Tomato Relish

 

Tomato relish may seem reminiscent of Pico Gallo however it is different as it has no cilantro or lime. It may be closer to a rustic salsa in that it has fresh tomatoes, onion and jalapeños; plus it has a sharp zesty flavour and can be the absolute garnish or addition to any dish or meal. 

Tomato Relish

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2 large beefsteak tomatoes, finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, remove seeds, finely diced

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon corriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried dill

Prep and finely dice the tomatoes, celery stalks and red onion. 

Place all the chopped or diced vegetables into a large bowl. Slice the jalapeno pepper in half and scrape out the ribs and seeds, then finely dice. Add to the bowl. Toss the vegetables together.  

Add the vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds, salt, ground pepper and dill. Toss everything together and allow the relish to stand at room temperature for an hour. 

Refrigerate any leftovers in a well sealed glass container for up to two weeks. 

Notes: Roma, heirloom cherry tomatoes may be used. 

Creamy Pasta Salad

 

Having leftover smart veggie elbow macaroni, a Catelli brand pasta made with carrot and cauliflower flours with twice the fibre as regular pasta, had me wanting to make pasta salad... you know the creamy comfort kind and although mine isn't excessively rich or creamy because I made it with less mayo and more organic Greek yoghurt, it still has that cool creaminess that comes with many sides over late summer. I added chopped celery, diced mixed peppers from our pepper pot and slices of green onion. Oil and vinegar may be used to replace the mayo and yoghurt, just adjust the measurements to 1/4 cup vinegar and about 1/2 cup olive oil and omit the 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar.   

Macaroni Salad Dressing

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1/4 cup mayo

3/4 cup plain Organic Greek yoghurt

2 teaspoons grainy mustard

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or any vinegar you prefer

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 - 2 teaspoons vegetable and herb medley seasoning mix or whatever fresh or dried mixed herbs you like

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Add ins:

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup mixed peppers, diced

2 celery stalks, cut in half and chopped

3 - 4 cups cooked leftover Catelli Smart Veggie elbow macaroni

In a medium bowl combine all the salad dressing ingredients and whisk together until well combine and smooth.

Prep and chop the vegetables if you haven't done so already.

In a large bowl add the leftover cold macaroni and pour the dressing over and toss together until well coated. Add the chopped vegetables and toss again.

Sautéed Cabbage & Vegetables

 

An express vegetable sauté that transforms cabbage and a variety of vegetables with a delicate hint of garlic although you may want to add more garlic for an intense garlic flavour, if you wish. Garlic herb butter is key, if you do not have any, then use regular butter and add minced garlic and toss in some herbs. A splash of white wine never goes a miss however a flavoured vinegar will do if you do not wish to add the wine. As you can see this recipe is quite simple and flexible with ingredients and may be modified to your taste. Simple, savoury and delicious!  

 

Sautéed Cabbage & Vegetables

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about half a green cabbage, thinly sliced

3 celery stocks, chopped

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups grated carrots (approximately 3 large carrots) 

6 tablespoon of garlic herb butter, or 1 tablespoon butter per cup of vegetables

1 tablespoon olive oil

splash of white wine, optional 

In a large frypan melt the garlic butter over medium high heat, stirring, ensuring not to burn the butter. Once the butter has melted add the olive oil, swirl together, then add the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms to the pan. Gently stir then add the cabbage and gently toss, the best you can, to coat all the vegetables in the butter mixture. As the cabbage cooks down, it will get easier to do. Add the splash of white wine, toss to coat again and keep tossing, cooking until tender but still crisp. 

Black Bean Soup

This is a zesty black bean soup that is very rich and creamy, although no cream has been added. It's a flavourful, healthy and fibre rich meal that can be served with many toppings.  

Black Bean Soup

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Serves 4 to 6 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 carrots, chopped small

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 x 19oz (540ml) cans of black beans, rinsed 

1 litre low sodium chicken stock

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large heavy bottomed stock pot, add the olive oil and gently het over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and allow to slightly soften over the medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and a bit of salt and pepper, stirring to incorporate, and cook for another minute or two.

Add the rinsed black beans and stock. Reduce the heat to low, allowing soup to simmer, then cover for 30 to 40 minutes. Stirring every 5 minutes or so, to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

Take the soup off the heat and allow to cool a bit. Use a blender to purée the soup in small batches or use a hand blender to do the same. 

Serve with plain greek yoghurt, sour cream, chunks of avocado, salsa, corn, or hot pepper rings.

Another full week ahead. Hope everyone is well and staying safe. - JD 

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are an American classic. Growing up we had them from time to time. I always saw it as a quick, fun... if you didn't mind the lack of structure, meal which my mum could throw together in no time. Now that I am an adult I still view Sloppy Joes in the same way and every now and again fancy one.

While checking out the local organic shop I found a Sloppy Joe seasoning packet. The sodium content was reasonable and so was the price so I bought it. Using the seasoning packet did not necessarily cut down on time it was more convenient. My only issue with this seasoning mixture is that the directions state to "mix packet contents with warm water in a bowl, stirring until completely dissolved" ... since it didn't specify a specific amount of water I just added what I thought would dissolve the spices however I ended up with a thin paste. I was not sure if the warm water activated the seasonings some how or why you would need to water down the seasonings as they were there to give it flavour.   Next time I will opt to make my own seasoning mix. 

1 x Simply Organic Sloppy Joes seasoning packet

1 x 454g ground(mince) meat... usually lean minced beef is used or sometimes minced turkey however I used minced chicken. 

1 x can of tomato paste

1 to 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 piece of celery, chopped 

and half a large yellow onion, diced

*You could also add some diced red and green peppers.

Make according to the seasoning package. 

If you do not have a seasoning packet then you will need a combination of the following ingredients. 

1 to 2 teaspoons of chili powder 

Worcestershire sauce 

possibly some mustard

1 can of tomato paste 

1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced

some honey 

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

How much or how little will be up to you. My son thought adding some Sriracha sauce would be great too. 

Place a little bit of oil in a large fry pan, add the meat and onions and cook on high heat until the meat and onions are soft. Add the grated carrots and chopped celery or any other veggies you may want to add. Let those cook for a few minutes then add the seasoning sauce you made, from the list of ingredients above, or a seasoning packet, as I did, and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve on buns, rolls or try serving it in a wrap. 

Hope everyone had a good week. School is just about finished for my kidlets so these few weeks have been busy ones. Enjoy your weekend! - JD 

Leftovers #11 ~ Easy Spicy Tomato Rice with Vegetables

I am always saving leftover rice when I can and this time it proved perfect. This recipe is quick and easy. Using leftover day old rice, a handful of vegetables, a tin of diced tomatoes, chicken broth and spices. This dish will certainly add a bit of spice to your dinner time. Adding meat, tofu, beans or other vegetables and different spices can certainly change up this very satisfying dish.   

To make this dish you will need the following:   

1 red onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stocks, chopped

1 yellow or orange pepper, diced

1  lime, grated

2 tablespoons of oil

3 - 4 cups cooked leftover rice

1x 796ml (28 fluid ounces) low sodium diced tomatoes 

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2-3 tablespoons of chili powder

salt and pepper to taste 

First, chop or dice all the veggies. Grate the lime. Set aside.  

Over medium high heat warm the oil in a large frypan. I used vegetable oil however you may use whatever oil you wish. Once the oil is hot add the onions. Stir. Sauté the onions until slightly transparent. Then add the rest of the vegetables. Stir and allow the vegetables to soften.

Add the leftover rice. Stirring to loosen the rice up in the hot pan with the vegetables. Using a fork and pressing down on the rice should help. Once the rice is loosened and mixed with the vegetables add the chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir to coat well. Stir in the grated lime. 

Once the vegetables and rice are coated with the spices and lime, add the tin of tomatoes and the broth. Stir and let simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and heated all the way through. 

Serve.

For something a bit different, you can take the finished recipe and place it into a deep baking dish, add grated cheese over the top and pop it into a preheated 350ºF oven until the cheese melts. 

Enjoy! -JW 

Beef Cider Stew

As promised I will share the recipe for the Beef Cider Stew from the Apples, Apples, Apples cookbook. This recipe was fairly easy and after some simple prep work and the cooking time was tweaked. This is a hearty dinner for a St. Patrick's Day however beef cider stew is good anytime.

Beef Cider Stew  

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Serves 6 

2 lb (1 kg) stewing beef

3 tablespoons (45 ml) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

1 teaspoon (5 ml) pepper

1/4 cup (50 ml) vegetable oil

2 sliced onions

2 cups (500 ml) sweet cider, I used Magners, or apple juice

1/2 cup (125 ml) beef broth or water

2 tablespoons (25 ml) cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) thyme 

4 small potatoes

4 medium carrots 

1/2 cup (125 ml) sliced celery

1. Cut stewing meat into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. I added a bit of paprika to the flour mixture. Add meat and shake to coat. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large stewing pot over medium heat and brown meat on all sides, in two batches. Add sliced onions and sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Drain off excess fat.

2. Return meat to Dutch oven and add cider or apple juice, beef broth or water, vinegar, and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour or until meat is nearly tender. 

3. Peel potatoes and carrots. Quarter potatoes and carrots. Add vegetables to stew and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until vegetables and meat are tender.

Notes: I decided to pre-cube the meat and chop the vegetables before starting. I also added a bit more stock, I used vegetable stock, because I had chopped a more vegetables than stated in the recipe. I added a small tin of no salt stewed tomatoes. So that it would make an adequate gravy also because of the extra veggies I added. I also added a few dashes of Worchestershire sauce. I had purchased better cuts of beef therefore the cooking time was not as long as stated in the recipe. 

Curried Potato Salad

For some reason this week it's all about the curry powder and potatoes. Not that I am   complaining! It started with the potato kedgeree and will end with a potato strudel. Last night I made a curried potato salad. My plan was to use the recipe from the cookbook I reviewed yesterday, The Nobel Spud. However when I get reading any recipe my mind starts bubbling with ways to tweak it. Until I finally say... "well this is what I am going to do." That's exactly what I have done here. This is my recipe:

7 medium potatoes - boiled with their skins on

half a red onion - peeled and chopped

half a white/yellow onion - peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter or low-sodium margarine 

2 teaspoons curry powder

celery - 2 stalks chopped

1 cup or half of a 600 gram tub of plain low fat organic yoghurt

1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

pinch of salt

pepper 

chopped watercress - optional

3 chopped hard-boiled eggs - optional

1) Boil the potatoes with their skins on and cook until firm. A fork should be able to pierce the potato not slide through it... you want them cooked but not over cooked. When the potatoes are done. Drain and rinse with cold water. This stops them from cooking any further.

2) Chop the onions. Add the butter to a hot pan and melt. Once the butter has melted add the onions. Fry until almost transparent. Then add the curry powder. Stir and mix well. Cook for another few minutes longer. Then remove from heat.

3) Chop the celery. Then chop the boiled potatoes.

4) In a large bowl combined the potatoes, celery and curried onions and mix gently. Making sure not to break the potatoes up too much. Then add the yoghurt, mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Gently mix together. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. Letting the flavour set.

I would luv to add watercress, unfortunately watercress is very hard to find here. Using a low fat yoghurt reduces the fat content. You can also omit the curry powder if you don't fancy it. You then may want to add some garlic, chives or dill to flavour the potato salad. You can also try adding chopped apples, chicken, dried cranberries... the possibilities are almost endless. There was some salad left over so I will be having that for lunch today. - JW