Recipe - Baba Ganoush

One of my favourite things to do after a long hard day of writing for no money is to cook. My kitchen has an open view wall facing the living room. While my fiance plays video games, I set up my laptop on the bureau facing (well, on top of the microwave on top of the bureau facing - yes, we have a microwave in our living room. Apartment living is the bomb!) and watch some t.v., usually Iron Chef or some other cooking show.

If I'm really lucky I'll have a beer. If I'm super extra lucky, I have a little helper waiting for me by the door:

Tonight I made Baba Ganoush, a Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip that's very simple to prepare.
First, you roast the eggplant, which I rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before putting it in the oven. Also make sure to prick it all over with a fork or else it will explode.

When it's ready (about 40 minutes), let it cool then peel the skin and discard. The insides go into the food processor (or you can mash it with a fork).
Next, 2 tbs or less of Tahini.

Depending on where you live Tahini might be hard to find, but it's essential and a 6 dollar pot will last you months in the fridge.
Add your seasoning. Basics are lemon, garlic and salt but everything else is to your taste. I like fresh parsley, pepper and a chili. Tonight I used half a jalapeno. You can also put cumin, black olives and sour cream.

Give it a whirl in the food processor and add extra seasoning as needed.

And that's it. Baba Ganoush is fucking awesome and you should make it and eat it with pita and veggies or over rice.

Recipe - Steamed Mussels

I was going to make this recipe my internet friend linked me, because NOM and CHEESE, but my mussels were a bit too small and weren't already on the half shell. I am lazy so I wasn't going to spend an hour prying open two pounds of mussels.

I threw this together instead:

1/4 cup of red wine

1/4 cup of water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small onion, quartered

2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2 motherflippin' pounds of mussels

Prepare the mussels - take any that are open and stick them in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes to see if they close. Throw out the ones that don't end up closing then rinse the rest thoroughly under cold water.

Throw wine, water and garlic into large pot. Bring to a boil and let flavours meld for a couple of minutes.

Toss in celery, carrots and onion and continue to boil until slightly softened (approx 5 minutes.)

Dump in all mussels, seal with a loosely fitting lid and let steam for exactly 5-7 minutes.

Remove mussels from pot, leaving any liquid in the pot.

And that's it.

I may have over cooked these by about a minute but no one complained. I served them with a simple garden salad, a fresh baguette and melted butter.

Recipe - Tomato, onion and garlic Provencale

So I completely did not make a single dish from my previous post. Not even the red onion dip which was literally just chopped red onions mixed with sour cream.

Alas, we persevere. I made other fun things. Nothing terribly fancy but here they are:

To me this looks like simple roast veggies. What I think makes it a provencale is the stove top carmelization at the end (my 4 seconds spent checking it on Google yielded no concrete definition for a provencale - if you know what it is feel free to correct me).

Prior to going in the oven:



It was ridiculously tasty.

I adapted my dish from the recipe over at one of my favourite cooking sites Simple, Fresh, Delicious. I didn't have thyme or rosemary so I used fresh parsley and basil instead. I made up for a half portion of red wine vinegar with balsamic, and added a teaspoon of hot mustard. We also added potatoes to make the food go a bit further.

I can't remember the protein we had with it, if any, that's how memorable this simple recipe of roasted tomatoes and onions turned out to be. I haven't had a more comforting or aromatic vegetable dish in a long while.

(Plus it makes me feel all kinds of upper class saying I know how to make a provencale.)

Flour tortillas

Okay, so, let me explain. Actually, let me defend my mother.

Growing up, my mom showed me many times how to make dough. She knew what she was doing and tried her best with me. The problem was that I was a portly, eating-obsessed child and so never paid near as much attention to her instruction as I did to how much longer it would be until whatever we were making was ready, or to sneaking an illicit spoonful of chocolate batter or a slice of lemon and sugar coated apples. Some of the best memories in my life are baking with her in our bright kitchen.

As I said in my previous post, I've never made myself a pie crust. I've worked on them with my mom but never trusted myself to complete the recipe without her. Nor have I ever then made a pizza dough, or a loaf of bread (even in the bread machine) and I've never made flour tortillas, which is to some akin to admitting I've never boiled pasta.



In fact, I still haven't made any on my own. Joël and I did these together, and they're all the better for it.



Served with it was my own on-the-fly recipe for Sweet Pepper Chicken:



Please ignore the spinach in this photo. We didn't end up using it!

Butter or olive oil
1 red chili, chopped
2-3 tbs fresh chopped coriander
1/4 fresh chopped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper (as needed)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup chopped sweet peppers
4 chicken backs
3/4 - 1 cup chicken broth

Parboil chicken. Set aside to cool. When it's cool, remove meat from bones.

In sauce pan over medium high heat brown onions in butter with salt and pepper until mostly translucent. Add a bit of butter to hottest part of pan. When it's mostly melted add garlic and chilis. Spray them with a dash of lemon juice, then let cook for 1-2 minutes.

Stir everything together then lower heat slightly to add cilantro, parsley, 1/2 cup of chicken broth (added slowly), more lemon juice and more butter or olive oil if needed. Cook, stirring frequently, until flavours are melded and sauce has thickened. Then, turn up heat, add peppers, shredded chicken and remainder of broth and bring everything to a boil. Cook until peppers are softened and the chicken cooked, then reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking until the broth has reduced again.



Serve over fresh baked torillas with a bit of salsa (I've yet to venture into making it from scratch) and it's delicious and very inexpensive.



I loved this meal for many reasons. Most of my young adulthood when I should have been practicing making dough and things was spent not taking very good care of myself at all. Being in a place where I have the focus and inclination to spend time cooking food like this is wonderful beyond words. Having such a great cooking partner in my fiance and such a cozy apartment to hold the the warmth and aroma of our efforts only makes it better.