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Barbecued ginger salmon

Posted on March 22, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

My boys love fish. Actually, if I ask my 7 year old what he wants for dinner, he’ll usually say “sea creatures.” I think he’s secretly holding out for blowfish, but he’ll try any type of seafood, and he’s open to most any flavours when it comes to fish. I was at the market and they had the most beautiful bright pink organic Irish salmon – I had to grab a few fillets for dinner.

Needless to say, my boy was thrilled. He insisted on cutting the lemon.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to prepare it when I was at the market. Dill. Blood orange juice. Lime and lemongrass. Honey and soy – salmon is so versatile. But when I got home I had a ginger craving, and my kids love ginger. (My husband, not so much. Actually, he’s not into fish at all. I picked up a thick, juicy rib steak for him when I was at the market.)

What you need:

-salmon fillets
-salt
-cracked pepper
-powdered ginger
-fresh lemon, sliced into thin circles
-2-3 tablespoons melted butter

(and a rib steak for the husband, prepared like this)

What you do:

Brush a light coat of melted butter over the fillets (you can also use olive oil). Salt and pepper them to taste. Dust them with ginger. I use a fair bit, we love the strong flavour of ginger, but if you want to go mild, it’s great as a hint of ginger too.

Heat the barbecue. Drop the temperature to medium and put the fillets on, skin side down. Layer lemons on top of the fish. Close the lid and grill 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Flip so that the fillet is sitting skin side up, but atop the lemon slices for another 5 to 10 minutes. My fillets were very thick so I went closer to 10. The lemons will char but the fish will stay juicy and tender. Fish should be very flakey, cooked through.

This one is great with sauteed mushrooms, French green beans or a zesty vinaigrette salad. If you’ve got leftovers, ginger salmon is great cold, tossed with greens.

Enjoy!

Slow go chicken and mushrooms

Posted on March 8, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

One night I came home extra late from work and Urban Suburban Daddy had made me the most delicious dinner. He was aiming for something similar to Chicken Marsala – but he didn’t realize we had any wine so he improvised. He’s a really good cook – I’m a lucky girl. It’s quick, not too complex and the flavors merge together so beautifully. Enjoy!

What you do:

-4 chicken breasts
-2 cups sliced mushrooms
-salt and pepper
-1/2 cup butter
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-2 cloves chopped garlic
-oregano

What you do:

Brown the chicken in vegetable oil over medium heat, turning once, about 15 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add in the rest of the ingredients except for oregano. Cover and let simmer 18-20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Plate and garnish with a sprinkle of oregano. Serve with side of rice – try our Foolproof rice.

Nana Helen’s potato soup

Posted on March 1, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

This is one of my favourite recipes – it brings back some of my best memories, along with being one of the most delicious soups ever. You know that go-to comfort food that always warms you from the inside out and makes you feel like everything will be okay? Yah, this is it for me.

My Nana Helen was an amazing woman. Her Polish family sure could make magic with very few ingredients. In fact, the only ‘spices’ in her cabinet were salt, pepper and garlic powder, and yet she was quite a good cook. I miss my Nana and I’m glad I learned a few of her recipes, so this one’s for you, Nana Helen.

I’m going to share this recipe with you, and then go enjoy a nice big bowl of this myself – I hope you will too.

What you need:

-6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed into roughly 1/4-inch squares
-1 large onion, diced
-1/2 – 3/4 cup flour
-4 tablespoons butter
-salt and pepper
-pot of water

What you do:

Dice the onion and start sautéeing it in the butter over medium heat in your soup pot. You want to go past caramelizing it and almost to black. This will give the soup a hearty flavour and an even colour as you don’t use a stock for the base.

Once the onion is deeply browned – just shy of burned – start sprinkling flour into the butter, like creating a roux. Keep mixing. A good roux isn’t hard to make, it’s close to equal parts of flour and fat, and at that sweet spot of the perfect balance it’s sort of like a paste. Just keep adding flour and blending into the butter/onion mixture until you think the oil cannot absorb one more bit of flour.

This roux/paste will burn quickly so don’t putz around with it too much. Have the water on hand and start adding it by the cup, stirring constantly. You want the water and the roux to blend well. You can add a bit more flour at this point, and then keep stirring. I like to see it on the thick side.

While mixing in the water you’re also deglazing the bottom of the soup pot from all of that lovely fried onion residue. That’s the flavour!

Once the roux is fully liquified, fill the pot with the diced potatoes, throw in about 2-3 tablespoons of salt and some pepper, to taste. The starch from the potatoes will also help to thicken the soup.

Now let the soup simmer. It can be served as soon as the potatoes are nice and soft – or leave it on your stove to boil down and become even more flavourful within the next day or two.

It’s a bit thick and can get a bit dark, depending on the darkness of the sautéed onion. If you boil too much water off, just top up the pot with more and let boil.

MMMMMMM

Oooey gooey chewy chocolate chip cookies

Posted on February 23, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

For years my cookies were light and fluffy – and either undercooked or crunchy. Every time I’d try someone else’s soft little flat cookies I’d die a little inside. That’s all I wanted from my chocolate chip cookie – maybe a little flat, maybe a little crispy around the edges.

Then I discovered that it was time to step away from the stand mixer and get into it by hand. Yup, good old fashioned hand mixing with a spatula. Turns out I had a serious case of overmixing. The secret to soft, flat melt-in-yer-mouth, ohhhhhh-so-good, oooey, gooey, chewy chocolate chip cookies is no electric beating and minimal cooking time.

What you need:

-2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
–1 teaspoon of baking soda
-big pinch of salt
-1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup packed brown or golden sugar
-1 cup white sugar
-1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Put the room-temperature soft butter in a bow and mush it around with your spatula. Now add sugars and keep mixing. add vanilla and eggs and again, keep mixing and mushing. You want it to be well mixed – but you’ll still see little lumps of butter. By the time you’re done mixing they’re the size of coarse bread crumbs in your mixture. Now add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Throw in the chocolate chips and give a final mixing until everything is even.

Drop one-inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and keep them about an inch and a half apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, making sure to take them out just as they brown. If you’re a fan of crunchy, let them cook a little longer and the edges will crisp up.

These won’t rise. They may be a bit puffy, but basically flat. And gooey. And delicious. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy some before the kids eat every last one, you deserve it.

And, just so you get your cookies to your version of perfection, LifeHacker.com has this handy dandy chart for tweaking your cookie recipe to your personal preference:

LifeHacker.com: Know what to tweak to get the best chocolate chip cookies

Baked butternut zig zag blackbean taquitos

Posted on February 16, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

My kids devoured these – and a fair amount of sour cream too. This makes A LOT and they are good for lunch the next day. If you use larger tortillas (which I did the first time) hubs dubbed them “man-sized” taquitos

What you need:

-1/2 bag of butternut zig zags (pick up a bag at SAM’s Club) or use good ol Butternut Squash strips/cubes
-1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
-1 cup of corn kernels
-1 cup old cheddar cheese, shredded
-4 ounces melted cream cheese
-2/3 cup salsa – go with the spice your kids can handle
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-salt & pepper, to taste
-flour tortillas (small or “man-sized”)
-1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, melted togehter
Garnish for serving: sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce

What you do:

Preheat oven to 375°. Grab a bowl and mix the butternut zig zags, beans and corn. Add the cheese and mix together. In a second bowl stir together melted cream cheese, salsa, spices, salt & pepper. Mix both bowls together.

Scoop up the mix and form a line about an inch wide in the lower half of the tortilla. Rolle the tortilla tightly and place seam down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush taquitos with the oil/butter mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole and/or hot sauce.

The beet chip massacre

Posted on February 9, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

I love making kale chips, veggie chips – root chips are the best. So when I saw this picture in my Facebook feed, I had to ask my friend Nicole, from Lincoln, California, for the recipe.

Beet chips are delicious, good for you, and a whole lot of mess to leave and scare the pants off of the rest of the family!

What you need:

-Beets

What you do:

Nicole says:

No seasoning but I did learn – PEEL THEM.

Literally all I did was slice them (implement of destruction obvious) thin, and because my oven has a dehydrate option stuck them in the oven till they were crispy (turning about 1/2 way through). They can be made in a dehydrator too – will probably just take longer than 30ish minutes per side.

You can also make them in the oven. I have seen recipes that call for 375° for15 to 20 minutes. You have to watch them carefully so they crisp and don’t burn.

photo: star5112

Half-time chili for Super Bowl Sunday

Posted on February 6, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

There are a few Super Bowl foods that we can’t go without. This year I’m not able to go to the party for game day, but my boys love my chili, so I’ve whipped up a pot. I started it on Friday so that it will be ready for half-time on Super Bowl Sunday. Not that it takes 3 days to make, but we all know chili is one of those foods that gets better the longer it simmers. So throw the ingredients in the pot and come back every once in a while and give it a stir. If you are going to the party, just double the recipe.

What you need:

-2 pounds ground beef (your choice of lean, extra lean or medium)
-6 tomatoes or 1 1/2 cans tomatoes or 1.5 jar of tomato sauce (more if you like your chili thinner – you gauge, you can always add more as you prefer)
-1 can of kidney beans (white or red – my boys like the white ones and call them ghost beans)
– 4 heaping tablespoons of chili powder
-2 heaping tablespoons of garlic powder or 3-5 cloves of pressed garlic
-1 1/2 tablespoons salt
-2 tablespoons vinegar
-1 teaspoon ground pepper (white pepper is less spicy, black pepper is fine)
-2 tablespoons cumin
-1 teaspoon paprika

Optional:

-1 large onion, diced ans sautéed
-1 cup corn kernels
-1 diced red and/or green pepper (two peppers are fine if you love peppers)
-cayenne or hot sauce to taste

To serve:

-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-1 container sour cream
-nacho chips
-hot sauce to taste

What you do:

Put all chili ingredients except beans into a pot. Bring temperature up to medium high and stir, stir, stir. Once it’s really starting to cook, drop the temperature down to low – just above minimum. Stir in the beans, put a lid on it and let it simmer.

You can leave it simmering for hours and hours – just pop in to stir it every little while. Each day you may want to add half a cup of water. There is a fair bit of liquid that will cook off, just stir. Each day just put it on the stove and simmer if you’re around.

Chili is ready to serve after an hour, and is really really good, but it’s even better on day two, and on day three it’s perfect! Leftovers are just so good. Eat a bowl on its own, or sprinkle cheese or top with a dollop of sour cream – or both cheddar AND sour cream. You can stir in the hot sauce to your preference, I leave out the heat because my 7 year old hates spicy food, though my 5 year old can pretty much eat fire (like mama!).

Enjoy!

Superfast seafood delight

Posted on February 2, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

You either like seafood or you don’t. My boys and I love almost anything out of the ocean – but my husband won’t have any of it. (Unless it’s battered, fried and served with chips and vinegar. So, basically, no seafood.)

Since the boys and I love seafood, I make this dish when the hubby is working late and we’re short on time. It’s so easy, fast and flexible on the variation of flavours you can create.

What you need:

– 1 pound of frozen mixed seafood (premixed bags available in the freezer section)
– 3 tablespoons butter
– salt and pepper
– 1 clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– rice (here’s our fool-proof rice)

What you do:

Prepare rice and set aside. You can use plain rice or take this up a notch by making lemongrass rice, ginger rice or even curry rice. It’s easy to flavour rice, just add a teaspoon or two of your favourite spice to the water when you cook your rice. Or, if you prefer, toss the cooked rice with some soy.

In a frying pan over high heat, melt the butter and add salt, pepper and garlic. When it’s melted, add the mixed seafood. Most grocery stores carry bags of frozen mixed seafood. I always keep a bag in the freezer for this meal. Our mix has shrimp, mussels, calamari and octopus. Yes, my boys love all of these. You can pick your favourite mix.

There will be some water coming off of the frozen seafood. Let the seafood boil in it until the liquid boils off. You may want to turn down the heat when it’s almost boiled off, or watch carefully and keep tossing to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Top off rice with mixed seafood and serve.

This recipe is very basic, garlic goes with most seafood, but try different flavours:

Coconut curry: Substitute butter for coconut oil and add a heaping teaspoon of curry paste or curry powder to the mix.

Jerk seafood: I have a great jerk spice mix and add a heaping tablespoon to the mix. Note that frying cayenne can cause burning eyes and hurts to breath in, so watch carefully and don’t burn the mixture. I add the jerk seasoning when the liquid is almost boiled off and toss for 20 seconds before removing from heat and serving.

Blackbean garlic sauce: If you’re a fan of blackbean garlic sauce, then you know the jar and have one in the fridge for just such an occasion. When the liquid is reducing, turn down the heat to medium and add two heaping tablespoons to the pan and mix well.

I think I’m going to look for a Spanish Paella version next. Give it a try and let us know what your fave is!

Ridiculously delicious French onion soup

Posted on January 26, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

My husband and I have this thing for French onion soup, and many date nights have been centred around trying new restaurants for their French onion soup. The best we ever had was on our babymoon in Vegas. Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio serves the most rich and hearty French onion soup with Gruyere and Emmentaler!

My version is a little homier and definitely a comfort food with a twist. If I stick with the more plain, stretchy cheese, my sons love this one. It’s delish and fun to eat.

What you need:

– 6-7 onions, sliced – Yellow, Spanish or Bermuda will work
– 4 tablespoons of butter
– 2 tablespoons salt
– cracked pepper
– big pinch of thyme (optional)
– 1 ounce of whiskey (cognac, brandy, rye or scotch will work) (or two ounces if you choose to drink one!)
– 1 pound beef, thinly sliced (often packaged as Chinese fondue meat)
– water
– French bread
– 3 cups of shredded Havarti (you can use Gruyere, Mozzarella or Gouda – mix in Jarlsberg or other Swiss cheeses – you can pick your favourite or mix)

What you do:

The soup needs to be made the day before as it needs a good 24 hours of simmering to really bring the flavours out. But it’s not a lot of work, just a lot of simmering.

Soup:

Slice onions into long, strips, not too thin or they’ll disintegrate. In a soup pot, sauté the onions in the butter on medium heat, really caramelizing them. The darker the better – though don’t let them burn. Add the water, filling the soup pot two inches below the top. Add the salt, whiskey, thyme and cracked pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then drop to medium low, allowing a very slow boil or simmer. Add half of the beef and leave it alone.

You’ll need to allow this to simmer for 24 hours, topping up with water as you lose some. Feel free to nibble on the beef – it’s so delicious – most of it will tenderize and break into small pieces. You may need to add salt and/or pepper, to taste.

Get ready to serve:

About an hour before dinner: Add the other half of the beef and continue to simmer.

15 minutes before dinner: Toast one to two slices of French bread for every serving of soup. With the rich, oniony broth ready, ladle into oven-proof bowls. Add toast to each bowl and cover with a very thick, generous serving of cheese. Put in the oven to broil for couple of minutes. Keep a close eye on this, you want the cheese to brown, but not burn.

The pieces of meat inside the soup are a hearty little treat, and my family loves this addition. This soup just keeps getting better, so save the leftovers for the following day.

If you don’t have oven-proof bowls, don’t worry, you can still make this. After toasting the bread, spread toast on a cookie sheet and cover with shredded cheese. Broil until the desired browning and then place them on the bowls of soup. Spoon a bit of soup over the cheese toasts to melt and moisten.

Mmmmmmmmmmm

Chef Mike Ward’s delicious and easy Bangers and Lentils recipe

Posted on January 19, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

Fancy-Pants Bangers & Lentils with Red Pepper & Onion Relish

Chef Mike Ward’s Fancy-Pants Bangers & Lentils with Red Pepper & Onion Relish

A classic reinvented into something lighter with BIGGER flavour (and shhhhh, healthier), Bangers and Lentils with Red Pepper & Onion Relish is delicious and fast with a good serving of veggies.

What you need:

– 4 sausages (spend $ on goodies), works well with chicken too.
– tin of lentils
– cup of any stock (or water)
– 1/2 a carrot
– 1 onion
– Red pepper
– Bunch of thyme
– Dijon mustard (I love Maille)
– Balsamic vinegar (again, I like Maille)

What you do:

Sausages
Pre-heat oven to 450°. Sear sausages in hot pan with a splash of oil. When you’ve browned both sides, slide them into the oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile…

Lentils
In a pot, sweat off 1/2 finely chopped onion and 1/2 finely chopped carrot with a splash of olive oil. Add rinsed lentils, a heaped tablespoon of Dijon, stock, a few sprigs of thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer on medium heat until lentils suck up most of the liquids.

and…

Onion & Red Pepper Relish
In a pan, add thinly sliced 1/2 onion and thinly sliced red pepper with a very generous splash of olive oil. Sauté until brown. Add a tablespoon or more of balsamic. Reduce 30 seconds more.

Plate a generous mound serving of lentils on plate. Place sausages on top, then your lazy onion and red pepper relish. Dat’s comfort food baby.

Chef Mike Ward began his cooking career at the bright-eyed age of 17 in Sydney, Australia. Mike never believed he would one-day prepare meals for such clientele as Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, and Nicole Kidman. He has cooked in some of Sydney’s and Toronto’s most acclaimed restaurants: Zigolini’s and The Basement in Australia; Prego Della Piazza and Shark City in Toronto, and has owned and operated several catering companies. Throughout his career Mike has also shared his passion and experience through group and private cooking lessons allowing keen home cooks to develop their skills.

In 2000 Mike produced and directed an award-winning cooking/travel/lifestyle television series that have been viewed in over 40 countries. His great love of creating food content has taken him all over the world, writing, photographing and curating recipes and food related stories for highly respected print, online and television outlets. He serves as a consult to Centennial Colleges’ culinary department, and is also involved in many charities including Dancing with Parkinson’s.

@MikeWardTO

@mikedaniel21

Chef Mike Ward’s “Not yuck roasted cauliflower”

Posted on January 12, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

FEATUREDnot yuck roasted cauliflower chef mike ward

not yuck roasted cauliflower chef mike ward

Not yuck roasted cauliflower by Chef Mike Ward

We loved interviewing Chef Mike Ward so much we’ve gone back for second helpings! He’s got a lot of very simple and flavourful recipes that are surprisingly kid friendly, easy and fast enough for a busy family to add to the repertoire. Like this cauliflower. It takes 15 minutes and is not yuck. What more can you ask for?

“Even I can’t stand most cauliflower recipes,” this chef admits, “but this one will have you falling in love with this lowly sad little vegetable.”

What you need:

–Cauliflower, broken into florets (sprigs)
– Coconut or extra-virgin olive oil
– Grated Parmesan
– Salt & pepper
– Chili flakes (optional)
– Lemon or lime

What you do:

Preheat your oven to 425°. On a roasting tray, bust up a cauliflower. Drizzle it with the oil. Sprinkle it with Parmesan. Season it with salt, pepper and chili flakes.

Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, squeeze over lemon or lime and serve.

You’ll be blown away how much of a meat-like texture this roasted cauliflower dish takes on. It’s perfect as a rustic side dish, or as a hearty vegetarian main. For a vegan option, replace Parmesan with fennel.

@MikeWardTO

@mikedaniel21

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