A Life, Lived

My Kind of Viking

Travel Tuesday - Lucca

A friend of mine is in Lucca right now and posting about her travels on facebook.

WE have been to Lucca twice. The first time was a quick visit with my mom and sister on our whirlwind visit to Italy. It left enough of an impression that when we returned for our anniversary we opted to stay for four nights within the medieval walls and enjoy the peace of the city after the tourists have gone. It was MAGIC!

Corned Beef Three Ways

Hmm, that almost sounds a bit dirty.

Mind out of the gutter people!

I cured my own corned beef again this year. I used a five pound piece of brisket. One of the downsides of corned beef is that it shrinks so much during the cooking process but I figured I'd have enough for some of my favourites with a piece that size.

The brisket had a big piece of fat running through it so I cut it in half through the fat and trimmed the fat off leaving me with two pieces.

The first I cooked for our St. Patrick's Day dinner. We bake it in the oven with a delicious glaze.

This piece of the corned beef provided six meals.

Then the other piece is used for other recipes.

Last Friday I made Reuben sandwiches.

Then on Sunday we had corned beef hash.

Lots of good eating from that one piece of beef!

Huge Yorkshire Puddings

A few months ago one of the grocery stores featured sirloin tip roast for $5.99 a pound ($9.00 off the regular price). I bought three and stuck in the freezer.

We don't make roasts very often which is odd because we had roast beef every week when I was a child. However, from time to time I get a craving.

Last Sunday I went all out. Roast, gravy, roasted potatoes, veg, and of course, Yorkshire puddings. I was dreaming of the Yorkshire puddings we had at the Jamie Oliver restaurant we went to when we were in London.

They were amazing. I didn't want any old Yorkshire puddings i wanted HUGE ones.

I googled 'huge Yorkshire puddings' and this recipe came up. Happily it was buy Jamie Oliver.

The recipe is easy to follow. I didn't use as much oil as he suggested because I was worried about the oil overflowing. They didn't turn out as crispy as the ones I remember from London but they were good nonetheless.

I think that there are two secrets here - a hot oven and making sure your batter sits on the counter to rest. This actually gives it some time for the natural yeasts to start to work helping you to achieve Yorkshire pudding hugeness.

Enjoy!

Huge Yorkshire Puddings

1/2 pint (285 milliliters) milk
4 ounces (115 grams) all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix the batter ingredients together. Let rest for 10 minutes

Preheat a Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tin with 1/2-inch (1 centimeter) of oil in each section. After the 10 minutes divide the batter into the tray. Cook for around 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and puffy, don't open the oven door before then or they won't rise.

Let the Sun Shine

This is so true. I'll sit outside in sweatpants, a fleece, and a coat if it means I can feel the warmth of the sun on my face again.

Travel Tuesdays - Rome

In March of 2018 I spent a solo week wandering Rome. Here are some shots from that trip.

Nostalgia

With everything we've been coping with lately, I think we all feel this to some extent right now.

Panang Curry with Beef and Shiitakes

If Thai curry is your favourite curry, you’ll find yourself loving this creamy less spicy Panang curry. The creaminess of Panang curry and it’s distinct strong flavors is addictive. In fact, I've made three in the past few months. Mind you, some of that has to do with the fact that the only container of Panang curry paste I could find in the store was huge and I am trying to use it up.

This curry uses Chinese long beans. I imagine that the name is offensive to other Asian countries. These beans are also known as snake beans or long beans. They look like a super long green bean and have a similar taste. They add a delicious crunch to this beef and mushroom curry. If you can't find them you could always substitute in regular green beans.

The strange thing about this recipe was the lack of peanuts. Panang curry has peanuts in it, in either crushed form or peanut butter is added. Most recipes call for 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts. Other recipes suggested adding a tablespoon of peanut butter. I added some peanut butter to this - in the step where you mix in the broth (another unusual ingredient but it worked and made the fat content less than if you were to use all coconut milk).

Another change I made was the add the Thai basil leaves to the actual curry and not leave them as a garnish. We LOVE the taste of Thai basil and most Thai curries have the leaves added in at the end just before serving so they wilt and another delicate layer of flavour to the dish. I added about 1/2 cup of leaves (NOTE: you can also use the flowers as well).

I think when I make this again I may use another more tender cut of beef. Flank steak tends to be a tougher cut of beef and it doesn't cook long in the sauce to tenderize it. It wasn't impossible to eat, just a bit more chewy than I would expect in a curry.

I served the curry with some coconut scented jasmine rice. It made for an amazing dinner.

Enjoy!

Panang Curry with Beef and Shiitakes

1 (13.5- to 14-oz.) can coconut milk
1/4 cup Panang curry paste
1 cup lower-salt chicken broth, or homemade chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbs. light brown sugar or light brown palm sugar; more as needed
1 tsp. fish sauce; more as needed
1-1/2 cups bite-size Chinese long bean pieces
3 stalks fresh lemongrass, trimmed, bruised, and cut into 3- to 4-inch pieces
1 lb. flank steak, cut into 1/4-inch-thick bite-size slices
1-1/2 cups stemmed, halved or quartered shiitake mushrooms
1 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh or thawed frozen wild lime leaves
Thai basil leaves, for garnish

Shake the can of coconut milk or stir it well (this creates a consistent thickness, since the fat often solidifies at the top of the can).In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan or wok over medium heat, simmer 1/2 cup of the coconut milk, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half, 3 to 5 minutes. It will get very thick and shiny and may or may not separate; either is fine.Add the curry paste, whisk well, and cook, continuing to whisk, for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, sugar, fish sauce, and remaining coconut milk. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Add the Chinese long beans and lemongrass pieces and continue to simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary. After 2 minutes, add the beef and shiitakes and continue to simmer until everything is tender and cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Remove the curry from the heat. Season to taste with more sugar and fish sauce, and stir in the lime leaves. Transfer to a serving bowl (or serve right out of the pot). Remove the lemongrass pieces or tell your guests to eat around them. Garnish with the basil.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Travel Tuesday - London

Some more shots from our last vacation pre-COVID to London.