Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

What would happen if a whole summer whizzed by completely potato salad free?  It hurts to even think about, it just wouldn't be right.  I was determined to come up with an alternative for all of us white potato avoiders.  I knew I could make this happen with the nutritionally dense sweet potato, as long as there were enough savoury, tangy and creamy ingredients to balance out the sweet.  A healthy dose of onion, pickles, chopped egg, and celery did the trick!  With all of those delicious flavours mingling together, it's quite the summer party.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Origin: Jaime, Impeccable Taste

Notes:  To keep things paleo friendly, I make my own mayonnaise, avoiding sugar and unhealthy vegetable oils.  I have included my recipe for homemade, olive oil mayonnaise below.  Obviously, good quality store bought mayo works great here (I like Hellman's).  I have incorporated instructions on how to roast sweet potatoes into this recipe.  Everyone has their own method for this.  I have found that preheating the baking sheets helps them crisp up pretty well.  You can roast the potatoes however you like, you just need to start with well roasted, bite sized chunks of sweet potato for this salad.


Ingredients:

4 pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed clean
1/2 cup coconut oil (or any vegetable oil), divided
salt and pepper

5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced (about 1 cup)
4 large dill pickles, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 celery stalks, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

To roast the sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 475 degrees, place oven racks in the middle and lower positions.  Insert 2 baking sheets to preheat along with the oven.  Heat coconut oil in a small saucepan until just melted/liquified.  Chop the sweet potatoes by halving them lengthwise, then cut the halves lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces, chop wedges into bite sized pieces (about 1/2 inch thick).  In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with 4 tablespoons of oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.  When the oven and baking sheets are preheated, carefully remove the baking sheets and drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil onto each sheet.  Carefully distribute the sweet potatoes between the 2 baking sheets in a single layer, and pop them back in the oven.  Roast for about 15 minutes, then flip the potatoes with a spatula, and put the trays back into the oven, rotating the 2 sheets top to bottom.  The potatoes should be done after an additional 10 minutes of roasting.  I like to put each sheet under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get some nice brown crispy spots.  Remove potatoes and cool completely.

To prepare the salad, combine the mayo and Dijon mustard in a small bowl.  Toss the cooled sweet potatoes, eggs, onions, pickles, celery and mayo mixture together in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, chill and serve.

Homemade Olive Oil Mayonnaise
Origin: Jaime, Impeccable Taste

Notes:  This mayo can be made with a food processor or by hand with a very strong arm.  I use light or extra light olive oil for this recipe to keep the flavour neutral.  The mayonnaise made in the food proccessor will be more stiff then that made by hand, but it's worth it to save time and your arm.

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks, preferably room temperature
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups light (not extra virgin or first pressing) olive oil

Food processor method:  Put the egg yolks, Dijon, lemon juice and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Measure out your olive oil.  Process the egg and seasonings for about 30 seconds until lightened and thickened slightly.  Keep the motor running and using a teaspoon (it helps control the speed at which you add your oil), drizzle oil SLOWLY, teaspoon by teaspoon, drip by drip, through the feed tube of the food processor.  After you have added about 1/2 cup, you should see a thick mayonnaise forming, you can now increase the speed at which you add the remainder of the oil, still using the teaspoon to drizzle in a slow, steady stream.  Stop processing immediately after you have finished adding your oil or it may separate. (Use your ears, you can actually hear a change in the sound of of the mayonnaise as it loosens before it separates. Stop processing immediately if you hear this!) Chill until ready to use.

By hand:  Dampen a tea towel, fold it, and place it under a medium sized mixing bowl (this will keep the bowl steady when whisking like a mad person).  Measure out your olive oil.  Place egg yolks, Dijon, lemon juice and salt in the mixing bowl, whisk vigorously until pale and slightly thickened, about 30 seconds.  While whisking continuously, using a teaspoon, VERY SLOWLY drip the olive oil into the egg yolk mixture.  By VERY SLOWLY I mean it should take you about 4 minutes to add the first 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Once the first 1/4 cup of olive oil has been added, you should see the mayo starting to emulsify.  You can increase the speed at which you add your oil now, still using the teaspoon to drizzle in a slow, steady stream.  It should take you an additional 4-5 minutes to add the rest of the oil.  Do not over mix or the mayo may separate.  Chill until ready to use.

If your mayo separates:  Have no fear!  It can always be rescued.  Get your arm ready, it's going to take some more elbow grease.  Start with one egg yolk in a medium, clean bowl.  Whisk the egg yolk vigorously for about 30 seconds, until it has lightened in colour.  Slowly add your separated mayonnaise, drip by drip into the new bowl, whisking continuously.  This should bring the mayo back to a smooth, creamy consistency.

Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

I spotted this recipe on Smitten Kitchen the other day and within 2 hours I was eating it for dinner.  Smitten Kitchen is my all time favorite food blog and I try many of Deb's recipe recommendations.  But when she starts talking Bloody Marys, I move fast.  You see, Bloody Marys are a bit of a thing in my family.  My Nanny loved them, and always added a secret ingredient - pickle juice!  As long as I can remember my Mom has ordered at least one, without fail, every time we dine out.  I adore them anytime, especially with brunch (my Hubby too!).  And my younger sister?  Well, she may have caught the Bloody Mary bug worst of all, ordering doubles every time we are out.  Geez, I guess we all sound like a bunch of lushes...but it's in our blood, it can't be helped.  I always have the classic Bloody Mary ingredients on hand so I sprung into action and recreated this Bloody Mary Tomato Salad.  All of the complex Bloody Mary flavour is there, without the booze of course, and it goes amazingly well with a good steak.

*I have to mention, in Canada, we do not drink Bloody Marys at all.  It's this odd little variation on the Bloody Mary that has become a classic Canadian cocktail and a family favorite...the Caesar!  The ingredients and taste are virtually the same, substituting Clamato juice for Tomato juice...tomato juice with a hint of clam juice!!  It's essentially the same drink, but I guess we Canuks should really call this a Caesar Salad.  Ha!

Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
Origin: Bon Appetit via Smitten Kitchen

Notes:  The original recipe pairs this salad with a nicely seasoned flank steak.  I had 2 bone-in rib steaks in the fridge so I went with those.

Ingredients:

1 cup red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, divided
2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (3 pints or 3-10 ounce containers)
1 cup celery hearts, chopped (light coloured inner stalks and leaves)
1/2 cup brined green olives, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons olive brine
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Place the chopped onion in a large bowl, pour 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar over onions and let them sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (this will temper the onion's bite).  Add tomatoes, celery and olives to the onions.

To make the dressing, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, reserved olive brine, horseradish, Worcestershire, pepper sauce and celery seeds in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify.

Pour the dressing over the tomato salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until needed, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.  Serves 8-10.

Spicy Grilled Chicken & Mango Slaw

Challenge!  My husband and I have been given a 30 day challenge to change our eating habits in a major way.  It's pretty drastic, so this blog is going to look a little different in the coming weeks (no more of these or these for a while).  Based on the paleolithic diet, this 30 day plan focuses on clean eating.  It strips away processed foods and aims to reset your digestion and metabolism, curb cravings and promote strength and well being.  It brings us back to caveman times and encourages us to eat from the land.  Meat, fish, healthy fats (like those found in avocados or olive oil), vegetables, fruits and nuts.  Yep, that's it.  Cavemen didn't have the tools to process milk products or grains - so they're out.  If you read between the lines, you might have gathered that my vegetarian Hubby has made a huge change in his diet by taking on this challenge, adding meat and taking out all of his vegetarian staples.  No processed foods or beans means no soy products, which means no fake hot dogs and hamburgers!  The idea of eating meat has been marinating (sorry) inside him for a while now.  This challenge and the promise of feeling great and getting stronger was motivation enough for him to take the plunge after more than 10 years meat free.  This way of eating is meant to accompany a very active lifestyle, there is a large focus on protein of the highest quality to encourage strength building.

So here we go.  No dairy, no legumes, no beans, no grains, no sugar.  But have no fear.  I will not compromise the quality of the recipes I am offering you.  I have spent the last week researching and experimenting and I hope to bring you recipes that are healthy and full of satisfying flavours.  Stuff you would want to make regardless of what it's missing.

Although some of the recipes featured on this blog could be easily modified, looking back through my archives I found only one solitary recipe that fit the bill as is...a side dish, not even a complete meal.  The winner?  Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce.  I obviously have work to do!  If you'd like to check out the challenge, here is the info.

Without further ado, on to the recipes.  I'm off to an easy start.  I had no problem scarfing down these great dishes.  The mango slaw is probably my favorite mango salad ever, and I have had my share of 'em.  There is no soy or fish sauce (which contains sugar!) only tart lime juice and vinegar, balanced by a touch of oil, salt and spicy red pepper flakes.  I love the addition of mint in lieu of cilantro and cashews instead of peanuts...which works perfectly because peanuts are not on the menu as there are considered a legume and not a nut.  The chicken is a super versatile, easy dish that you can turn to anytime.  It can be grilled or roasted in the oven and you can use any part of the bird that you fancy.  Made with simple things that I always have on hand.  It hits all the right notes and is pure juicy goodness.

Spicy Grilled Chicken
Origin: adapted slightly from NY Times, Suvir Saran

Notes:  I have made this several times using just thighs or a mixture of thighs and breasts.  I have roasted it in the oven and grilled it on the BBQ, it always turns out great.  Its not too spicy and it's an easy recipe that will please whomever you are feeding.


Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs (or 4 thighs and 2 breasts), with skin, pierced all over with a small knife
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger root, grated or minced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Juice and zest of 1 whole lemon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander

Place all of the ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and toss, squish, rub or smoosh everything around to coat thoroughly.  Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 24 hours.

Preheat your grill on high, (or preheat oven to 400 degrees).   If grilling, turn down grill to about medium and grill skin side down first, for about 25 minutes, turning once.  If roasting, put chicken, skin side up, in a roasting pan. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until done and the juices run clear.

Mango Slaw with Cashews & Mint
Origin: Smitten Kitchen

Notes:  This recipe is easily halved but I use the full 1/4 cup of mint and cashews because I'm baaaad!  A slightly firm, but ripe mango is best for this salad.  Deb at Smitten Kitchen has an amazing Thai-Style Chicken Legs recipe that goes perfectly with this slaw, but for the 30 day challenge, the spicy chicken recipe above does the trick.

Ingredients:  
2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned
1 to pound Napa cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly (savoy works too, sliced as thin as possible)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, from about two limes
1/4 cup rice vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar during my 30 day challenge)
2 tablespoons oil of your choice (I used grapeseed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (or omit this and whisk in a chile paste to taste)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Veggie Potstickers

Today I am proud of my country (even though the House of Commons has lost confidence in the government and an election is on the way).  Neil Young helps a lot.  That man is so cool.  Last night I nestled in to watch the 40th annual Juno Awards where Neil was honoured with a humanitarian award and won two statues.  If the godfather of grunge isn't enough Canadian credit, the awards show also saw appearances by City and Colour (singing Neil Young's Old Man!!), Metric, Broken Social Scene, Schad, Blue Rodeo, Shania Twain, K'Naan, Arcade Fire, Sarah Mclachlan, Chromeo and more, and all of it hosted by one of my faves, Drake.  Hey, at least it's Drake that makes me swoon and not the young Biebs.  My Hubby (he knows about the crush) and I watched the awards and feasted on one of our favorites, Veggie Potstickers. 
The potstickers were prepared on Saturday night by a group of lovely ladies.  It was our monthly girl's night, a supper club of sorts.  Along with cooking up several gorgeous fresh Asian dishes, we set up a mini potsticker factory and pumped out dozens of these beauties whilst chatting, listening to music and *hic* drinking wine.  This somewhat tedious process whizzed by due to the group effort and the fun we were having.  But the quality of the output from our little factory did not suffer one bit from our festivities.  Each bite had a crispy fried bottom and a pillowy, flavourful top.  With a quick, awesome little dipping sauce these are the best meatless dumplings ever...if I do say so myself. 

Veggie Potstickers
Origin: Jaime, Impeccable Taste

Notes:  Filling and wrapping the dumplings is a little tedious, as mentioned above.  You can split up the work by making the filling the day before.  Once the potstickers are prepped the actual cooking time is about 5 minutes.  They are worth the effort!  This recipe makes a lot of filling, enough for about 6-8 dozen potstickers. 

Ingredients:

Potstickers
vegetable oil (safflower, sunflower, canola etc.)
3 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 head Napa cabbage, finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced or finely grated
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, or chili garlic paste
2 large carrots, grated
2 packages wonton wrappers (small, double packs)

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon, Sriracha sauce (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons green onion, finely sliced


Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a very large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  The mushrooms should release all their juices (due to the salt), then the juices will evaporate and the mushrooms will start to brown.  When the mushrooms are begginning to brown, add the shallots and a knob of butter.  Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes until the shallots and the mushrooms are browned.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and fry for about 3 minutes until they soften.  Add the cabbage, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce and Sriracha and cook for about 5 minutes until the cabbage and leeks are soft and cooked through.  Turn off the heat and add in the reserved mushrooms and the grated carrot.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste the filling and add another tablespoon or so of soy sauce and/or rice vinegar if it needs a little more umph.  Cool the filling.  At this point you can refrigerate the filling for a day or two.

To make the potstickers, (I like to do this in groups of 3) lay 3 wonton wrappers on a cutting board or a clean work surface. Have a small bowl of water close by.  Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper.  Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet all 4 edges of the wrappers.  Pick up the 4 corners of a wrapper, bring them over the filling and press them together in the middle to form a pouch, seal all of the open seams.  The wet edges should seal with a light pinch.  Place the finished potstickers on a cookie sheet and cover with a lightly dampened paper towel or tea towel until you are ready to cook.

To make the dipping sauce, whisk together the soy sauce, Dijon and Sriracha in a small bowl, stir in the green onions.  Adjust seasoning to your liking, you may want to add more Dijon or Sriracha.

When you are ready to cook the potstickers, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large flat bottomed pan over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the potstickers in a single layer and do not disturb them.  Cook the potstickers for 1-2 minutes until a brown crust forms on the bottoms.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the hot pan and cover immediately, be careful of the steam/splattering.  Steam the potstickers for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until the water has evaporated.  Remove the cooked potstickers to a platter and continue this process with the remaining potstickers.

Serve hot with the dipping sauce.  Makes at least 6 dozen potstickers.

Grilled Vegetables with Walnut & White Bean Puree

I don't know what drew me to this recipe in the first place.  It's not the most inspiring sounding thing, and it's not that pretty (really hard to get a flattering picture).  But it called out to me and I tried it.  Instantly it became one of my favorite meals.  I could eat solely this for dinner (and did last night), and then eat it for lunch the next day (got it in tow), and the day after that (looking forward to it).  It is really satisfying and wholesome.  The grilled vegetables are doused in a garlicky balsamic dressing and then tossed with fresh mint.  Enjoyed with the creamy, nutty, albeit ugly puree, it's a real sensation with me.

Grilled Vegetables with Walnut & White Bean Puree

Origin: Adapted slightly from StoneSoup

Notes: During the long winter months I use a grill pan to grill the vegetables.  It is so easy, especially for the onions as nothing falls through the grill.  I grill the peppers first, then grill the onions, then the zucchini and add each vegetable to the dressing as they are cooked.

Ingredients:

Grilled Vegetables

4 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 4 strips
2 red peppers (or yellow/orange), deseeded and sliced into wide strips
2 red onions, sliced into 3/4 inch rounds (or half moons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped

Walnut & White Bean Puree

200g walnuts (I use about 2 cups)
1 400g can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed (I use a 19oz can)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons water, or to taste

pita bread for serving (optional)

To make the vegetables, preheat a BBQ or grill pan. Toss the vegetables with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. BBQ vegetables over a high heat until each is cooked to your liking. 

Meanwhile, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, garlic and extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl and season with a little salt and pepper.  As each vegetable is cooked add it to the dressing bowl. When all vegetables are cooked, toss gently and allow to stand for a few minutes to soak up the dressing. Toss through the mint leaves.

To make the Walnut & White Bean Puree, process the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients except water and continue to whiz until you have a smooth paste. Gradually add water until the puree is smooth and the consistency is to your liking. Season well with salt and pepper.

Serve the grilled vegetables with dollops of the puree and serve with some pita bread (if using).  Serves 4.

Cabbage & Poppy Seed Noodles with Sour Cream

It is officially comfort food season.  It is ridiculously cold around here.  The sun is shining, and it deceivingly calls you outside for a ice skate or a cross country ski session.  But the minute you step outside, your breath is taken away and any exposed skin has 10 minutes before it burns, dries up and falls off.  Oh, sorry, not very appetizing for a food blog eh?  This morning we shattered a 41 year old weather record, isn't that great for us!?  It is currently -25°C (-13°F) and Environment Canada has issued a cold weather warning urging people to stay indoors.  I would have loved to throw in the towel this morning when my car didn't start, and just hover over a hot stove at home all day.  Boo hoo.  On days like this, your body needs nourishing, hot food.  Stick to your ribs, starchy, simple, and may I stress, HOT food.  This dish is inspired by my Hungarian Grandmother's dish called "kaposztas teszta", a savoury/sweet mixture of cabbage and noodles. It has a simple taste that is so satisfying and comforting.  I added poppy seeds and a sour cream garnish to this classic Hungarian dish. 

Cabbage & Poppy Seed Noodles with Sour Cream

Origin: Hungarian Classic, Jaime, Impeccable Taste

Notes:  Egg noodles are a must for this dish.  My grandmother buys these 1 1/2 inch square flat noodles at a European deli which are awesome.  I usually buy artisan dried papardelle and break them into pieces.  You are looking for a broad flat egg noodle.  The most common brand around here is "Lancia". 

Ingredients:

250g (1 package) flat, broad egg noodles

1 small green cabbage, (or 1/2 large, about 8 cups chopped)

1 very large onion (about 2 cups chopped)

1/4 vegetable oil (sunflower, safflower, coconut etc.)

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

sour cream for serving

Cut the cabbage into quarters, cut out the core and slice into thin ribbons (no more than 1/4 inch thick).  Cut onion(s) in half and slice into thin half moons.  Everything should be about the same size, thin strips of onion and cabbage.

Heat the oil in a very large skillet over medium high heat (you could probably use a dutch oven or a big soup pot too).  Add the onions and cabbage, toss to coat everything with the oil.  Cook for about 10 minutes, until everything is glossy and starting to shrink down a bit.  Add the poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.  You may need to add a little more oil as you cook if it seems dry.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes more, stirring the cabbage mixture frequently, scraping the browned cabbage from the bottom of the pan and mixing thoroughly.  The whole mixture will caramelize and cook down significantly. 

While the cabbage cooks, boil the noodles according to package directions, making sure your water is well salted.  Drain the noodles but reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid.

When the cabbage is all browned and cooked.  Add the noodles to the skillet and toss thoroughly.  Add a little cooking liquid to the skillet to help loosen up the cabbage and distribute it evenly.  Cook just until the noodles are hot.  I like to time my pasta to cook when the cabbage is just finishing up.  I transfer the noodles with a slotted spoon directly to my skillet, taking some pasta water with them.  Then I toss it all, and serve immediately

Add more salt and pepper if desired.  Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.  Serves 4.

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Classic Creamy Coleslaw

Last night we had burgers.  I'm not going to tell you about them though, this is all about the sides. Truth be told, they were store bought veggie burgers and you really don't want to know about them anyway.

I always make these two side dishes together.  They are perfectly good on there own, classic coleslaw and deeply flavourful roasted sweet potato wedges.  But something about the creamy, tangy coleslaw with it's sharp green onions, when mixed with the spicy, sweet potato wedges, is magical.

For me, the coleslaw actually goes on top of my burger with BBQ sauce, it doesn't even hit the plate (until it starts dribbling down my chin).  The amazingly good sweet potato wedges mop up the juices and it's a great dinner.  But the whole point of making burgers on a cold November evening is so that I can make these side dishes and bring the leftovers (burger free) to work for lunch.  I'm telling you, they are a match made in heaven.

 

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Origin: Gourmet Magazine

Notes:  These are my favorite roasted sweet potatoes.  The mixture of spices is perfect, I love the addition of fennel seed.  I always make at least 5 times the amount of spice mixture (as much as I can fit in my spice grinder) and keep it in a small glass container so I can make these on a whim.  Once the spices are ground, this recipe takes about 5 minutes of hands on time.  Double the recipe for leftovers!  And you don't HAVE to make the coleslaw too, they are good enough to hold their own.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 lb medium sweet potatoes, washed (skin on), cut lengthwise into 1 inch wedges
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (increase to 450 at any point if they are not browning enough).

Coarsely grind coriander, fennel, oregano, and red pepper flakes in an electric coffee/spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Stir together spices and salt. 

Toss wedges with oil and spices (I add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the sweet potatoes at this point) in a large roasting pan and roast in middle of oven for 20 minutes. Turn wedges over with a spatula and roast until tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Classic Creamy Coleslaw
Origin: Impeccable Taste, Jaime


Notes:  For ease of preparation,  I often buy 2 bags of coleslaw mix and just add freshly grated carrots and sliced green onions.

Ingredients:

Salad
6 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
1 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
1 cup carrot, coarsely grated
1 cup green onions/scallions, thinly sliced

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman's half fat mayo)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine cabbage, carrot and onion in a large bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Taste and adjust to your liking.  Add a little more sugar or more mayo if it's too tangy/vinegary.

Pour the dressing over the prepared vegetables and mix well.  It's best if it can sit for an hour before serving.

Fennel with Pink Sauce

Now, I know my sauce is bright orange and not really pink...but it's okay.  The fennel is melt in your mouth delicious even though I used only a touch of pink-producing cream in my sauce.  You see, I just can't in good, healthy weeknight dinner, conscience, use that extra 1/4 cup of cream.  It was not missed in the slightest.  The little bit of cream that I did use, works magically with the fennel and tomato.

Fennel with Pink Sauce 

Origin: Impeccable Taste, Jaime  

Notes:  This dish is super easy to make, I'll even suggest you use a good bottled sauce to make your life even easier.  The sauce pictured at left is incredibly fresh and delicious, we buy is at COSTCO.  It is a simple marinara sauce that makes a great base for anything.  All natural, real Italian ingredients, no fillers, it's excellent.  I'll also provide a 5 minute tomato sauce recipe below, if you'd prefer to make your own.

(Try to ignore the golden, crispy, baked polenta fries in these photos.  I'll tell you about those another time.)





Ingredients:
a drizzle of olive oil
1 large or 2 small fennel (anise) bulbs
1 - 1 1/2 cups basic tomato sauce (bottled or see below)
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (table cream 18%) or whipping cream
salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish.

Cut the stalks off of the top of the fennel and trim the bottom so you are dealing with just the bulb.  Cut the bulb in half vertically.  Cut out the core by slicing a little triangle out of the bottom of each half of the fennel bulb.  Cut each half into wedges about an inch thick (the layers of the wedges may fall apart but no biggie).

Lay the fennel in a single layer in your baking dish, season with salt and pepper.  Top with enough tomato sauce to cover the fennel.  Then pour cream over tomato sauce.  1/2 cup of cream would make a true pink sauce but I used only 1/4 cup of cream at most.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until fork tender.  Scatter the fresh basil on top just before serving.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

La Salsa di 5 Minuti
Origin: David Rocco

Notes:  This is a very basic, quick marinara sauce.  It's good as a base for pasta sauces such as Puttanesca.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
28oz canned peeled plum tomatoes, pureed (or crush the tomatoes with your hands, use both the juice and crushed tomato)
dried chili peppers, crushed (chili pepper flakes)
5 basil leaves, torn
Salt to season

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and add onion, garlic, and chili peppers. Gently fry ingredients together for a minute or two.
Add tomato puree to saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer on low to medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt.  Add basil leaves at the very end.

Pickled Farm-Stand Tomatoes with Jalapeños

Growing up my parents had this huge Sub Zero fridge, and when my young, weak arms managed to pry the beast open, it was always full...of condiments...nothing but jars and more jars of condiments and pickles.  There was never anything to put the condiments on...just condiments.  I suppose we could have snacked on pickles, pickled herring or pickled beets.  Or how about a pickled egg smeared with any kind of mustard you could imagine.  No, not so much.  My Mom would always manage to whip up great meals for us, I don't know how or with what, but for us kids we could never see beyond the condiments.
As my tastes mature and my cooking skills improve, I can see beyond the condiments.  I too can whip up a meal with seemingly nothing.  But I am also realizing the importance and merit of condiments, I'm learning to appreciate them and devoting serious fridge real estate to them.  I've even started making my own jars of meal enhancers.  BBQ sauces, mustards, pickles and this new one...kind of a cross breed between a pickle, a relish, a chutney and a salsa.  The ultimate condiment.  Pickled Farm-Stand Tomatoes with Jalapeños.

Pickled Farm-Stand Tomatoes with Jalapeños
Origin, Brian McBride, Food and Wine

Notes:  I've made this twice now, and the second time I used less oil than the recipe calls for.  I liked this change, the tomatoes are less oily and have a slightly stronger vinegar flavour.  I used a variety of cherry/grape tomatoes for this batch and found that they held up better than the slices of tomatoes that I used the first time.  Either way it's a fabulous addition to the fridge.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used less than 3/4 cup of oil)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
6 tomatoes (1 1/2 pounds), each cut into 6 wedges (I used 6 cups cherry/grape tomatoes, sliced in half)
4 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced into rings and seeded (I did not seed the jalapeño slices)

In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, brown sugar and salt to a boil, stirring. Remove from the heat.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, grated ginger, mustard seeds, black pepper, turmeric, ground cumin and cayenne pepper and cook over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour the hot oil into the vinegar mixture.

In a large heatproof bowl, combine the tomatoes, scallions and jalapeños. Stir in the hot pickling liquid and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours or refrigerate for 8 hours, then serve.

Szechuan Green Beans

Remember those fresh, local green beans I was telling you about?  Here is another great way to prepare them.  These taste just like Chinese takeout, sweet, spicy, savoury and tangy.  Szechuan style green beans are full of flavour and so easy to prepare.


Szechuan Green Beans

Notes:  Have all your ingredients ready before you start cooking...it all happens so fast and it is easy to burn something if you are not paying attention.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans, washed, dried and trimmed
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced or grated
1 tablespoon green onion, white part only, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, or Sriracha sauce, or hot sauce (something spicy)
1 tablspoon dark soy sauce (regular is fine - I used it this time - but dark is way better)
1 teaspoon sugar (I used cane sugar)
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil (or coconut oil, or any neutral oil)

In a non-stick pan or wok, heat a little oil over medium-high heat.  Add beans and fry for about 5 minutes until they start to shrivel and brown.  Remove beans and drain on paper towels. 

Here is where it goes quickly.  Add a little more oil to the hot pan.  Add garlic, ginger and scallions and fry, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Add chili sauce and fry stirring constantly for 30 seconds.  Add the beans, soy sauce and sugar to the pan and cook all together, stirring constantly for another minute or two, until everything is incorporated and heated through.

Serves 4