Red Cabbage

Another favourite thing of mine is red cabbage. Red cabbage is high in Vitamin C, rich in Vitamin A and abundant in Vitamin E. The darker and brighter a vegetable the better. Even though I had found a recipe in one of my many cookbooks, the recipe I used was given to me over the phone. This person was very sure and keen on sharing their recipe with me. You will need: one red cabbage, two apples, two white onions, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

First you want to finely chop the cabbage, apples and onions. I used Gala apples, you may also use Granny Smith apples for more of a tart flavour. When finished chopping add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot. Add a little salt and pepper. Start by putting a layer of red cabbage on the bottom, then follow with a layer of onion and then a layer of apples. Pour a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar, I used brown sugar, over the first set of layers. Repeat until all the cabbage, onion and apples are in the pot.

Your layers should look somewhat like this. With everything in the pot, simmer on medium high heat for an hour or two. Stir occasionally. Not letting it stick to the bottom of the pan. If juices run out add a bit more red wine vinegar. I supposed you could add some red wine to the pot, I did not. If you want the dish to be more sweet add more sugar. It's all personal preference.

When the house smells wonderful and everything has simmered down... remember the crunchy red cabbage and onion and the crisp apples... they have all come together. Stewed down into this yummy dish that is best served warm.

Have it with sausages, chicken or fish. It is a tasty side that will add colour and crunch to your meal.

Egg Salad

I don't know about you but I peel my eggs while they are still hot. I find that every time I let them cool down the eggs do not separate from the shells so graciously. After the eggs have finished boiling, drain the water and then put them back in the empty pot and run cold water over them. Let them sit for a matter of seconds. Smack and roll the boiled egg on a flat surface, an instant tension releaser. All the while listening to the crack and crunch of the shell. Then peel away the shell. With the eggs still being hot your fingers get a bit of a workout. Repeat until all of the egg have their shells removed. With all the shells gone rinse the eggs under cold water and and place in a bowl. With a fork start mashing...

After mashing the eggs add a pinch of salt, pepper, green onion, a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a tablespoon of English salad cream. I absolutely luv salad cream and use it whenever I can. It adds a bit of tanginess and sweetness to your dish. To give a bit of heat or kick to your egg salad add hot sauce or my favourite Dijon mustard.

And when you are done you can dress it however you wish. Lettuce gives more crunch!

- jw

Cooking Ode to Robbie Burns

If you have celebrated Robbie Burns Day you may have chosen one of the above menus... I preferred to celebrate the day by making Bannock.

What a fine plate of Bannock! Enjoyed by all.

And a Whisky Mac with Bannock. Enjoyed by a few.

Gae bring to me a pint o' wine

And fetch it in a silver tassie

That I may drink, before I go,

A service to my bonnie lassie.

- Burns

For Comfort

I acquired this cookbook very inexpensively! The Ultimate Cooking Course and Kitchen Encyclopedia by Hermes House editor Carole Clements is 512 pages thick. It is a very heavy book. Just lifting it gives you a workout! It is broken down into two parts. Part One: The Cook's Kitchen Bible comes with a full Introduction on kitchen know how and the sections are Meat, Pasta & Grains, Vegetables, Eggs, Sauces, Fruit, Breads and Pastry & Cakes... etc. With numbered step by step instructions and colour photos to guide you. The recipes in this section could be more for the experienced cook or someone who is looking to expand their palette. Part Two: American Home Cooking is broken down into more condensed sections. For example: Salads, Vegetables, Eggs and Cheese are one section, Meat and Poultry are another and Pasta, Pizza & Grains are together as well... you get the idea. Still included are the numbered step by step instructions and coloured photos. The recipes here have more to do with comfort food and down home cooking. Cooking for a hectic lifestyle. Overall this is a pretty good cookbook. Lots of recipes worth trying. Some standard and some no so standard. The recipes I have tried are, Rice Pudding, Blueberry-Cinnamon Muffins, Pound Cake, Pancakes and Baked Sausages and Beans with Crispy Topping.

Here is the Baked Sausages and Beans with Crispy Topping, served with a side of rice. I found the recipe fairly straight forward and the ingredients easy. This recipe is from the American Home Cooking part. I did find the dish a bit on the sweet side. It did have 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup brown sugar. So fairly sweet I would say. That being said the flavours did come out in this dish. My nine year old reluctantly ate it. He is a creature of habit with his food. If I was to make this dish again, next time I would switch the crushed tomatoes for stewed tomatoes and lessen the sugar. The recipe called for three meats; Sausages, Bacon and Kielbasa. A meat lovers heaven. As always I search for the lowest sodium ingredients that are offered. - JW

Stroganoff

The other day I featured the cookbook With a Jug of Wine by Morrison Wood and as I said I did cook the Stroganoff recipe from the book. Again... rather than beef I used chicken. The ingredients were simple and the recipe easy to follow. The only addition I made was adding paprika. The Stroganoff had subtle flavours and was served with Spaetzle, German egg pasta and steamed carrots. And was paired with a refreshing glass of white Riesling. Would I call on this cookbook again - yes!

my glasses off to you, Morrison Wood! - jw

© photos by Jacqueline Williams

Soup is on!

Yesterday I made soup from left over pork tenderloin stock. While the stock simmered on the stove I chopped my veggies. When done I added the veggies and macaroni, I used elbow macaroni, to the stock and let everything simmer together. After about 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender I removed from heat. Added two dashes of hot sauce and four quick dashes of paprika. stirred and served with two slices of french baguette and grated parmesan cheese on top. Very hearty!

The reason why I added hot sauce and paprika was because the pork tenderloin was cooked with cumin and brown sugar. The stock was sweet in taste so I wanted to cut the sweetness down. The soup was savory, sweet and just a hint of spice. I also felt that the soup could have used a root vegetable like turnip. Turnip would have worked well with the over all flavour of the soup. - jw

Just a Jug or Two

This cookbook I thought would be fun to add to my growing collection. With a Jug of Wine by Morrison Wood; Thirty-first printing, 1971, hardcover. Upon my research I found that the book remains out of print. Even though my copy is the thirty-first printing I am pretty lucky to have it and it must have been a very popular cookbook. Some reviews date Morrison Wood's musing in the kitchen pre Julia Child. The book starts with the discussion of wine, champagne and liqueurs. Then goes from appetizers to desserts with ease. One thing I do luv about this cookbook is that the recipes have easy to obtain ingredients. Most of the ingredients you would find in your pantry. Now I know cooking with wine... with alcohol is not for everyone. You could use cooking wine instead. I really enjoy when authors of cookbooks add stories, commentary... it makes it more personal. Fun to read. On page 63 is a recipe for Iced Chicken and Curry Soup which was a favourite of actress Myrna Loy. Whom was married to one of Woods old friends, Gene Markey. Interesting tidbit. Tomorrow night I am going to put this cookbook to the test and make Beef Stroganoff. I will be substituting the beef for chicken.

And just when you thought With a Jug of Wine couldn't get any better Morrison Wood came out with, More Recipes With a Jug of Wine; Thirteenth printing, 1971, hardcover. This companion has a whole new set of recipes. Similar to, With a Jug of Wine, they range from classic to exotic aka European. His stories and commentary are also present in this edition. I did find out that Morrison Wood did a third book called Through Europe With a Jug of Wine. I do not own a copy of that cookbook. - jw

© photos by Jacqueline Williams.

My Afternoon Warm Up!

While I was out braving the minus 27 degree weather, the thing I kept thinking about was a grilled cheese sandwich. As soon as I got home and put the shopping away I smacked together two pieces of rye bread, cheddar cheese and salami. Very satisfying. This was more than Dylan Moran's melted imaginary cheese thing... it was real and warm! - jw

© copyright photos by Jacqueline Williams.

comfort food

Last night I made macaroni and cheese to much of my six year olds dismay. The past two days have been cold and I have been craving some solid comfort food. Macaroni and cheese was it! Of coarse the recipe was simple... it's macaroni and cheese. When it says 2 cups of cheese I take that as an invitation to add more cheese. I served this dish with a mixed green salad. Simple delicious comfort food.

bubbly and very cheesy... 2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard... I used prepared Dijon mustard instead. 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 cups of milk... I used Skim milk. 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package. While the macaroni is cooking... Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. This is where I used a whisk instead of a wooden spoon. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. boil and stir for 1 minute, remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered 20 - 25 minutes or until bubbly.

© photos by Jacqueline Williams

roses are red and so are radishes

Something I have reintroduced myself to is the radish. It wasn't until I was at a dinner party and noted the brightly coloured root in the salad. Until then, I did not realise how much I have missed this little wonder. Radishes are rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid and potassium. They are also a good source of vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper and calcium. Normally radishes come with a bit of a spicy side however the radishes that I am currently buying seem less spicy and more sweet.

This is my salad: One bag of mixed field greens, some chopped cucumber and one bunch, approximately 11, radishes. mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar together with a pinch of salt and toss or individually drizzle dressing over served salad. If you don't want to make your own salad dressing then use which ever pre-made dressing you wish. I would avoid creamy dressing as I find that it takes away from the radishes. keep it light and fresh.

Here is my salad rounded out by a dinner of chicken meatloaf and oven roasted baby potatoes and carrots. A nice French red wine accompanied the meal. - jw

More than a Minute

I feel this cookbook needs no introduction. Everyone... well almost everyone around the globe will recognise Jamie Oliver. I wanted to review this book now because most recently it has made headlines. Claims of promoting obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The usual suspects: coconut milk, cream, butter and red meat are present in some recipes. Jamie Oliver's recipes are recipes for 4-6 people. So let's put the portions sizes in perspective and everything in moderation. Right? Are you eating a Catherine Wheel seven days a week? Probably, not! Jamie Oliver is only using ingredients that have been used by your parents, your grandparents and their parents and everyone around the globe! If you don't like cooking with those ingredients than use the low fat versions of those ingredients. Personally I would prefer him to use the pure ingredients rather than the modified ones! I like Jamie Oliver for all his Food Revolution efforts, getting people, families back into the kitchen and out of the blur of processed foods and fast food. Whether you luv, like or dislike him you have to admit he has made an impact. He is trying to use his know how in a positive way. Now on with my review...

I found this a very easy cookbook to read. I like how it is laid out. the recipes follow as if Jamie Oliver is in your kitchen guiding you through each step of the process. It speaks to you in the way of how you would cook... how you would do the process. step by step. I own a copy of this book however when I was doing some research about the book I found that the cover used to be called Jamie's 30 Minute Meals: a Revolutionary Approach to Cooking Good Food Fast. Interesting. I feel unless you are a very experienced cook or get your kitchen magic mojo working then the recipes might take more than 30 minutes. Hence the possible title change, Meals in Minutes. Makes sense. Remember the saying practise makes perfect. In time you'll be able to get the recipes down. I know for myself it takes me a bit of time with a new recipe to get my groove on. To get it to a level where I am comfortable. I recommend this book to anyone who wants some good solid meals. Families, couples, people who entertain and luv to cook. Even if you are a single person I feel you could still use this book by freezing the unused portions. I know the idea is fresh food fast so I hope I didn't make Jamie Oliver cringe with that statement.

The photos are stunning and seem to go hand in hand with the step by step recipes on the opposite page. There is a video recorder symbol with recipes so you can visit his website and find helpful techniques to guide you. Which brings the level of interaction with this cookbook to a higher one. There is also a lovely write up by Jamie Oliver at the beginning. Cookbooks now a days almost read like a novel... well to me anyway. I enjoy looking at the entire cookbook. I feel Jamie Oliver is all about trying to give you the power... the cooking power that is! - jw

where it all began...

this is the book that started my luv affair with cookbooks, the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook, circa 1960's. with it's highly over colourized photos to it's whimsical drawings this was the cookbook i pondered over when i was a girl. flipping from page to page, dreaming... lingering over the cake and cookie pages. watching my mum measure, pour and add ingredients with ease. that was kitchen magic at it's best! there was always a lot of baked goods in the house... not only because of Betty Crocker, mostly because of my mum! she enjoyed baking and cooking and i can assume my grandmother, her mum, did as well. i know for a fact that my other grandmother, my dad's mum did. many times a year we would receive an assortment of her delicious homemade baking. scones, shortbread and peanut butter marshmallow squares i seem to recall the most. Betty Crocker was the essential. for me Betty Crocker is a reminder of days gone by.

this coconut cake can give Marianne's coconut cream pie a run for her money!

this is one of the many whimsical drawings that grace the pages of this cookbook. they almost have a Ronald Searle feel about them. well to me they do or at least remind me of his drawings. a bit of highland dancing anyone?

suggestive drawings and the highly colourized photos, like this one shown below, make the food pop right off the page if not slide right off. - jw