!

With a fridge full of new Summer Fresh products I was inspired to cook up a storm! I tried making a number of different recipes using the products provided, some of which were tasty successes, and others...not so much. The hands down winner in my book was the Mini Potato & Kale Gratins that I made, featuring Summer Fresh's Kale Dip. I knew I wanted my recipe to feature mostly vegetables, with very few ingredients and steps to make. With scalloped potatoes still fresh in my mind from perfecting them at chef school, I had the idea of creating mini potato gratins using Summer Fresh Kale Dip in between the layers of potato and gruyere cheese, as opposed to the most commonly used milk or cream. I had no clue if my recipe would work out, especially after seeing the disaster that was my  baked bloomin' onion that I had intended to be dipped into Summer Fresh's Jalapeno Greek Yogurt Dip, but amazingly, they turned out so fantastic! The tiny gratins, which were made in muffin tins, are the perfect Appy size, were crazy easy to make, and tasted so incredibly delicious thanks to the creaminess that the Summer Fresh Kale Dip added to the dish. Whether I win the contest or not, I already feel like a winner having this great recipe to turn to for my next party or gathering!

See it up on the Summer Fresh site here!

Ingredients:
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & very thinly sliced
1 x 227g/8oz Summer Fresh Kale Dip
about 3/4 cup gruyere cheese, grated
butter, to grease pan
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with buter.
2. Layer one or two potato slices into the bottom of each muffin cup. 
3. Top with about 1/2 tsp Kale Dip, a very light sprinkle of gruyere, and a bit of salt and pepper. Continue layering potatoes with the kale dip, cheese, salt, and pepper until potatoes reach the top of the cup. 
4. Cover tray with tin foil and bake for about 30-minutes, or until tender when inserted into the centre with a knife. Remove foil half way through cooking. Run a knife around each cup and carefully pop out and serve immediately. 

Listening To:

Arcade Fire - We Exist

Kale & Apple Salad With Nuts & Goat Cheese

I know. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "enough with the damn kale Danielle!" You're probably reading this wondering how in the heck I'm not sick of kale yet. 'How the hell is this chick not sick of this leafy green that she seems to be using in the same way over and over again?! What a hoot this chick must be with her never-ending kale salads.' I have to be honest, after making so many different variations on kale salads this summer, I was just as sick of kale as you would imagine I would be. I was just about to throw in the towel (or the kale!) and whip out a box of KD or frozen hot and spicy chicken fingers, when I realized that if I didn't eat that last half bunch of kale that very day, it would go bad, a thought that would surely traumatize me for the rest of the week, meaning sleepless nights laying  in bed feeling guilty self-hatred about wasting good food. I knew that if I was going to make good use out of that kale, I would have to get creative and come up with a completely different type of kale salad from anything I have made before. With a big bowl full of fresh, hand-picked Ontario apples, that task wasn't too daunting. As soon as I got out my pad of foolscap to start jotting down kale salad ideas, scribbling down different flavour combinations that would shine with apples and kale, my stomach began to rumble and I started to get excited about kale once again. Who woulda thunk it? 

My apple and kale salad turned out to be just the combination I was looking for to drag me out of my kale rut. The crunchy, sweet, and slightly tart Ontario apples worked perfectly against the slightly bitter kale. I knew that I would have to play with textures to get me devouring this salad until the bottom of the bowl, so I first toasted up some slivered almonds for a crunch and warm, nutty flavour, as well as a handful of trail mix filled with an assortment of other whole nuts (including peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and raisins). To contrast all that crunch from the nuts and the apple, I crumbled in some tangy goat cheese to add a wonderful creaminess. A light sprinkle of some chia seeds for extra healthy points, and a drizzle of some store-bought vinaigrette dressing (yes, I cheated a little!) and this salad was ready for tasting! One taste said it all. This is was definitely my new favourite salad, not just kale salad, but salad in general! It had everything I was looking for in terms of health benefits and big flavours, and made me forget all about that box of KD and frozen chicken fingers! 

* Don't choose a creamy vinaigrette as the goat cheese will already give the salad the creaminess to offset the crunch from the other toppings.

(serves one)

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch kale, washed, dried, torn into smaller pieces

about 1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium eating apple (I used Cortland thanks to its sweet and juicy flavour with just a bit of tartness. Cortlands also take longer to brown, which makes them great for salads!), cut into 1-cm strips 

handful of slivered almonds, toasted

handful of trail mix

about 1/4 cup goat cheese

1 tbsp chia seeds

vinaigrette of your choice* (I used a pear and blue cheese vinaigrette that worked great!)

salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add kale to a medium mixing bowl and drizzle with about 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Using clean fingertips, massage kale for about 1-minute, or until the kale has softened slightly and is not tough. 
2. Add in the apple strips, slivered almonds, trail mix, goat cheese, and chia seeds and toss. Add the vinaigrette (a bit at a time so you don't overdress) and toss. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Taste once more and season again if needed. Serve immediately! 

Listening To:

Current Swell - Too Cold