A Life, Lived

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

I had some broccoli that needed to be eaten or tossed (and I hate tossing veggies). When I was planning the menu I realized that I hadn't made a stir fry in some time. I turned to google and this recipe from a food blogger I recently discovered popped up.

I was a bit worried that there would be no flavour because the sauce consists of mostly water. That being said, anything I have made from this blog turned out well so I decided to give it a try.

This is a quick and easy recipe for a chicken broccoli stir fry that has just about the least number of ingredients you can get away with but still deliver a dish tastes delicious. Yes, it has plenty of savoury homemade stir fry sauce which is great - we really like a saucy stir fry so that the rice is soaked in deliciousness.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp soy sauce, all purpose or light
1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Mirin or Sherry if unable to find Mirin
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
Dash of white pepper (sub black)
2 tbsp oil , peanut, vegetable or canola
1/2 onion , sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
500g/1 lb chicken thighs or breast, thinly sliced
400g/ 14 oz broccoli florets, broken/cut into small bite size pieces (2 medium heads, ~5 cups)
1 1/4 cups water

Steam or boil the broccoli using preferred method until cooked to your taste. (I microwave steamed it for 3 minutes on high.) Drain well.

Mix cornstarch and soy sauce, then mix in remaining ingredients.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add garlic and onion, stir for 10 seconds until garlic starts to go golden.

Then add chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.

Add broccoli, Sauce and water. Stir well and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the Sauce thickens and becomes glossy, and coats the ingredients.

Serve over rice.

Travel Tuesdays - Kelowna

6 years ago I was in Kelowna for a conference. We tacked on some extra days to enjoy the area.

One Pot Ham and Cheese Casserole

There is so much to love about this One Pot Ham and Cheese Pasta recipe. It is a perfect way to use up that leftover holiday ham that we always seem to have lurking in the freezer. It is also a quick and easy recipe that’s loaded with pasta, cheese, and will be loved by kids and adults alike!

See, lots to love.

Please tell me I’m not alone in loving holiday leftovers more than the actual dinner. I suspect this has a lot to do with all of the work that goes into the original dinner leaving one too knackered to actually enjoy it.

However, I do have a few rules for holiday leftover recipes:

1. Has to be quick and easy.
2. Can’t make a mess.
3. Must be DELICIOUS!

Enter this one pot ham and cheese pasta! It’s super quick and easy, made in one pot for easy cleanup, and it’s SO GOOD!

I was a bit skeptical of this recipe and know Italians would cringe at the thought of cooking the pasta in the same water as everything else. i was also concerned that there would be no flavour what with all of the said water and all. I should have just put my worries aside and got on with it.

The results were every bit as good as the recipe promised. The only thing I didn't like was it was too cheesy. Now before you think 'Jerry has lost the plot here . . . there is no such thing as too cheesy.' I think the problem was i misread the amount of cheese required and used double the cheese called for. It was also a fine aged Jarlesberg that i had languishing in the fridge so the flavour overpowered a bit.

I'm a rebel and refused to use the bow-tie pasta that the recipe called for - I have 12 bags of pasta in the pantry and none of it is bow-tie and I refused to buy more until I make a dint in the existing stockpile.

I also had a bag of baby spinach that I added to the recipe for no reason other than i wanted to use it up before it went slimy. I added it near the end and the heat from the dish cooked it nicely.

Enjoy!

One Pot Ham and Cheese Casserole

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound cooked ham diced
(16 oz) box bow tie pasta
4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup white wine or 1/2 cup water, but wine adds more flavor
4 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
1 (8 oz) block swiss cheese shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Melt butter over medium heat in a large stockpot.

Once melted, add in onion, salt and pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until tender.

Add in ham, pasta, garlic, mustard, wine (if using), water, and additional salt

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 9-13 minutes, stirring regularly, until pasta is al dente

Remove from heat and stir in swiss and parmesan.

Taste and re-season, if necessary, and enjoy

Growing Stuff

One of the things I am looking forward to in retirement is gardening. While I come from a long line of gardeners the truth is my efforts haven't amounted to a whole lot. I blame that on work - particularly the gradual decay of the past 5 years when i was so busy at the office.

Even in the midst of work chaos I would turn to the garden for a bit of therapy. A bit of weeding calmed the stress. Unfortunately I never had enough energy to truly do things justice.

Hopefully this will change this year.

We've had a relatively cool spring so far.

The bulbs we plated some years ago continue to do their thing (I'm making plans to augment them in the fall with some new colours).

You can seen the difference a week and a half of sun makes here:

Last weekend we spread 25 wheel barrows full of soil on the gardens out back. This weekend we finished off the giant soil bag and spread the rest on the front and side gardens.

Frankly, I can't remember the last time I gave the side gardens a thought. They are mostly covered with ferns that seem to keep coming up and spreading so we jut stand back and let them do their thing.

For the first time ever I decided to start some herbs in-doors:

The basil came up first (Flat leaved Genovese basil and Thai purple basil). The Italian parsley was slower to sprout but finally it did.

In a few weeks these will be ready to pot.

We have also rented a community garden plat at a local park. Fingers crossed that the COVID19 restrictions will allow us to plant some vegetables this year. The plot was much bigger than what we were expecting 30x15 feet.

Fingers crossed that we can use it.

Particularly since we already have seeds to plant. LOL

Travel Tuesdays - Staying Local - LaSalle Park

Our cleaner was here on Monday so I headed out to explore a bit. It was a cool and dreary day but luckily the rain held off enough that I could get out of the car and walk around a bit.

LaSalle Park & Pavilion is a beautiful 57 acre park located on North Shore Blvd.  It is an ideal destination for families, featuring sports fields, a playground, a wading pool and splash pad and an extensive picnic area.  LaSalle Park also boasts its own marina complete with 219 slips.  The LaSalle Park Marina Association has a unique and very close relationship with the Burlington Sailing and Boating Club which also operates out of LaSalle Park. 

For nature enthusiasts, the park has numerous walking trails and a shoreline dedicated to fish and wildlife habitat restoration.  Visitors should be sure to check out LaSalle Park Pavilion.  The Pavilion was originally constructed in the spring of 1917, an age where community entertainment was at its height.  It was re-built it 1997 following a fire, and once again stands as a community landmark and is used as a meeting and banquet facility.

Braised Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

This is one of my favorite Italian braised chicken recipe. The chicken is first seared until the skin is crispy then gently simmered in a delicious tomato, olive and caper sauce. The chicken becomes super flavorful and tender. . . and delicious!

So much so that you'll likely forget that this is a healthy dinner choice. Unlike some other healthy dinner choices, this is a healthy dinner recipe you don't want to miss.

We served it with a rice pilaf and tarragon green beans.

Next I'm going to play around with this recipe in my Instant Pot to see if I can perfect a pressure cooker version.

Enjoy.

Braised Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole cut-up chicken, or about 3 pounds parts, bone in, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (with juice)
½ cup dry white wine or chicken stock
1 cup Niçoise or kalamata olives, pitted
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Put the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook undisturbed, adjusting the heat so the chicken doesn’t burn, until the pieces are browned on the bottom and release easily from the skillet, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue cooking, turning the chicken every few minutes, until it’s brown all over, 5 to 10 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

Add the onions and capers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes; cook until the mixture starts to bubble and the tomatoes thicken slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and let the mixture bubble for another 2 minutes.

Add the olives and thyme, and return the chicken to the skillet, nestling the pieces into the sauce. Adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently but steadily, then cover the skillet. Cook, turning the chicken every 10 minutes or so and adding a splash of stock or water if the sauce looks too dry, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 155 to 165). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the parsley, and serve.

Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato, and Feta

This one-pot dish is inspired by a classic Greek appetizer - shrimp saganaki. This version adds orzo pasta and grape tomatoes to make it a complete meal.

Blistering the cherry tomatoes is a great way to bring out their natural flavours . . . particularly if you live in Canada as I do and good tomatoes are a fleeting thing.

The flavours combine together well with the sweet shrimp and blistered tomatoes playing well with the briny Feta.

I think that I added more pepper flakes than mentioned in the recipe because we like the heat. I suspect I may regret this when we enjoy the leftovers this evening (I made this dish originally on Monday) as the heat grows over time. LOL

Another change would be to stir in some spinach or other green to add some contrasting texture and hide some vitamins from your non veggie eating family. :-)

We enjoyed this with some crusty bread and a salad.

Enjoy!

Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato, and Feta

3 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted dry
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup orzo
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
½ cup crumbled feta
½ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and fine stems

In a mixing bowl, combine half the garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the shrimp, coating it well.

In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to blister, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon oregano and ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the orzo, stirring until lightly toasted, about 1 minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and 1 cup water. Season with salt, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up anything stuck on the bottom.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until just shy of al dente, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Add the marinated shrimp on top, cover and cook until they are cooked through and the orzo is al dente, 4 to 6 minutes more.

Remove from the heat, divide among plates and finish with black pepper, feta and parsley. Serve with more red-pepper flakes, if desired.

 

Travel Tuedays - Rome

Some more shots from my week in Rome in the spring of 2018.

Complimentary Bread

We all could use more complimentary bread in our lives . . .

Meyer Lemon Thyme Martini

Paul and I usually plan a nice dinner for Good Friday. We always start off with a cocktail - usually something that is 'spring-like' whatever that means.

This year it meant something bright and refreshing.

We've made a similar drink before but made with regular lemons, not Meyer lemons. Meyer lemons are more floral than regular lemons, less bitter and astringent. It really showed in this drink.

We LOVED this. Had it not been for the fact that stores were closed and I had used all of the Meyer lemons making the first round there definitely would have been another round immediately.

We did not rim the glass with sugar and cardamom. Other than that we followed the recipe as printed.

Enjoy!

Meyer Thyme Martini

1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cardamom
1 small Meyer Lemon; plus 1 lemon twist for garnish
1 teaspoon crushed fresh thyme leaves
2 ounces Vodka, chilled
2 ounces fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 ounce (2 Tbs.) simple syrup (recipe below)

Pour the sugar and cardamom onto a small, wide dish like a salad plate and mix to combine. Run the lemon half around the rim of a chilled martini glass to wet it. Dip the rim into the sugar mixture, margarita-style.

With a muddler or the bottom of a wooden spoon, crush the thyme leaves in the bottom of a chilled cocktail shaker. Add the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup. Fill the shaker with ice. Put the lid on the shaker can and shake until well chilled.

Strain the cocktail into the prepared glass. Garnish with the lemon twist and a thyme stem.

Simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool completely before using. Makes 1/2 cup.