A Life, Lived

Mu-Shu Pork

Mu-shu pork is a dish of northern Chinese origin, possibly originally from Shandong. It is believed to have first appeared on the menus of Chinese restaurants in the United States in the late 1960s, and is also a staple of American Chinese cuisine

I had never tasted it before until about 15 years ago when I first went to along-closed restaurant in Hamilton. With that one taste I was hooked. It might have been the presentation- the server would smear each pancake with hoisin sauce, pile on the pork/mushroom/cabbage/egg mixture and fold each up in a delicious parcel.

Strangely I had never tried it at home. I corrected that error last week with an amazing recipe from Fine Cooking. They showed you how to make the pancakes and the sauce.We did it all!

I won't kid you - it was a bit of work . . .but, oh my goodness, I have never tasted Mu-shu pork this delicious!

Mu-Shu Pork

1/2 lb. lean pork, such as loin or tenderloin
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup dried cloud ears
1/2 cup golden needles (also called dried lily buds)
3 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil
1 slice fresh ginger, about 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 lb. Savoy or white cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 scallion (white and green parts), cut lengthwise and then into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained, and sliced into a 2-inch julienne
1 tsp. salt

Cut the pork into 1/4-inch slices. Stack the slices and cut them into thin strips. In a medium bowl, mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, and rice wine. Add the sliced pork and toss to coat. In separate small bowls, soak the cloud ears and golden needles in warm water for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well. Cut off the stems from the cloud ears and golden needles. Cut the cloud ears into small pieces and the golden needles in half.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the ginger slice, cook it until sizzling and fragrant, and then remove and discard it. Add the eggs and scramble them, breaking them up into small pieces when just set. Remove the eggs from the wok and reserve. Heat another 1 Tbs. oil in the wok until very hot. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until about halfway cooked, about 45 seconds. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 1 minute. Add the scallion, cloud ears, golden needles, bamboo shoots, and salt; cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Return the scrambled eggs to the wok to warm them. Mix well.

To serve, spread some sauce on a pancake, add some stir-fry, and then wrap and eat with your hands.

Photo Hunt - Sale

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'sale'.

I couldn't believe all of the things for sale at this Athen's market!

Of course, this was my favourite T-shirt:

The Mayor

I saw this on twitter as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (AKA 'if I say I was drunk it makes al' of my bad behaviour OK') admitted he had been lying about smoking crack for months.While he apologized to the city he did not apologize to the reporters he had vilified for months for reporting what he said were lies . . . but were the truth.

It is true, there is a Simpson's image for all of life's moments.

Daylight Savings . . .BAH

Chiang Mai Pork Patties

My goodness what a day it was yesterday! Toronto's mayor, after months of denial, admited to smoking crack cocaine but excused his behaviour as he was drunk out of his mind. Then in Ottawa the Senate voted to oust three former Conservative senators for improper expenses . . . although I bet all of them have charged similar things in the past. It is too much, just too much.

Happily I have another distraction today because it is the first Wednesday of the month. Long time readers know that this means it is time for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. Shame for the virtual thing because I have things to chatter about, yes I do.

This month's theme was chosen by me -likely after I returned from eating 2 weeks worth of fried seafood in Boston and the Cape -was under 300 calories. The gang could make anything they wanted so long as it was under 300 calories.

I decided to make these flavourful Thai inspired pork patties which roll in at 291 calories. Of course we had a great Asian inspired meal with Dim Sum, Mu Shu Pork, and Beef with Lime, Garlic and Pepper so the 300 calorie thing was a fraud when it all was brought together. SIGH

Chiang Mai sausages are one of the glories of Northern Thai cuisine. The ingredient list includes some items that may be unfamiliar; you can find them at Southeast Asian markets, or use the substitutes listed below (of course we tracked every last ingredient down!).

Chiang Mai Pork Patties

1 1/4 pounds ground pork
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots
14 cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh lemongrass
2 tablespoons thinly sliced Kaffir lime leaves or 1 tablespoon minced lime rind
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh galangal or 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 fresh Thai red bird chiles, minced
15 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2/3 cup fresh mint leaves
10 lime wedges

Combine pork and salt in a medium bowl; toss to combine.

Place shallots in a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add chopped cilantro and next 5 ingredients (through chiles); process until mixture is finely chopped. Add pork mixture; pulse 5 times or until mixture is well combined.

Using wet hands, shape mixture into 15 (1-inch-thick) patties (about 2 tablespoons per patty). Heat a large grill pan over high heat. Add half of the pork patties. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat the procedure with remaining patties. Arrange 3 lettuce leaves and 3 pork patties on each of 5 plates, and serve each serving with about 1/4 cup herbs and 2 lime wedges.

Travel Tuesdays

I am amazed at how long thefall colour has stuck around this year - and at how bright it is!

In fairness, that really is not travelling since I took it in the backyard!

Let's go further afield . . .

Fall in Canadaigua . . . a lovely thing!

Be sure to pop on over to Sandi's blog to see what else is happening on Travel Tuesdays!

Creamy Baked Polenta

I made this to serve with the sausages and pepers that I cooked as a tribute to Marcella Hazan a few weeks back. I love polenta but hate cooking it as the long process usually involves burns from splatters of hot polenta bubbling up like a volcano and hitting my arm. This recipe, by Sara Moulton, promised to be easy!

I like easy!

The cornmeal mush known as polenta, one of the national dishes of Italy, emerged in its original form as the field ration of the Roman soldier. Although pulmentum was made of millet or spelt (cornmeal was unknown to the ancient Romans), it boasted the same versatility that we love in polenta today — you can cook it up and serve it immediately while it’s still creamy, or let it set up like a cake that can be sliced and sautéed.

Cooking polenta on the stove requires a lot of hands-on time — and not a little care. Here, it is cooked in the oven, which drastically decreases the hands-on time. The result is a delicious polenta without the burns - a win/win situation in my books.

Creamy Baked Polenta

1 cup yellow cornmeal or regular (not instant) coarse polenta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
2 ounces provolone cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated (about 2/3 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Combine 4 cups water, the cornmeal, butter, salt, and pepper in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake, uncovered, on the top shelf of the oven for 40 minutes.

Remove the polenta from the oven, give it a stir, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven; stir in the provolone and salt and pepper to taste; let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Autumn Vegetable Soup

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of vegetables which need to be used up - you know how that woks, right? Generally the soup pot is pulled out and a pot of comfort is the result.

I happened to be glancing through the cookbook that Kayte sent me and found this recipe for Autumn Vegetable Soup. I had my doubts since the soup had very little flavouring except for the vegetables. I should have known better!

The resulting soup was amazing. A perfect reminder that in Italy the focus is on the ingredients and not a bunch of additives to bring forth the flavour.

Autumn Vegetable Soup

1 1/4 cup dried beans (I used pinto), soaked in cold water overnight
5 cloves garlic, peeled, 3 chopped
a small bunch of fresh sage leaves
10.5 ounces Tuscan Kale (Cavolo Nero)
5 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 leek trimmed, rinsed, sliced
1 1/2 cup chopped celery (including some of the inner stalks and leaves)
2 1/3 cup peeled and sliced carrots
14 ounces potatoes, peeled and chopped
10.5 ounces cabbage, shredded
8 slices country-style bread
crushed chilies, to serve
shredded parmigiano, to serve
salt
freshly cracked pepper

Drain the soaking water from the beans. Put the beans in apot with plenty of fresh water. Add a whole clove of garlic and the sage leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer over a low heat for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. When tender remove the beans from the heat but do not drain them.

Strip the kale leaves off of the hard stalks. Shred the leaves, discard the stalks.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute the onion and leek until golden.Add the chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and saute for a while longer. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add the potatoes, cabbage, and kale, season with salt and pepper. Add 6 cups water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender - about 1 1/4 hours. Add 2 cups of water as the soup thickens - about mid-way through the cooking time.

Drain the beans - reserving the cooking broth. Puree 1 cup of the beans with 2 cups of the cooking broth. Add to the soup pot with the remaining whole beans. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so to blend all of the flavours. If the soup seems to thick add more of the bean broth. Remove from heat and let rest, covered.

Broil the bread. Rub one side with the remaining clove of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over each slice.

Ladle the soup into the serving bowls.Top with a good drizzle of olive oil, a grind of pepper, and a scattering of crushed chillies, to taste. Sprinkle with grated parmigiano.

Serve with the bread.

Photo Hunt - Musical

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'musical'.

The organof the Wellfleet Methodist Church looked as if it would fill the church with music - musical indeed!

Hallowe'en Fun

Hallowe'en is a big deal for us so I had taken yesterday as a vacation day but work conspired to mess it up!

I was back home by 1:30, we had a late lunch, and got busy!

When I got home Paul had set up the treats.

We carved our jack-o-lanterns . . .

Once we were set up for the kiddies the next job was to get dinner on the stove. Our tradition is a big pot of chili. I don't use a recipe, just a technique . . .every year is a little different - this year was a 'zippy' year!

Once it got dark we lit the candles and waited for the kids. The weather SUCKED - windy and wet. The kids were slow to arrive but when they did they appeared in large groups. In the end we had 108 children - a record.

I hope that you had a fun night too!