Truffle Mutt

More From the Photo Gallery

This was another photo that I had gathering dust in my photo gallery. 

These fancy bites are my twist on sticky rice.   Last year I was cooking for a Chinese themed dinner party and I devised these so I could serve sticky rice with all the flavor and half the mess.  They aren't wrapped in lotus leaves, so I added the leaves to the water in the bottom of the steamer before steaming the rice.  It worked perfectly the rice was infused with the earthy aroma of lotus leaves.

In the bottom of a jelly roll pan lined with parchment I pressed a thin layer of sticky rice, then a layer of sweet pork filling and then another thin layer of sticky rice.  I tossed white and black sesame seeds over the rice and then pressed lightly to adhere them to the rice.  I cooled these slightly and then cut them using a biscuit cutter.  To rewarm cover with a moist towel and place in a warm oven, for several minutes.

Messy Shrimp

This super easy dish accompanied a salad and grilled bison tenderloin for dinner a few weeks ago.  I had a giant bag of shrimp in the fridge that I couldn't put off using and 1/2 a jar of Classico Sundried Tomato Pesto that I also needed to use up.

Browsing the epicurious website I found this recipe and adapted it to the ingredients I had on hand.  I used the wine, butter and basil from the recipe and added a few big spoonfuls of the pesto.  It  turned out to be a big hit and I would certainly make it again.  Next time though I will make a lot more sauce and serve it with fresh French bread for dipping.  Serve with napkins!

Home Alone

A few weekends ago I was home alone and the freedom was exhilarating.   

I spent my Saturday morning battling the crowds at the Calgary Farmers' Market and Planet Organic gathering my bounty.  I bought eggplants, tomatoes, summer squash, baby zucchini and cucumbers along with many other forms of organic matter that Jason would never eat, in preparation for my vegetable voyage. 

My plans for the weekend revolved around making stock, which I have been meaning to make for ages and ages.  I made two batches of veal stock and one batch of veggie stock.  And after spilling precious stock on my foot, the floor and the counter, I know that I will not attempt making stock again without a vastly larger stock pot and sieve.  In addition, if you're going to go through the time and effort to make stock you really should end up with more than 4 cups.  Come on!  4 cups.  I see a HUGE pot in my future.  Call me psychic.

After careful stock rationing, I decided to use the vegetable stock to make this white bean soup from my copy of 30 Minute Vegetarian.  I made a few changes to the soup and it turned out to be quite good.  Next time I may try dried beans instead of canned, because the canned ones are a little too mushy. 

A Big Pot of Jambalaya

I don't have a lot to say about Jambalaya.  I don't like making, smelling or eating it.  Are you wondering why I make it?  If you must know, I make it to be a good wife.  I cook dinner straight after tidying up and then I rush to refresh myself.  Ha-ha!  Apparently the cleaning up part will even lift my spirits!  Perfect.  :)  I can't tell you the last time dusting or vacuuming has lifted my spirits - maybe I'm not doing it right.   

I actually do make jambalaya because Jason likes it and because it's one of the few ways he eats his veggies.  So while it's not on my list of favorites, I soldier on.  I make it sound bad, but I'd have to score it an 8 or 9 in comparison to others I've tried.  Deconstructed it doesn't seem bad at all - peppers, tomatoes, shrimp, sausage and chicken.  What's not to like?  Maybe I just can't hack so many protein sources in one dish.  Like shrimp on pepperoni pizza - gross.

Lost Photos

Ah yes. 

It's miscellaneous picture time.  Rummaging through old photo files on my computer I see lot's of "almost posts" hanging out.

I made these shrimp rolls last winter and they were my first attempt at using rice paper. 

Let me relate to you a little something about rice paper.  It is a lesson in patience.  No, it's much more than that.  It is the supreme teacher of self control.

Rice paper is deceptive.  Observing it in the package and while softening it appears quite tame.  But don't be fooled - it can beat you.  Once the sheets have been softened in water with a splash of vinegar you have to apply a gentle force to each sheet, carefully persuading it to leave the others behind.  Then once it's out of the water and starts to dry it will turn almost instantly onto a combination of slimy, sticky, strong and fragile.  At this point the sheets do not respond well to being roughly handled, thrown onto work surfaces or being yelled at.  Well, yelling at it is probably okay.  Unless, of course, your house guests have already arrived, and then have to tone that down too.  Judging from the picture above I made this batch near the end of my training session - sometime after a package of 50 wrappers ended up in the garbage.

I do love these rolls, but I'll be honest, patience is not my thing.  I'll be buying these from now on - as long as there's no line up.   

Everything but the Cabin Sink

A couple of weeks ago I was lounging on the shores of Mara lake and actually enjoying the heat of the baking sun.  There's just something about being beside the water that makes the heat much more tolerable.

Our cabin is perched on a rock next to the water in a secluded cove that's the perfect place for a quite holiday.  It is however, only accessible by boat making it imperative that all types of food be stocked in case hunger strikes.  For me organizing this trip usually requires several hours of meal planning followed by a major shopping trip.  But I wasn't feeling great before we left I neglected planning knowing the grocery store out there to be well stocked.

When we arrived in town my cousin was just packing up to leave.  He had been out the week before skiing and drinking with his buddies and he told us not to worry about shopping because they were leaving us with tons of leftover food.  Yeah, the warning bells (more like sirens) were going off in my head, but being eager to get to the cabin, I pushed the idea of the grocery store out of my head. 

When we arrived at the cabin my fears were confirmed when we opened the fridge to 4lbs hot dogs, 5 lbs hamburger, 1/4 cow's worth of steak, 3 packages of buns and BBQ sauce.  The girls on the trip had nicely contributed a few bags of baby carrots, yogurt and 2 liters of milk.  So, technically it was true that we had lots of groceries.  But they were boy groceries!  And then it happened, the boat died.  Not all was lost at least we had lots of alcohol. 

Daily meals included yogurt and a grapefruit cooler for breakfast, hot dogs and tangerine coolers for lunch and steak and veggies with pineapple coolers for dinner.  And dessert?  A box of several-seasons-old brownies and a french vanilla vodka cooler.  It wasn't gourmet, but at least it wasn't survivor. 

In the end the boat was resurrected and we were able to buy some real food for the last part of our trip.  We also had to buy lots more alcohol, we'd become frighteningly accustomed to our meal-time imbibing.

The omelet above was an attempt to clean out the fridge before we left.  It's a 13 egg monster with 1/2 package of breakfast sausage, 3 portabello mushrooms, 3 baby potatoes, 1 onion, 1 yellow pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 package of cheese, 1 bunch of asparagus and 1 tomato.  We still had some leftovers, but I drew the line at adding pickles...  And to go along with breakfast, my new favorite drink.  Milk - it was breakfast after all - mixed with Kahlua and Capitan Morgan's Parrot Bay Coconut Rum.  Mmm.