VITAMIX MACHINE

Over the past few years I needed to replace my blender and juicer.  Two years ago we got a Breville juicer and last year we got a Breville blender.  Both work equally well and of course take up counter space.  I haven't had to replace my food processor as a number of years ago we bought a Bosch system with all of the bells and whistles and a number of attachments.  I can blend, grind, knead, chop, mince, mix, grate, puree and even roll whole oats with this machine.  It is like a tank but has a soft throttle.  I have components of this food processor stored in kitchen cupboards and in the basement on shelves which holds a number of kitchen tools and toys.

About twice a year Vitamix is featured at Costco with a demonstration booth set up and samples to try. I contemplated getting one last year but instead got the blender.  The Vitamix booth was back at Costco recently for its one week stay.  When I first saw the set up I managed to stay away.  Costco sells the product for a price that is less than if you were to order it directly from Vitamix.  Volume sales says it all.  So what tipped me and spoke into my brain to sell out dollars to replace gadgets that are relatively new?  Frustration.  I had a new recipe that I wanted to try from Mark Bittman's new book VB6.  It is falafel and you have to mince the uncooked chick peas which already have been soaking for 24 hours.  I tried to mince the chick peas with the rest of the other ingredients in the Breville blender but it was too dry.  I then had to haul out the monster Bosch system to mince the chick peas and then blend all of the ingredients together.   My subconscious mind was already at work after washing all of the tools and gadgets that I used to make the falafel which by the way turned out great.  I was thinking about the Vitamix.

Sampling the soup and frozen strawberry dessert/sorbet at the Vitamx booth at a return visit to Costco had me sold on getting a Vitamix.  It was not a hard decision, just some guilt for now having to decide what to do with relatively new tools that I already had in the kitchen.  The Breville gadgets have now found new homes with some of my friends and I will keep the Bosch food processing system for awhile yet.

The following pictures show a vegetable soup I made using my new toy.  The colour of the soup may not look appetizing as it has spinach in it and the soup is green in colour.  It contains a lot of vegetables and it is delicious and very filling.  I followed one of the recipes in the material that was provided with a little bit of alterations.  Mixing the soup on high for six or so minutes actually heats the soup and it is ready to serve.

I can't wait to try other ingredients profiled in the material I got.

NEW KITCHEN TOYS

Getting new kitchen toys is always fun.  I ordered these two kinds of scissors or shears from a garden catalogue.  This past Spring, the DH ordered some gardening supplies from one of the garden companies and of course they also have a number of kitchen tools.  One tool is for cutting herbs and I thought this would be handy as I grow a number of herbs in the garden and this tool would work well for cutting basil, parsley and chives.  I find the tool works well for cutting herbs but they need to be dry in order to a better cut.  When I wash my herbs, I don't always dry them thoroughly before using so they can be damp at times.

The second tool is for cutting lettuce and other greens.  The bottom part of it is like a scooper so that you can scoop up pieces of lettuce and chop them in the scoop.  This tool is useful if you like your salads chopped.   Having these tools make chopping fun but are not a necessity.  A good knife will do the job just as well.

Shears for cutting herbs on the left.  Scissors choppers for salad on the right. 

EVEN BETTER FALAFEL

I have made falafel before and I am always game to try variations of homemade falafel.  In Mark Bittman's new book VB6, he has a falafel recipe that is easy to make, he says it is a lighter recipe and since you brush the falafel patties with oil before baking, they still get the crunchy taste and look that you would have if they were fried.  I made the recipe as he described in his book, (Mark Bittman VB6).  What impressed me about the recipe was that you didn't need to cook the chickpeas beforehand.  I soaked them for about 24 hours so that they were softened.  The batter is suppose to be firm and not overly moist.  When I made falafel in a previous posting, I used canned chickpeas and the batter was more moist.  I also flattened the unbaked balls as per the directions in the recipe and I liked the pattie shape versus a ball shape.  The recipe says it makes 20 falafel patties but I made about 24.  The number of falafels made was more than what the DH and I could reasonable eat over several days so I froze a number of them.  They will be great to take for lunch to work.  Based on the number of falafels I made, three falafel patties are calculated to be three points in the Weight Watcher plan.  The recipe has provides direction to make a tahini sauce and it added a nice flavour to the patties.  I didn't eat the falafel with bread, such as pita bread, but ate them with the tahini sauce.

To accompany the falafel as part of supper, I made a quinoa salad.  I have several quinoa recipes that you can consider in my blog index.  I used vegetables for the salad that I had in the fridge - carrot, celery, cucumber and bell pepper.  A delicious meal that provided leftovers!

Falafel just out of the oven.

Quinoa salad.

ORANGE CASHEW DRESSING

I have come across several recipes that use cashews to create a dressing or dip for salads, vegetables, beans and grains.  Using cashews in a dip reminds me of the times I have used tahini which is ground sesame seeds.  I really liked this orange cashew dressing and I used it on salads, with quinoa and as a dip for vegetables.  I soaked the cashews for an hour beforehand in water.  There are different schools of thought in soaking raw nuts before you blend them or roast them. What makes this recipe also great is that is only requires four ingredients.  In a future post I will provide another salad dressing that is more of a ranch style dressing and includes cashews as one of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup raw cashews
3 oranges, peeled
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, use orange balsamic vinegar if you have it

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak cashew nuts for an hour or two in water.  Drain.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
3. Adjust taste if you want to add more lemon juice and or vinegar.

Serves at least 6 servings.  Store in a jar with a lid.  Keeps for at least a week in the fridge.

EXPRESSING YOURSELF

While driving today in traffic, the car in front of me caught my eye.   It was a compact car, several years old, an american model.  What caught my attention were the decals on the back bumper and back window of the car.  I knew from the decals that the woman driving the car was a vegan and had a dog and a cat and that she was unattached.  My theory is based on the fact that there were several bumper stickers describing the benefits of being a vegan and attached to the back window were the silhouette outlines of a woman, a dog and a cat.  I am sure you have seen these silhouettes that stick to windows and each figure represents who is part of the household that has this car - from a dad to a mom to a teenager to a baby to pet fish.

My thoughts while waiting in traffic at the various red lights was the branding we intentionally or unintentionally do to ourselves to let others know who we are, our uniqueness or our style.  Some people like to have unique license plates to make their car stand out, make a statement, express their humour or their status.  Using bumper stickers follows the same rationale.  I do think that people are pasting their car with less bumper stickers now than a decade ago.  Are bumper stickers less in vogue or are people worried about getting a bumper sticker off of the car when they tire of the humour, the statement they are making or the sports team they have supported and cheered for?   Another branding that is done is letting people know about your political preferences. This is done by being a registered voter, supporting your local candidate who is running for office by having signs pounded into your front lawn or writing editorial letters to your local paper.

I know myself and others brand ourselves by the clothes and jewellery we wear.  One of the ways I express myself is by the shoes I wear.  I like shoes that are stylish, a little different, maybe a bit funky.  The same is true of the eyeglasses I wear.  They don't blend into the woodwork.  They have some colour, may have a bit different design and have to compliment my appearance.  I don't think this is vain but it adds to the way I have branded myself.  But there are limits to what I share with others about myself.  I guess I am more comfortable with branding my appearance than sharing my political, religious, or family status with others through bumper stickers, rear car window silhouettes or license plates.

The defining question to ask is what are the lines between branding yourself, expressing your personality and also maintaining privacy and not sharing everything about yourself with the world.  I think we all have different tolerances for sharing our personal sides.  How many of us could tolerate being part of a reality television show?  I know I couldn't do it.  I am definitely not a celebrity.

HERB ROASTED TURKEY

I tend to make marinades more than dry rubs or pastes for coating meat before cooking. The herb paste that is used in this recipe can be replicated for any poultry recipe.  If you want to use the herb paste as a marinade, you would need to add more wine, lemon juice and olive oil to create the volume of liquid required to cover or coat the meat.  I made this recipe for friends and everyone enjoyed the taste of the turkey.  


Ingredients:

1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 5 to 7 pounds
1 tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine or cooking wine

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, in a roasting pan.  You can line the roasting pan with tin foil to make it easier to clean the pan afterwards.  If you plan to make a gravy from the juices, then don't line the pan with the tin foil. 

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, wine and lemon juice to make a liquid paste.  Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. 

Roast the turkey for 2 hours (longer if the turkey breast is larger), until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast.  If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.


Modified from www.foodnetwork.com

VEGETABLES AND PASTA

Sometimes you need to do some freelancing when creating a meal for supper.  The ingredients may be determined by what you have and don't have in your cupboard and fridge.  One night I decided to cook some pasta and sauteed vegetables to create a meal for supper.

I have found a brand of pasta at Winner's that I quite like. It is not high in fibre but is colourful, made in Italy and has texture to it.

I cooked enough pasta to make at least three servings.  I only needed two servings for supper but I wanted to have some leftovers.  While the pasta was cooking, I sauteed the following vegetables in a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan:

1/2 large zucchini, chopped
large handful of mushrooms, chopped
8 asparagus spears, chopped
1/2 coloured pepper, chopped

After cooking the vegetables on medium heat until they were soft, I added about 1/3 cup of sun dried tomatoes, a tablespoon of basil pesto sauce and two tablespoons of Greek style sour cream.   I combined this with the sauteed vegetables in the pan and let it cook for another two minutes.

I drained the cooked pasta and placed it in a large bowl.  The sauteed vegetables were added and combined with the pasta.  It was now ready to be served.

Two new products that I have been using are in this photo.  These sun dried tomatoes that are a julienne cut is a wonderful product.  You can eat them out of the bag or add them to numerous recipes.  I also like the Greek sour cream.  It is not high in fat and it is so thick that you want to add it to a lot of different dishes.

Three staples from the fridge.

Vegetables with pasta.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

I sometimes buy a three pound tub of cubed butternut squash from Costco.  Because the squash is already peeled, seeded and cubed, it doesn't take much effort to use in a variety of ways.  I like to bake the cubes on a cookie sheet in the oven as one of my vegetables for supper.  I sometimes add a little bit of oil or maple syrup to the cubes before baking.  I have posted several recipes in the past using squash.  One recent Saturday I made soup using the cubed squash and it was very good.  I did like adding apple to it as one of the ingredients for the soup.

Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 2 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp ginger root, minced

1 - 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks

1 apple, cored and cut into chunks

1 carrot, thinly sliced

4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash of nutmeg

1/4 cup milk or cream or non-dairy milk

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in large pot, over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion and ginger root.  Cook and stir for about 10 minutes, or until soft.  

Add broth, squash, apples and carrot. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until very tender. 

Purée soup using a handheld immersion blender.  Or use a regular blender and do it in small batches.  Return pot to stove and re-heat on medium-low heat.   Add seasonings and milk/cream and heat until steaming, stirring as necessary.

Modified from www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca

CARROT AND SWEET POTATO TSIMMIS

Tsimmis has nostalgia for some people and is a comfort food.  Tsimmis can be a combination of meat, vegetables and fruit, is usually sweet and can be eaten as a side dish or even as a dessert.  This tsimmis includes carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, apricots and pineapple.  It has lots of fibre and tastes terrific.  I didn't add raisins this time and its absence was not noticed.  You can freeze portions after it is baked for future meals.

Ready to go into the oven for baking.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup dried apricots
1/3 to 1/2 cup raisins
2 lbs carrots, peeled, and sliced
1 large sweet potato, peeled, and cubed
1/2 cup honey (to taste)
14 oz (398 ml) pineapple chunks, drained, reserve 1/2 cup juice
1/2 cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Boil water in a small pot, turn off the heat and add prunes, apricots and raisins.  Let stand for 30 minutes.  Drain well.  Meanwhile cook the carrots and sweet potato in a large pot until tender but still firm (about 15 minutes).  Drain well.  Using a large mixing bowl or the large pot used to cook the carrots and potatoes, gently combine all of the ingredients except the pineapple chunks.  Place the mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish and bake covered at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes.  Stir in the pineapple chinks and bake uncovered for 15 more minutes, basting once or twice.  Serves 10.  This dish freezes and reheats well.

Modified from MealLeaniYumm by Norene Gilletz

BAKED HALIBUT

Some people might say you don't need to dress up a piece of halibut and it doesn't require much in the way of preparation and cooking.  I agree but I also like to have some variety and this recipe provides another way to cook halibut.  You could use other fish besides halibut.  Other than the halibut, the ingredients are standard staples that many would have in their fridge or cupboards.  Both the DH and I enjoyed this meal.

Fillet on parchment paper.

Topping is applied to the fish.

Just out of the oven and ready to serve.

Baked Halibut              

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp diced onion

dash of ground cayenne pepper

1 pound halibut steaks

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish.

In a bowl, mix the cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, flour, lemon juice, onion, and cayenne pepper.

Arrange the halibut steaks in the prepared baking dish, and cover with the cheese mixture.

Bake 10 minutes at 425 and then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes, or until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Modified from allrecipes.com