mostly work but some play too

this was a busy week so mostly it was head down and get it done but i did get to play as well. on tuesday i started the weekly vegetarian dinner with chili con frijoles. i have quite a large assortment of dried chilis to choose from that i purchased from chili chiles. for the chili con frijoles i used 4 new mexico hot, 3 ancho, 2 chipotle morita, 4 pasilla and 4 de arbol. i soaked the chilis in water that i had used to rehydrate the porcini shrooms. i subsequently used this shroom spicy water to plump up the bulghur for the chili con frijoles. i pureed a head of garlic, added the rehdrated chilis, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika and chili powder. whizzed the lot and added it to the onions, shrooms and bellpeppers that i had sweating on the stove. i then added sliced yellow squash and zucchini and kept the heat on high for a wee bit. next the half pints bulldog amber beer went into the pot along with squished plum tomatoes, fresh oregano and the bulghur. i lowered the heat and stewed the works for about an hour before serving with marinated vegetable salad, honey dill coleslaw, a green salad and sweet pepper cornbread. the chili was spicy and flavourful.
for wednesday dinner i made turkey gremolata as i had alot of fresh mint and parsley and some splendid lemons to use up. it is simple to make. i started by whizzing a head of peeled garlic to which i added a cup each of fresh mint and italian parsley as well as the zest and juice of 3 lemons. i also added a cup of sauvignon blanc and some coarse salt and pepper. i placed the gremolata along the top of sliced roast turkey breasts. it was a big hit with the campers. so much so that i ran out before the stragglers arrived for their dinner so i heated up the panang chicken from monday night for them. they were disappointed not to taste the turkey but happy to have the chicken instead. i also made a new salad dressing called citrus mint. i zested and juiced more lemon, an orange and 2 limes and whizzed this with about a cup of mint chiffonade, cider vinegar, dijon mustard and canola oil. it is a fresh zippy dressing. paul thought the label said circus mint which is a more interesting name and appropriate too.
i fooled sandy at lunch on thursday. she was sure the pasta bianca puttanesca had shrooms in the sauce but no i snuck in the black olives which she is not fond of eating, unless of course they are surrounded by garlic, anchovies and olive oil. i like this recipe as it is easy to make and the addition of toasted bread crumbs to finish the dish adds a great texture to the pasta. i used nature's farms spaghetti for this sauce.
i finished my baking week with my favourite snack, cinnamon flake biscuits! they are more than delicious with the layers of rich biscuit dough, butter, brown sugar and more cinnamon than you thought was legal. i showed great restraint and only had three! i made thirty six so there was enough for the campers as well!

it has been over a week since my last...

blog post. tonight i am making panang chicken w/ jasmine rice, steamed asparagus, saute yellow squash and zucchini with wilted spinach and a green salad. for dessert i whipped up a blueberry apple struesel pie. i used "cock brand" panang curry paste to which i added fresh ginger slices, minced garlic, shrooms, red and green pepper, celery and onion cut into large slices and or wedges and or quartered. i'll finish the dish off with nuoc mam and fresh basil and mint, also fried red onion. i just had a taste and there is a pleasant heat from the curry paste, a creaminess from the coconut milk and a richness from the homemade chicken stock. the stock is very gelatinous as i made it with the knucles and extra skin and fat from chicken legs i prepped last week for herbaceous garlic roasted chicken legs. i rubbed the legs with minced garlic in olive oil and laid them on a bed of fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano and coarse salt and pepper. before baking i strew more herbs and paprika on the chicken legs. they were a big hit with the campers. but i digress.

shrimp romesco variation

i tried a recipe from the zuni cafe cookbook for tonights dinner. i bought the cookbook this winter and was eager to try another recipe from it. the first one i tried was the red onion pickle recipe. i made this when i worked at bistro 7 1/4 when i worked there a few years ago. it is finicky but definitely worth the trouble. i showed this recipe to my sister last summer and she loved it. so much so that she has passed it on to friends. i made the shrimp in romesco sauce with wilted spinach. i started by making the romesco base. a combination of almond, pistachio, ancho chili, garlic, focaccia fried in olive oil, roasted tomato, canned plum tomato, spanish paprika and
balsamic vinegar and sherry is ground/pureed in a food processor then spread on a baking sheet and baked in a hot oven till lightly browned. i then combined equal parts of romesco base and chicken stock with a splash of white wine and heated gently till the sauce thickened. i then added salt to taste.meantime i saute diced onion and minced garlic in olive oil till the onion were translucent. i then added the sauce and the shrimp cooking till the shrimp was just cooked and still crunchy/firm. in a seperate pan i heated more olive oil and then added the spinach, turning with tongs till all the spinach was nicely wilted. i added the spinach to the shrimp and dinner was ready. i served rice, steamed asparagus, brocolli and cauliflower and a green salad with the shrimp romesco. for dessert i served the butterscotch chocolate swirl cheesecake.

sweets

these are for you marcia!



the squirrel is munching on leftover buckwheat pancakesfrom wednesday breakfast. he chased off a raven who also likes my breakfast leftovers. the photo on the right is a butterscotch chocolate swirl cheesecake. i used my homemade butterscotch and chocolate syrup for the swirl in ticia's cheesecake recipe.

the cookies are peanut butter, a camp favourite. the muffins are banana strawbery almond. i used the base from ticia's blueberry muffin recipe. the muffins were the wednesday morning snack and the cookies were for the afternoon snack.
apologies for the photography. i'll have to work on my food styling/photography skills.

ginger no snaps

i will have to put the recipe for ginger no snaps here on the blog. a cookie was smuggled to john t. a visiting grandpa yesterday. he deemed this cookie to be the best cookie he had ever had! i imagine john t. has had a few cookies in his day so this endorsement of the ginger no snaps is most graciously accepted. recipe to follow after i get through eggs your choice and field lunches for 2 threes. susan s. gave me this recipe my first year here back in 1988. the recipe has morphed over the years. the biggest changes are in the amounts of spice. these are my favourite cookies because they are so spicy. i did times 2 yesterday in hopes of having them last till thursday. wishful thijnking on my parrt as i will be baking cookies tomorrow for sure. here is the recipe
3 c. margarine or butter ( i use becel) -------
2 c. white sugar -----------------------------}cream till fluffy
2c. brown sugar-----------------------------

2 c. molasses -------------------------------} add and mix well
4 eggs ( i use vita eggs) ---------------------

9 c. unbleached white flour---------------- } mix well and add to above combining well
8 tsp. baking soda ------------------------
3 tbsp. each cinnamon and ginger (heaping) ^
4 tsp. each nutmeg and allspice ( heaping) ^
1/4 tsp. cloves not heaping or it is like a trip to the dentist ^

i use an ancient hobart mixer and am fortunate to have a convection oven for baking. this recipe can be divided by four easily and can be mixed with a standing or hand mixer.
bake in a 350* oven for about 12 minutes. don't over bake unless you want snappy ginger cookies.
i hope you enjoy these cookies as much as the campers and i do!

sunday morning menu done

sunday morning and no cookies left for the campers,oh no. i made a batch of black and tan chocolate cookies to tide them over till tomorrow. the cookies are an adaptation of double chocolate chunk cookies from the fanny farmer baking book. instead of chocolate chunks i put in butterscotch and chocolate chips and i use fair trade dark cocoa powder. the cookies were eagerly accepted and eaten up.
the menu for next week has some tried and true favourites, mac n' cheese, lemon thyme chicken, pita pizza and quiche lorraine. there are a few new dishes too, i'm trying a new curry beef recipe and a new recipe called shrimp romesco from the zuni cafe cookbook. i am very excited to try these recipes. the romesco sauce will be fiddily but worth the trouble. when i read the recipe my mouth was watering and i could smell and see the finished dish, always a good sign.
i will keep you posted on how the week goes.

friday morning

it is friday morning so that means waffles and bacon with maple syrup. it also means this hectic week is almost over. the week will likely be the busiest one of the season. the new students were here taking atv and defensive driving courses. we topped out with 42 folks. this means alot of work for me so i am pleased to see the end of this work week. the campers enjoyed the meals i made for them so all the effort put into preparing, cooking, baking and cleaning was more than worth it. the banana crumble cake with butterscotch sauce was a big hit after dinner on wednesday. also the pasta puttanesca with rosemary bread for lunch and of course the roast beef for wednesday dinner and the baked salmon for thursday dinner were very appreciated. it is asparagus season so i will be serving it as one of the three or four vegetables at dinner till late june. i love asparagus! i usually steam it in a vertical steamer but also like to roast/bake the asparagus after tossing it with olive oil.
my plan to bake larger batches of cookies, snacks and desserts worked well this week. the scorebar oatcrisps i baked on monday lastest till wednesday night. just long enough so i could bake the chocolate chip cookies on thursday. i have baked chocolate chip cookies on thursdays for over a decade now. duty calls so i must away.

marinated pork tenderloin

i put together an interesting marinade this morning for tonights pork tenderloin. i zested and juiced one orange, minced two heads of garlic and a large knob of ginger, rough cut one cup of italian parsley, a third of a cup of rosemary and half a cup of oregano. to this mixture i added two cups of orange juice, one cup each of white wine, sherry and olive oil. i added a quarter cup of cracked black pepper and a tablespoon of kosher salt. after trimming the tenderloins i cut each one into six diagonally and then added the marinade, mixing to coat all the pieces. when i return to the kitchen later this afternoon i'll lay the pieces on a greased baking sheet and roast in a high oven till done. probably thirty to forty minutes. i'll post the results later.
later... the pork tastes good but there is not enough colour on them. next time i will leave the tenderloins whole, sear them and finish them off in the oven. then slice them just before service. i also served rice pilaf, sauteed red and green cabbage with leek, peas and crimini shrooms and curry black eyed peas. we are also having leftover coleslaw, caesar salad and a green salad. for dessert we are having banana crumb cake. it is great to be feeding the campers again.

kitchen pictures

as promised here are the pictures of my work space. all spic and span and ready for the arrival of the campers next week.

this is the view from my office window of lake 239 and this is of the lounge area off of the dining area



these pictures show the baking area and the walk-in fridge and freezer.the last picture shows the dry stores pantry area.


the first picture is taken from the dining room door showing the dish wash area. the next one shows the cooking prep area. the last shows the steam table serving area. my office area is at the end of the room.



this is the dining area, the first two taken from the two entrances and the third taken facing the kitchen.

almost the full menu

i'm still working on the menu for next week, the first week of mostly new campers. what will they like to eat? how much are they going to eat? are there any allergies to work around? are there any dietary restictions? trying not to dwell too much on this as right now there are no answers to these questions. i tried to paste the menu here but no, it won't work.


MONDAYMAY04TUESDAYMAY05WEDNESDAYMAY06THURSDAYMAY07FRIDAY MAY o8
hot or cold cereal hot or cold cereal hot or cold cereal hot or cold cereal hot or cold cereal
french toast eggs your choice pancake eggs your choice waffles
bacon bacon /sausage bacon bacon/sausage bacon

blueberry muffins rice krispie squares brownies

soup garbure soup du jour something tasty soup of the day marnie's choice
baked beans alio e olio ham melts pasta puttanesca m.y.o.s.
soda bread homemade bread veg melts homemade bread
green sala caesar salad coleslaw caesar salad green salad
fresh fruit fresh fruit fresh fruit fresh fruit fresh fruit

oat crisps chocolate chip

green salad green salad green salad green salad something
meat loaf pork tenderloin roast beef baked salmon tasty you
veg burger curry chickpea eggplant parmagiana ?? most likely
steak fries rice pilaf pomme nature rice pilaf seen sweet potato peas and shroom earlier

...there is more... i got too frustrated