Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (1 tetra pack)
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Purée in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry. Heat through. Serve garnished with parsley.
#soup #cauliflower #creamsoup #creamofcauliflowersoup

Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom Risotto

Follow the instructions closely, you'll have perfect risotto every time.
I find it more favourable if using a dark mushroom such as cremini or bella mushrooms. This recipe is a little time consuming but so worth it!

Ingredients
1/2 lb of large flat mushrooms
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
5 tsp of butter
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 sprig of parsley
1 clove of garlic
1 onion
1 2/3 cups of dry white wine
1 L of chicken or vegetable stock
About 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Wipe the mushrooms and chop finely. Heat 1/3 of the butter with oil in an small pan, add mushrooms and fry over medium heat for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Chop the parsley with the garlic clove and set aside. Finely chop in the onion. Melt half the remaining butter in a deep pan, add the onion and cook over medium heat until golden. Stir in the rice and leave for a few minutes for the flavours to blend. Add the wine. When it has evaporated start adding hot stock, a little at a time. Continue, stirring constantly, until the stock has all been absorbed and the rice is almost cooked.
Add the mushrooms and their juices and lastly the parsley and garlic, mixture and Parmesan cheese. Turn off the heat, stir in the remaining butter, cover and leave to rest for 2 minutes. Turn the risotto into a heated serving dish and serve at once.
#risotto #mushroom #mushroomrisotto

Salsa

Salsa

When it's tomato season and you have an over abundance? I make tomato sauce and salsa! This recipe was given to me by a very nice lady a long time ago who works at a massage therapy clinic...but I can't recall her name :(

Ingredients
12 cups skinned, coarsely chopped tomatoes
3 cups finely chopped onions
5 tsp salt
3 tsp oregano
3 tsp parsley
3/4 cup white vinegar
4 or 5 finely chopped jalapeño peppers
4 or 5 finely chopped green peppers (or any other colour you want)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 lg can tomato paste

Directions
Add all ingredients in a large pot (except for the peppers and onions) and bring to a boil. Add the peppers and onions, lowering to a simmer cooking for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
To store: add hot cooked salsa in clean jars right away.  The heat from the cooked salsa should seal the jars without steaming. If not, invite a few friends over and enjoy with a glass of wine :)
#salsa #homemadesalsa #snack #tomatoes

Mushroom Burgers

Mushroom Burgers

You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy these meatless burgers. They are super moist and tasty!

Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp canola oil ( I use just vegetable oil)
4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Shape into four patties.
In a large skillet, cook patties in oil over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until crisp and lightly browned. Serve on buns.
Note: If you like, add your favourite regular burger toppings.
#burgers #mushrooms #vegetarian

Beer Can BBQ Chicken

Blog Beer Can BBQ Chicken

This recipe takes 1 hour to cook but just place it on the BBQ and forget about it!
So effortless, you can literally feed an army! Just place the quantity of chickens on the grill and let it cook for one hour! This is a great recipe if you have other foods to prepare cutting back checking the BBQ frequently.
Your result - super moist chicken!

Ingredients
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 whole chicken (4lb/1.8kg)
1 can (355 ml) beer
1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Directions
Heat BBQ to medium-high heat.
Mix first 5 ingredients, rub onto chicken.
Open beer ban, discard half the beer (Ya right! But seriously you only need half the beer).
Place can on work surface, lower chicken over can, inserting can into tail end of chicken. Stand chicken on BBQ grate, using the legs to help chicken stand upright. (Can should remain in chicken on BBQ. Turn off burners directly below chicken.
Grill chicken 1 hour, brush with sauce. Grill 15 minutes or until chicken is done (170 degrees), brushing frequently with remaining sauce. Remove from BBQ, cover loosely with foil. Let stand 10 minutes before removing chicken from can and carving chicken. Discard any beer remaining in can.

When grilling over indirect heat, the food is not cooked over the heat source. The covered BBQ then acts like an oven, so there is no need to turn the food. Use this grilling method for foods that require at least 25 minutes of grilling time or foods that are so delicate that direct exposure to the heat source would dry them out, such as roasts, whole chicken, thick steaks, ribs or delicate fish fillets.
#chicken #beer #BBQ #beercanchickenbbq

Fresh 4 Egg Pasta

Fresh 4 Egg Pasta
Pasta all' Uovo
serves: 4

It really helps and it is much quicker if you use a mixer with dough hook. Or you'll be kneading this for 10 minutes.

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or as needed
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
warm water as needed

Directions
Beat the eggs, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl until blended. Change to dough hook and add 2 2/3 cups of the flour. Mix until the ingredients form a rough and slightly sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, drizzle a very small amount of warm water and continue mixing. Scrape the dough out of the workbowl onto a lightly floured wood or marble surface. (To mix the dough by hand, see the Note below.) Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place in a small bowl. Covered with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least one hour at room temperature, or up to one day in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping pasta. If the door has been refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before rolling and shaping.

To Mix The Dough By Hand: Pile 3 cups of flour in a mound on a marble or wooden surface, Make a well in the center of the mound, like a crater in a volcano, all the way to the work surface. Beat the eggs, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl until the eggs are foamy. Pour them into the well. Beat the egg mixture with a fork while slowly incorporating the flour from the sides of the crater into the egg mixture. The more flour you incorporate, the thicker the egg mixture and the wider the well will become. Continue beating until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork. If the dough becomes too thick to mix with a fork before almost all of the flour is incorporated , drizzle a tiny amount of the warm water over the egg mixture and continue mixing. (It is possible you will not need any water at all.) Flour your hands well and knead the remaining flour into the dough until a rough and slightly sticky dough is formed. Shape the dough into a rough ball and set it aside. Sprinkle your hands generously with flour, rubbing them together to remove any remaining scraps of dough from your skin. Scrape any dough and flour from the kneading surface and pass all these scrapings through a sieve. Discard the scraps in the sieve and use the strained flour to continue kneading the dough. Make sure your hands are clean and flour them lightly and knead the dough as described above.

Slow-Cooked Summer Tomato and Eggplant Sauce Lasagna

Slow-Cooked Summer Tomato and Eggplant Sauce Lasagna

A delicious vegetarian dish but you don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy!

Ingredients
6 cups slow cooked summer tomato and eggplant sauce (posted on my blog)
12 lasagna noodles (store bought or homemade - my favourite)
300g ricotta
1 egg
About 1/4 chopped parsley
Grated parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Cook lasagna noodles for only 5 minutes, 2 minutes if fresh. Rinse in cold water and drain. In a bowl mix ricotta, egg and parsley.
In 9x13 baking dish, cover bottom with the sauce. Place three lasagna noodles on top. Generously spread sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then mozzarella cheese as much as you like. Place second layer of lasagna noodles. Spread ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then mozzarella cheese. Place three more lasagna noodles on top. Generously spread sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then mozzarella. Place final three lasagna noodles on top once again generously add sauce covering the noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for one hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

**When making with homemade noodles, the lasagna has a ribbon-like lighter taste making this dish melt in your mouth.
#vegetarian #lasagna #eggplants #summerveggies