A re-commitment

As July comes to an end, it's time for me to look back at my old New Years goals and to make some new ones. I haven't really been on top of the cooking, blogging or commenting as much as I have in the past. Part of it I blame on the stress of life right now, part I blame on the heat of the summer.

Does anyone else find it impossible to cook in the insane summer heat? The idea of cooking when the whole house feels like an oven really doesn't make me excited to start cooking.

Starting August 1, I'm back to the cooking drawing board. I always figured that if blogging wasn't fun anymore I would stop. Cooking and blogging is still fun, I just haven't had an opportunity to do it as much. These last months have been a real test. It's coming back from that time off that will be difficult.

The real goal I think is to get grocery shopping. No cooking can happen without some produce in the house! Luckily this new house has some great local stores around it. I'll have to get some photos to show it off.

So keep an eye out for next month, because I'm hoping to get back into cooking form! If you have any recipes you think I should try, let me know! I'm open to just about anything!

Salmon in Spicy Cilantro Sauce

I can't write tonight. This is the fourth time I've started to write a blog post and each one has resulted in a complete failure. The words just don't seem to flowing as well as I'd hoped. So why keep writing? I do it for the recipe... You deserve to know what I made.

Why? Because it's awesome.

Do you believe that I just wrote this next sentence four times? It's just not a good time to try to write a blog.

Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do my best to break down how I cooked this, and then I may just go do something that requires no brain activity at all.

One of the wedding presents that we received was an Island Grillstone. The grillstone is a large slab of porous volcanic rock that you place on your bbq and grill with. Stone cooking dates back historically to the Egyptians, Mongolians, Vikings... When you think about it, it just makes sense. Cooking over a fire isn't the easiest thing to do. So by placing a large slab of rock near the fire and warming it up allows you to cook on a smooth surface and stops your food from disappearing. Due to my inability to write, I'll just give you the details from their website (www.islandgrillstone.com)

No more flare-ups or charred food
No more cold (or hot) spots, your food cooks evenly
Food retain moisture, nutrients and natural flavour
No food slipping through the grill
Use marinades and sauces right on the grill with no flare ups
The cooking surface is a porous, non-stick surface

Pretty cool stuff eh? I'm especially excited for it cooking within it's own juices. Can you imagine a good steak like that? After receiving this, I was pretty excited to use it, especially when cooking fish. And after using it this first time, I'm excited to keep it going!



Salmon in Spicy Cilantro sauce

Sockeye Salmon - 1 large fillet

Soy Sauce - 1/4 cup
Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
Maple Syrup - 1 tbsp
Tabasco -  a few healthy dashes
Lemon - 1, juiced
Cilantro - 1/2 cup, lightly chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Ginger - 1 inch piece, grated
Green Onion - 2 stalks, diced

Place all the marinade ingredients in a large casserole dish and stir until they are well mixed. Place the salmon in the dish and cover with the sauce. You may want to press in the cilantro, garlic, ginger and green onion into the fish a little. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

When the fish is marinated, heat the bbq up to medium high heat. Reserve some of the marinade for serving. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. If leaving the skin on the fish, make sure to place it skin side down.

Serve immediately, then drizzle some of the reserved marinade on the fish.

Garlic Sandwiches

Prolonged stress can be detrimental to your bodies immunity. It's one of the reasons that I strongly believe in taking breaks, or at the very least, finding an activity to reduce stress. With wedding, job, and moving stresses all taking a hit on me, I need every type of assist I can have.

Garlic sandwiches have become a part of my life since meeting my wife. Her family makes garlic sandwiches almost every major holiday as a way for granting a "healthy future". Their recipe is the extremely simple but effective combination of garlic, butter and celery.

The very first time I tried it, I thought her family was nuts. Straight garlic in a sandwich doesn't seem appetizing, and i admit that when I ate it, I didn't really enjoy the raw flavour. As time went on though, I started to miss the power and health of the sandwich. On occasions when their weren't garlic sandiwches present at family gatherings, I actually became disappointed. It has become as needed as chicken soup or hot tea when you start feeling under the weather.

This is my own particular version though. As I enjoy the original, I wanted to make a garlic sandwich that was distinctly my own. This is the one that want to share with the rest of you. May it bring you health and wellness as well!


Garlic Sandwiches

Buns - 2 (due to the immense stress, we went with the large baguette's)
Butter
Garlic - 1 head, finely diced
Celery - 2 stalks, finely diced
Avocado - 1 large
Spinach - 1 handful, washed and dried
Salt and Pepper

The assembly of the sandwich is very simple. Start with slicing the bread open. Spread the butter on the bread. Sprinkle on generous amounts of the garlic and press it lightly into the bread. Add the celery. Slice on the avocado slices and add the spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

Stampede Steak

"The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth" has just come to and end! The Calgary Stampede, famous for it's bull riding, chuckwagons and other rootin' tootin' activities is a fairly big deal here in Southern Alberta. People come from all over the world to enjoy the flashback to the ol' west, enjoy a carnival, some great live bands and some even greater food and drink options. It's always a good time!

Aaaand unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to attend this annual tend day festival the year, but I can still celebrate it in my own way!

Alberta beef is one of this provinces famous exports and is highlighted during the Stampede. Sometimes I wonder though if the better cuts are sold around the world as a "tourism" type option, and the remainder is sold back at home. The best cuts DO probably go to the places that will pay for them! 

Luckily, I can visit my own little local butcher shoppe (The Creative Cleaver) here in Lethbridge! It has some great delicious choices that are all local (except for the salmon and tuna brought in from BC) and I like to take advantage of the great choices!

Sigh....

This is a rambling post. I just managed to get back into the groove of writing so I'm a little off. My fingers can't fly as fast as they were used to!

I'm just out of practice, I know!

Maybe I should just focus on the food! Because we are moving out, the kitchen supplies have been dwindled down to the bare minimum. Picking up a steak on the way home makes life so much easier. Except for the rain. That does make things a bit more difficult. 

I think the best part about this hot and stuffy summer days is the torrential thundershowers that roll in at night. Then the whole outside smells of beautiful warm rain and everything cools down in the heats. It's one of my favourite moments! Getting a steak done while dark clouds hover on the perimeter makes cooking a little stressful, but the final result is totally worth it!

I love steak just on its own usually, but adding a little flavour to the whole mixture goes a long way. This particular flavour is one of my new favourites! What do you think? Is there a particular way that you like your steak to taste? You will definitely have to give mine a try!

Stampede Steak

Ribeye Steak - 4

Balsamic Vinegar - 1 cup

Brown Sugar - 1/2 Cup

Maple Syrup - 1/4 cup

Tabasco Sauce - a few healthy dashes

Rosemary - 2 tbsps

Garlic - 2 cloves, minced

Bay Leaf - 1

Salt and Pepper - to taste

Whisk the whole mixture together and place in a large flat dish. Marinate the steaks for at least an hour, although overnight is preferable. Cook to the desired tenderness and enjoy!

Edamame Guacamole

Time for some cooking again!

I've realized that no matter how many times I write about it, life will always be getting busier. Things just have a way of happening, especially all at once, and it's just my job to try to make the best of it!

I'll admit that during the last week or so, my cooking skills have become dull and rusted. Take-out, fast food and quick meals have replaced the healthy, tasty and unque recipes that I usually prided myself upon. I think it became a matter of self-preservation. Cooking had always been something that kept me together and allowed me to relax. It was one of the last things I would relinquish control of when having to buckle down and do other things.

With everything going on, cooking had to be pushed aside a little, and I've missed it!

This week (to add to the stress of our lives) we decided to have a garage sale. The duplex that we currently live in is actually fairly large, with lots of nooks and crannies for storage spaces. The house that we will be moving to (in only 11 days!) is older, and doesn't have near enough the same amount of space to take advantage of. SO, we needed to do a little slimming down. A facelift of our stuff I suppose you could say.

So after rooting through the deep recesses of this house, we came up with a fairly large size of things that simply had to disappear. We had signs made, tables set up, items priced and some money to make change. Everything was well thought out and executed! Except for checking the weather.

Rain.

Now the average person would probably lose their head about the luck they are getting dealt with these days, but we continue to persevere! We did manage to sell some items, but the large book collection I put out went ignored, and we still have a large amount of pots and pans that now need a new home. So we plan on having a second garage sale soon to hopefully rid ourselves of more stuff.

Onto some food! This recipe may seem overly simplistic and a little different, but that's what makes it so tasty! The edamame adds just a little bit extra flavour and texture to this appetizer to make it new and exciting! You can blend the whole thing with an immersion blender or food processor instead of using a potato masher like myself, but I enjoyed having the occasional bean pop into my mouth. Do you have any interesting additions to the classic guacamole? I'd love to hear about them!



Edamame Guacamole

Edamame beans - cooked and shelled, 1 cup
Avocado - 1
Red Chili Pepper - 1, finely diced
Cilantro - 1/4 cup, diced
Lime Juice - 2 tbsps
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper -  a healthy pinch

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. You can either crush them with a potato masher like myself, or use a blender for some smoother results.

Serve with chips or pita bites and enjoy!

Life Update

Okay! A chance to actually sit down and do some writing! And not just blind writing where you gaze at your computer screen with a dull stare and feeling your fingers move but not really knowing what's going on. This particular blog post will be a mini-vent session as well... it's needed.

Life has been hectic. That's really the only word to describe how much has occurred in only a few short days. Let me do my best to summarize exactly what's been going on.

First off... I'm married. Happily! I guess you all probably saw that one coming... It's not as if I haven't been writing about it for the last two months. Thanks so much to the guest posters for helping out during that time! You all posted some delicious and amazing looking recipes! I want to eat every last one of them! The wedding went really well, with only a few minor distractions, so I'll take that as a success. It's sad how much planning goes into one day, and then you *blink*... and it's over!

Second, I have been accepted into the Faculty of Education at the university! It took some hard work, but I managed to fight my way in. Now I only need two more years of school and I'll be out corrupting young minds! It's nice to be starting down a positive track and going towards a goal you want.

Third. The day after our wedding we discover that our dear landlord has put our house up for sale. Sigh, so much for the relaxation. We had always signed a yearly lease with them, and with one month to go, we assumed that we would simply do the same. Nope! So out of our large and spacious duplex we go, goodbye to the back deck, huge kitchen, garden and walk-in closet. It's a fairly rude shock to attempt to clean your house to move after having 60 people or so strolling through your house and leaving mounds of food and gifts lying around. At least things are sort of boxed up still...

Three and a half. Luckily, we marched right out and looked at a bunch of houses for sale. We found a nice condo, a beautiful basement suite, and a retro grandma style house..all of which we were racking our brains about. And then... we found her. A beautiful 65 year old house in a fantastic neighbourhood. It was instant love. So maybe it was a silver lining to lose our current house. We will just have to wait and see! I'll have to throw on some pictures for everyone to see.

The fourth major life event is that my job of the last two years is going to be laying me off. Alas, the local petstore has decided to change their business model into one that doesn't need as much staff. We'll have to see how things go, but perhaps more changes will be needed in my future as well.

Food news! At last as some of you foodies are probably wondering what sort of blog this is exactly. My Spinach Banchan got accepted into the Foodbuzz top 9! It's my first one ever to be accepted, and I'm very excited about it. It's always nice to have some recognition!

I also received a Sunshine award from Dee over at Deelicious Sweets and a Liebster Blog Award from the blog How Do You Cook . Very exciting stuff, thanks ladies! I'm afraid with how busy my life is right now, I don't really have an opportunity to participate. But just know that I really appreciate it!

Anyway, I'm hoping that life will die down a little so I can enjoy some cooking and blogging again. I'm not giving up! I'm still here!!!

{Guest Post} Lemony Carbonara

The wedding is over! At last! I haven't had an opportunity to write as I have been low on energy and low on cooking anything. My fridge is still packed with family food items that need to be broken down first before I can even consider making anything. I guess I thought that as soon as the wedding ended, so would a lot of the stress. But no, my house is a disaster and things are still busy. 


Luckily I have another guest post to save the day! Leanne (my foodie blogging best friend) sent me this great lemony carbonara blog post. Leanne works over at the blog Around The Table: Loving Food in RI. & Beyond. She's actually one of my favourite bloggers and has so many unique and interesting recipes, each one more tempting than the last! 


Thanks Leanne for helping me out! And I promise I'll get to cooking and writing soon! 

Seriously? Could pasta carbonara get any better?Not to be nostalgic or anything, but spaghetti carbonara was my first blog post for this little blog. It still is insane to me as to how easy this dish is to make. And please, I beg you, do not be grossed out by the raw egg yolk. You temper the egg anyway with boiling water so "technically" it isn't raw. Plus, it tastes velvety and delicious. So try it. I almost guarantee you will like love it.
I am always looking for new twists on old classics so when I found this stunner from Rachael Ray I had to try it!I love the classic carbonara, but oh man this one gave the old school version a run for its money. There is the classic creaminess from the egg and cheese, the brightness of the lemon zest and juice and the spiciness of the chillies gives this pasta dish a whole heck of alot of flavor. I used pancetta in this recipe, but feel free to use bacon if that is what you have on hand. Also not listed in my idol's recipe is truffle salt. I'm not sure if there is a dish where truffle salt would not be appropriate (Mexican maybe?), but I sprinkled some on top of this and was blown away. What a delicious addition. So if you have it, sprinkle away!

Hopefully you don't follow in my footsteps because I scooped out a giant bowl of this pasta and saved the rest for lunch tomorrow. It was so delicious I ate both bowls. Yikes. I may have eaten a 1/2 pound of pasta in one sitting. So beware. I wish I was warned. I would have at least worked out today.

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 1 pound egg tagliatelle, spaghetti or fettuccine
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 pound pancetta, chopped into fine dice
• About 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small Fresno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 1 bunch thin scallions, finely chopped, white and green parts separated
• Zest and juice of 1 large, ripe organic lemon, divided
• About 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 3/4-1 cup dry white wine
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped
• 3 large organic egg yolks
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (a couple of handfuls)
• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (a couple of handfuls)
• Shredded basil and diced yellow tomato, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When boiling rapidly, salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente. Heads up: reserve 1/2-3/4 cup of the starchy cooking water just before draining the pasta.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with the EVOO, three turns of the pan. Add the pancetta, season with black pepper and brown lightly. Stir in the garlic, chili pepper (if using), and the whites of the scallions, then zest the lemon over the pan and stir in the thyme. Stir for 2-3 minutes, then add the wine, a couple turns of the pan, and reduce by half, 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

When the pasta is about ready, beat the egg yolks with the reserved starchy water to temper them. Add the lemon juice, parsley and the greens of the onions to the pan.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Turn off the heat, pour in the tempered eggs and sprinkle in a small handful of each of the cheeses. Toss vigorously for 1-2 minutes, until the sauce coats the pasta and it's thick and shiny. Serve in shallow bowls with a little extra cheese, shredded basil and diced yellow tomatoes on top.