Colcannon - mashed potatoes with kale & onions

Here is wonderful Irish dish, a soul food really.

You will need the following:

• 1 large bunch of fresh kale or cabbage
• 1 small bag of yellow baby potatoes or your favorite variety
• 1 bunch of salad onions or 2-3 leeks - your preference
• 1 cup of cream or whole milk
  
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup of melted butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Generally I don't peel the potatoes before cooking them, but if the potatoes are older, and of a larger variety - I will. Red potatoes are waxy and white ones are drier. Russet are the best for baking, but will work for this dish. For this creation, I used a yellow fleshed, maybe a Yukon Gold baby potato variety.

Cook the potatoes until you can easily pierce the potato with a fork. Takes about 20 minutes in a covered pot on medium high heat. Allow the steam to escape so it won't boil over. I drizzled a bit of olive oil in the pot - also helps eliminate boil over.

Wash the kale or cabbage and place the leaves in a pot with 2-3 inches of water in it. Bring to a boil and steam cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Kale and cabbage take a while to cook but they are an excellent choice for health. They get top billing for antioxidant properties. Don't let the pot boil dry. Chop the kale or cabbage coursely, and set aside.

Mash the potatoes, add melted butter and cream. Stir in the kale or cabbage. Chop the onions and stir into the potatoes. (If using leeks, be careful to wash them well. They tend to have plenty of fine dirt between the layers. Once cleaned and trimmed, slice the white part thinly and add to your dish.)

Season with salt and pepper.















This side dish is traditionally served with corned beef, but if you like mashed potatoes try it with your next roast dinner - be it chicken or beef. It is rich and filling, and made with real unsalted butter and whole cream. The veggies in the dish make it tasty and healthy. It looks good too!

Serve with fresh made Irish soda bread and enjoy!

For dessert, try a scone with raspberry or strawberry jam and clotted cream (like whipped cream - which could be substituted)

Plum and PeachTorte

Here is a recipe that uses up all those plums and peaches when they are in season and you can't possibly eat them fast enough!

Prepare the following:

• 1/4 lb unsalted butter, softened (or use a healthy margerine)
• 3/4 cup - plus 1-2 tbsp. - sugar (unrefined works well)
• 1 tsp cinnamon or more to taste
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 24 halves pitted Italian (prune or purple) plums
• peaches or pears are optional

Arrange oven rack in lower 3rd of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt. Beat to mix well. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9 or 10 inch spring form baking pan. Cover the batter with plums (and or peaches etc) skin side down.














Mix cinnamon with remaining 1-2 tbsp sugar, and sprinkle over fruit on top of batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until cake tester (toothpick or skewer) inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate or freeze if desired.

To serve: let torte return to room temperature and reheat at 300 degrees until warm. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

A friend from work brought in fresh salsa one day and I was amazed that it involved a pre-packaged product.

My husband and sons love spicy foods, and I like to make my own spice combinations because I know what is in them. The convenience of this "spice in a jar" won me over and because the product is Canadian made, has no MSG, and reduced salt I thought I would try it. It is a great addition to my pantry! I usually double the recipe that follows.















All you need is:

• 1 cup diced roma tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons hot or medium salsa mix

For added convenience, I mix these ingredients in a container with a lid, shake and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. Serve with anything!















My husband is begging me to make more salsa as I type. Apparently he finished the rest of it today. Since I am updating my blog, he eagerly offered to make it himself... it is so easy and of course we have the rest of the ingredients on hand. :)















Serve the salsa with chips, or on the side with fish. It even goes nicely in a salad.

Very picante!!

Fish Chowder

It's a lovely slow Sunday and knowing we have many ingredients to make a chowder, here is what was on the menu today:


The prep work takes longer than the soup takes to cook, but in less than an hour, you can be enjoying a hearty, vegetable and fish chowder!


Most of the time I already have carrots, onions, bell peppers and celery cleaned and chopped in containers in the fridge. This sure cuts down on the time to make a meal. If you keep carrots, celery, onions, bell peppers and mushrooms on hand, it is amazing what can be created in the kitchen!

To make this gastronomic pleasure, you need to dice:

• 2 cups onion
• 1 cup carrots
• 2 cups celery
• 1 cup red bell pepper
• 3 cups potato

All measurements are approximate. (it's baking that is more scientific :) )

Prepare or have ready:

• olive oil
• butter or margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chili flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon essence (Emeril Lagasse had his recipe for this spice blend on line years ago so I make a batch often and use it in everything....it's so versatile - a great gift also!)
  
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (dried flakes work)
• 2 bay leaves (pick these out before serving the soup)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I keep frozen cubes of basil from my garden for such use)
• dash salt
• fresh ground black pepper

You also need:

• 2 pounds frozen fish fillets (I had sole fillets. Any left over cooked salmon can also be used up in this soup.)
• 1 can of corn niblets (or peaches and cream variety)
• 2 cups white wine (my pantry had chardonnay)
• 4 cups skim milk (or if not watching calories - use cream or whole milk)
• 2 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

First, heat a cast iron frying pan and add a drizzle of olive oil. Bless with a generous pinch of red chili flakes, and then add a tablespoon of margarine, the onions, essence and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are transparent.















Transfer the onions into a heavy soup pot or dutch oven. In the frying pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and some margarine to cook the celery, carrots, and bell pepper until tender. When these are done, add them to the soup pot.















Turn on the soup pot, pour the white wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil and add the potatoes, bay leaves, and thyme, parsley, and basil. Season lightly with pepper and salt.















Simmer on medium heat, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Stir occasionally to avoid scorching (and to entice the current residents)


Once the potatoes are cooked, break up the fish fillets into chunks, if they haven't already done so on their own.



Add the milk or cream or combination thereof and heat through. Do not allow to boil as the soup will separate and not look so appetizing ( it will still be tasty)

Serve in a generous bowl, topping with a sprinkle of parsley and fresh ground black pepper:















Very tasty with a nice lingering finish....one bowl is never enough!

Enjoy!

Bernard Callabaut Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Method:
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in cocoa. Blend in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 30-35 minutes or until done. Cool. Frost or dip with chocolate glaze. (Bernard Callabaut is the more decadent option)

Persian Lime Pie

Here is another tasty dessert you simply must try.

(I hoped to make a key lime pie, but as it happened the key limes available were a bit tinier than normal so I used 4-5 persian limes instead.) The substitution is acceptable, though if you ever try Key Lime Pie using real Key Limes, you will find the result is ..mmmm .. yummy. What can I say?

The first time I made a key lime pie, a few years ago, I made it with a flaky homemade pie crust. This I filled with a lovely key lime filling and topped it with meringue. I took it to a social function and several of the people enjoying it wanted to go into the pie making business with me. It was that good!

Since then, I have lost the recipe. Darn. Someday I will emulate it again.

I checked the net, and found a couple of respectable recipes and tried two. Here is one version using a graham pie crust:















To make a graham pie crust, you will need:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar

Combine ingredients, and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Set aside while you make the filling.















(Hint: Before you juice the limes, it is helpful to first take the zest off - you need 2-3 teaspoons of zest.)
To make the lime filling, prepare the following:

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice -5 persian limes (or approximately 12 key limes)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons of lime zest

First mix the egg yolks with the lime zest.














Add the sweetened condensed milk and the lime juice.














Mix until thick. The lime juice will "cook" the egg yolks.

Points of interest:

1. Originated in Key West, Florida when there was no refrigeration and no cattle.
2. Canned milk was brought in by ship and later by train, as fresh milk was not available.
   
3. In the past this was an "unbaked" pie...leaving the acid in the lime juice to set and thicken the filling. These days, however, we find it necessary to bake the pie to avoid getting sick from Salmonella or other bacteria that may be present in the egg yolks.
4. Traditionally, there was no meringue or whipped cream topping used.

Ok, back to the pie:

Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell.










































Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned, and filling is set around the edge.














If you choose to top this pie with meringue - and this will help with the dilemma of "what to do with all the left over egg whites."

Here is the recipe:

Meringue

• 3-4 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• dash salt

Beat egg whites in glass or copper bowl until soft peaks form. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt and gradually beat into egg whites. Continue beating until firm peaks form. Spoon onto hot pie filling, spreading the meringue to the pie crusts edge. Put pie back in oven and bake at 350 degrees until meringue is browned...about 10-12 minutes.

With or without meringue, this pie is very sinful.

Or serve with a dollup of whipped cream:

Chocolate Chip Tollhouse Cookies

Blight loves Chocolate Chip cookies. So with his recent visit...guess what? We made a new Blog entry!















Prepare the following:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup nuts, chopped ( pecans, walnuts, or almonds)
  

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line baking trays with baking paper.















Cream the sugars with the butter until light and fluffy.















Add the egg, vanilla, flour and baking soda.















Stir until combined.















Mix in the chocolate and nuts.















Drop by tablespoons onto trays, leaving room for cookies to spread out.















Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and cool. Store in an airtight container.















Yummy, fresh cookies. Pour yourself a tall cool one and enjoy!