Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

This is another wonderful recipe I found on Orangette. I served it for lunch to the Engineer and his father, and all three of us heartily approve. I just love roasted butternut squash! And chickpeas too, of course. I found this healthy recipe delicious both with and without dressing, warm or cold. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I omitted the clove of garlic from the roasting pan, but I did have garlic in the dressing. I also ended up using 5 Tbsp of olive oil in the dressing, because my tahini was quite bitter. If this is the case with yours too, you could also reduce the amount of tahini and keep the rest of the ingredients as they are. I served the dressing on the side, because it was then easier to refrigerate unused servings.

For the salad
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 ½ lb.), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, pressed
½ tsp ground allspice
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
a 19-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ of a medium red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

For the tahini sauce
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp well-stirred tahini
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to taste



Preheat the oven to 425 °F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a good pinch or two of salt. Using a large spoon or your hands, toss until the squash pieces are evenly coated. Turn them out onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.



Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add tahini sauce to taste, and toss carefully. Serve, with additional salt for sprinkling.

Artificial sweeteners

The Engineer and I have different views regarding artificial sweeteners. He believes that anything that causes his calorie intake to drop is good. He especially likes diet sodas, because he doesn’t want to waste calories on drinks – he’d rather have his calories come from good food. While I agree with this in principle, I believe that artificial sweeteners are not healthy and I’d rather have naturally sweetened drinks, even if it means drinking less. But the scientific community is still split as to how safe different sweeteners are, so I have no definitive answer on that.

It’s become apparent, though, that artificial sweeteners are linked to weight gain. They can prevent individuals from feeling satiated and cause them to eat more calories in total. That article is very interesting and clearly written. (Another interesting article describes how the body regulates food intake based on the combination of fat, sugar and salt in your food.) I’ve heard there are sodas made with sugar derived from the stevia plant; I’ve even seen sugar from the stevia plant sold under the brand name Truvia in the States (I haven’t seen it yet in Canada, but then again, my grocery store is notorious for carrying nothing).

Then again, in the case of sodas in particular, I’m now torn as to whether I should drink any at all. Major soda companies (Coke and Pepsi, as well as their various sub-products) are notoriously disrespectful of the environment; they have gone so far as to deprive entire villages of drinkable water (as well as dumping toxic chemicals all over the place). Le Monde had an article on the subject, and I recommend this video, in French, on the subject. I haven’t given up soda altogether, but I’d love to know of brands that are more ecologically and socially responsible.

However, avoiding artificial sweeteners altogether is near impossible, since they are even in the tap water we drink, the same way that water now contains leftover antibiotics and hormones that aren’t filtered out at water treatment plants. So in many ways, even when we cook our meals from scratch, we don’t always know what we are ingesting (do you know what that cow ate before it became your hamburger?).

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject in the comments. Do you buy meat from trusted sources (like beef straight from the farm, or organic pork or poultry)? Have you found another preferred drink besides soda? Do you try to avoid artificial foods in general?

Épices de cru

Ça fait un moment que je vous le mentionne, alors là, je vais en parler pour vrai. J’ai maintenant une marque d’épices préférée : Épices de cru. Plusieurs magasins en vendent, mais les deux magasins qui y sont dédiés sont La Dépense ainsi que Olives et Épices, tous deux au marché Jean Talon. On y trouve de tout (mélasse de grenade! nori! 50 000 sortes de thé!), et de toutes les sortes (vous irez voir combien de sortes d’huile d’olive ils vendent).

Épices de cru ne vend pas (ou peu) d’épices moulues, puisqu’elles perdent leur saveur plus rapidement que les épices entières. De plus, pour choisir entre plusieurs sortes, les employés nous font sentir les épices pour voir laquelle on préfère. C’est ainsi que j’ai acheté huit gousses de vanille de Madagascar, choisies parmi une demi-douzaine de types différents. En plus, comparez leur taille à celles que j’avais trouvées à l’épicerie il y a un an! Elles sont deux fois plus grosses, sont de bien meilleure qualité, et à huit pour 10 $, sont bien moins chères. Depuis samedi, elles embaument ma cuisine.



Après tout, c’est vrai qu’une même épice goûte différent selon sa provenance; le cas du cacao est assez connu, et celui de l’huile d’olive aussi. Mais c’est le seul magasin que je connais qui me donne le choix. (Il ne manquerait plus que le boucher me donne ce choix-là aussi, comme pour le gars qui peut connaître la race, le sexe et l’âge du bœuf qu’il mange!).

Si vous n’êtes pas à Montréal, vous pouvez commander toutes ces épices sur le site Web d’Épices de cru.

Tomato Soup with Red Onion and Cilantro Stems

After buying fresh cilantro for the turkey meatballs, I realized that it was the perfect time to make this soup with the stems. Of course, I read it too quickly and cut the stems in 2-inch pieces, not ½-inch pieces. I’d recommend the second option. It was still very good, though I think I might use chopped seeded tomatoes next time (crushed tomatoes might be pushing it too far). I served it with cheese straws.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
½ tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cilantro stems, cut into ½-inch lengths
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
sour cream or plain lactose-free yogurt, for serving
cilantro leaves, for serving

Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and cilantro stems, and stir well.



Strain the tomatoes, and add the juice to the saucepan. Then seed the tomatoes, chop them coarsely, and add them to the pan as well. Add the broth, and stir to combine. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the lime juice. Then taste, and adjust the seasoning, if needed.



Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream/yogurt and some cilantro leaves.

Cheese Straws

I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and knew I just had to try it. I used extra sharp cheddar (I just love Irresistibles’ premium quality extra sharp white cheddar cheese; it tastes great and I can digest it just fine). I weighed it rather than measured it by volume, because I grated it extra-fine. The recipe calls for half-and-half; I used cream with lactase drops because I had it on hand, though you could probably use lactose-free milk or, if you want to go the dairy-free route, I’m sure an egg yolk would yield great results here. And for the pepper flakes, I used the ground dried Korean pepper of which I’ve become so enamoured. I found that once the dough was rolled out, a pizza wheel was the perfect tool to cut it into strips.

These golden straws puffed up beautifully and were delicious to boot. I’ll definitely keep them in mind for the next party I attend/host! Presentation may be more uniform if I make round crackers rather than strips, but then they wouldn’t really be straws...

1 ½ cups (about 6 oz) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces (or lactose-free margarine)
¾ cup flour, plus more for dusting
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp half-and-half



Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper in five 5-second pulses, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.



Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.



On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8- by 10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. Cut the dough into thin 8-inch strips, each 1/4- to 1/3-inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Gently transfer the strips to an ungreased cookie sheet (though I lined mine with parchment), leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. The dough may sag or may break occasionally in the transfer, but don’t be concerned — just do your best. The straws can be any length, from 2 to 10 inches.



Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.

Artistic desserts

I wanted to quickly share two links that I liked. They both pertain to what I call “artistic desserts”, not only because they look nice, but because they are actually inspired by art.

First, there’s an article about the artistic desserts served at the Rooftop Garden, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s café (and about Caitlin Williams Freeman, the chef who makes them). I’d love to try one of those if I ever go to San Francisco. I especially like the cake based on Piet Mondrian’s paintings. Of course, the price tag seems a bit steep, but I like the idea. Those who have enough patience could make that one at home.

I also saw cookies that reminded me of Jackson Pollock’s work. And by the way, if you have time to kill, try this website where you can “draw” just like him.

Korean Scallion Pancake

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz’s blog. I really liked it, because it is very simple to make, but also very good. (That being said, I realize only now, as I look at the recipe again, that I messed up: I added the beaten egg to the flour mixture and poured the whole thing over the scallions, instead of adding the egg to the scallions after the flour. Honestly, it’s good both ways!) We served it with a carrot-ginger sauce.

I couldn’t find strips of dried Korean peppers anywhere, but at Aubut, I found some ground Korean pepper, though, from the Épices de cru brand (more on that in a later post). And I think I fell in love with it. You see, I don’t like spicy foods, but this pepper has more of a sweet heat than a spicy one. I’ve used it in a few other dishes since then, and I love its subtle (read non-aggressive) taste.

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup ice-cold water
½ tsp salt
1 large or extra-large egg, lightly beaten (or 2)
1 bunch of scallions
a spoonful of soy sauce
dried Korean pepper

Stir together the flour, water and salt until just mixed.

Chop the green parts of the scallions into 3-inch lengths. Reserve the white parts for another use.

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a 9- or 10-inch skillet, preferably non-stick, until hot. Fry the scallions until they're completely cooked through and soft. Add a touch of soy sauce to the pan when they're almost done, to season the scallions.



If using other ingredients, any vegetables, kimchi, prawns or whatever, add them now, then toss a few times to heat them through.

Pour the pancake batter over the scallions (and other stuff) in the pan, spreading the batter, and cook a few minutes until the bottom is nice and brown underneath. Lift the edge to peek.

Pour the beaten egg on top then swirl the pan to even out the egg a bit, still keeping it pretty uneven. Distribute the dried pepper over the egg and cook until the egg is just beginning to firm near the edges.

Using a wide spatula, flip the pancake and cook for another minute or two until the egg is set and preferably crispy at the edges.

Slide pancake onto a cutting board, then let cool a bit. Cut into wedges and serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Asian Interlude - Rolls

The Engineer and I had some homemade Asian-inspired meals recently. The Engineer made sushi rolls (which he hadn’t done in a really long time). As you can see, we could not procure sushi-grade fish for this meal, so we ended up with a simple fare of smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber. It was enough to get back in the swing of things (we fully intend to get our hands on sushi-grade ingredients in the future). I’m posting a series of simple step-by-step photos for creating the rolls; you can get recipes for the rice online, as well as videos. Suffice it to say that we really appreciated our meal – and at least we knew exactly what was going into it, which isn’t true in many restaurants.







We also tried Vietnamese-style spring rolls. They are quite simple, and you can fill them with whatever you want; we had a veggie version here. Start by putting one (ONE) sheet of rice paper in a bowl of warm water to soften, then transfer it to a plate and put your fillings on top. Fold the top flap, then the sides, and roll it toward you to close it. The trick to rolling these is to do it with just the right tension: too hard and they’ll tear, but too loose and they’ll fall apart. You can see from my finished picture that some are looking better than others – you’ll get better as you make them, don’t worry. We served them here with a carrot-ginger sauce that I really liked (though be warned it’s quite vinegary, which is an acquired taste) as well as with a great peanut sauce (though next time I make it, I might just not add water and skip the stovetop altogether).

Doughnut Muffins

I found a few recipes for doughnut muffins recently and I decided to try one. They are called doughnut muffins because they are made with the same basic dough as doughnuts (at least, a similar recipe to that traditional doughnuts in Baking Illustrated), but they are baked in muffins tins rather than fried. Once baked, doughnut muffins are usually dipped in melted butter and rolled in sugar. Orangette has a recipe where they are dipped in powdered sugar, but the one that looks the most appealing to me is the Baking Bites version, with granulated sugar, which I must say is more my idea of an appetizing donut. However, I skipped this step and decided to simply dust mine with powdered sugar. How you do it is up to you.

The recipe for this dough is a slightly modified version of Molly Wizenberg’s (if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’ll know her as the author of Orangette and A Homemade Life). I loved these muffins when they were still a little warm from the oven; the top was crispy and the crumb was delightfully chewy. Remember to check on them after 25 minutes in the oven; I checked on mine at about 30 minutes and they were already a bit dry. They were delicious on their own, paired with strawberry jam or served with apple juice.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
scant 1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp milk (lactose-free or not)
2 Tbsp buttermilk (or milk with a dash of lemon juice)
1 ½ sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature (or cold margarine)
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, and set a rack to the middle position. Spray a standard-size muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, and whisk to mix them thoroughly. Set aside.

Combine the milk and the buttermilk in a measuring cup, and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for a few seconds, until the butter is soft and creamy. With the motor running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture increases in volume and lightens to pale yellow. It should look light, fluffy, and wonderfully creamy, like frosting. This could take a couple of minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are just combined.



With a wooden spoon, mix ¼ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Continue to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until the dough is smooth and well combined, but do not overmix.



Divide the batter between the cups of the muffin tin. Bake until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars

I made this recipe a while back and for some reason, never got around to posting about it. Clotilde Dusoulier’s Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars were very good, not to mention very healthy. If your bananas aren’t very ripe, or if you are serving these to people with a sweet tooth, I would advise adding a spoonful of brown sugar. If you are sticking to a gluten-free diet, make sure that the oats are certified gluten-free, of course. If you want a nut-free version, you can use flour (gluten-free or not) instead of the ground almonds and olive or coconut oil instead of the almond butter.

2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
½ tsp fine salt
120 g dark chocolate chips
4 very ripe bananas
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup whole almond butter

Preheat the oven to 350 °F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, ground almonds, coconut and salt. Set aside.




In another medium mixing bowl, combine the bananas, vanilla and almond butter; mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Add the oats mixture and mix well. Fold in the chocolate gently.




Pour into the prepared baking dish, level the surface and slip in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is set and golden-brown. Let cool completely before slicing into bars (slice only what you need and cover the rest with foil; keep at room temperature).

Turkey Meatballs with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

I got this recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s blog, though it is also in her book. These meatballs were out of this world! That’s why I only have two pictures – we were too busy eating them to handle a camera. Trust me when I say that these will delight you.

For the meat, you do need a mix of white meat and dark meat. We couldn’t find ground dark-meat turkey, so we used pork, though lamb would work too. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium-high heat, mixing them so that they roast evenly. For the sauce, I recommend starting with the juice of half a lemon, and put lots of cumin. Divine!

½ pound ground white-meat turkey
½ pound ground dark-meat turkey
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 egg
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup golden raisins (chopped if they’re large)
½ cup fine bread crumbs
a few pinches ground cumin
½ tsp salt
a few pinches freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil together in a bowl, preferably using your hands. You don’t want to overwork the meat—that would make your final product tough—but you do want all ingredients to be evenly mixed. Form the mixture into balls of whatever size you like (mine were about 1 inch to 1 ½ inches).



Heat a thin film of olive oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, and sauté the meatballs in batches, so as not to crowd them. As they begin to color, turn them regularly so that they are golden on all sides. They should be done when they are evenly browned and feel medium firm—but not hard—to the touch. Place on a paper towel to catch excess oil. Serve hot, warm, or cold with yogurt sauce.

Lemon-and-Cumin Yogurt Sauce

nonfat plain yogurt (lactose-free or not)
fresh lemon juice
garlic, finely chopped
ground cumin
ground chili
salt
pepper

Mix ingredients to taste in a bowl, and keep chilled until serving.

Soufflé aux carottes

J’avais un sac de carottes qui se languissait dans le frigo. Sur un coup de tête, j’ai décidé de faire un soufflé aux carottes – après tout, j’avais une telle recette dans mon calepin, et j’en avais de très bons souvenirs, même si je ne l’avais pas faite depuis longtemps. Je suis bien contente du résultat, c’était très bon. L’Ingénieur a beaucoup apprécié aussi (malgré qu’il préfère manger les soufflés froids).

6 carottes de taille moyenne (environ 12 oz), pelées
¼ de liqueur à l’orange (comme du Grand Marnier ou du Triple Sec)
1 tasse de lait (avec ou sans lactose)
4 c. à soupe de farine tout usage
½ tasse de sucre
½ c. à thé de cannelle
4 œufs
½ tasse de beurre doux (ou de margarine sans lactose), fondu

Préchauffer le four à 350 °F. Beurrer un moule à soufflé.

Coupez les carottes en morceaux et les faire cuire à la vapeur jusqu’à ce qu’elles soient très tendres.



Mettre tous les ingrédients au robot et réduire en purée.



Verser dans le moule et faire cuire pendant 45-55 minutes, jusqu’à ce que les côtés soient dorés et que le centre soit ferme.



Servir immédiatement (si on est moi) ou servir après réfrigération pour en faire une sorte de pouding (si on est l’Ingénieur). Délicieux!

Raspberry Chocolate Mink

I found this amazing recipe on Baking Bites. I love dark chocolate and raspberries (together or separately), and the fact that this dessert was formulated to serve two sealed the deal. Not that I shared it with the Engineer, mind you; he’s not really into dark chocolate (he prefers white) and he actually doesn’t like raspberries. So I made these for myself and had them for dessert after lunch on two consecutive days. They were wonderful! The chocolate taste was perfect, the raspberries were a great addition, and they unmolded so easily, it was like a dream. I liked them both warm and cold (though I found the cold one a bit richer).



For chocolate, I used Callebaut finest dark chocolate natural vanilla. You see, I finally went to the store I had mentioned before, the one that was supposed to be amazing. It turns out that I didn’t find all I was looking for, but I did find much more than I could at my regular grocery store. Most of Aubut is like a warehouse that caters to restaurants (so everything is sold in bulk). That’s where our friends R. and J. split a 5-kg block of chocolate with us. There is also a smaller grocery store for us common mortals, and I found mostly spices and tea from my shopping list. I haven’t had the time to explore the refrigerated and frozen food sections yet. Let me just say that there is a lot of variety and that prices are excellent (especially in bulk).

Without further ado, the mink recipe:

¼ cup fresh raspberries, divided
3 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp butter or lactose-free margarine
pinch of salt
1 egg, separated
1 Tbsp sugar



Preheat oven to 350 °F and grease two 6 oz ramekins or oven safe dishes. Place a single layer of raspberries on the bottom of each ramekin. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the berries and mash gently with a fork. Set aside.

In a small bowl, over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt together chocolate and butter. Stir in a pinch of salt and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in egg yolk.



In a small bowl, beat egg white to soft peaks with the sugar. Fold half of the egg white and the mashed raspberries into the melted chocolate.



Fold in remaining white until no streaks remain. Divide evenly into prepared ramekins.



Place ramekins into a deep baking dish. Fill the dish with hot or boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes.



Remove ramekins from water bath and allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before unmolding the cakes and serving.