Random Meal Pictures: Part III

Chunky vegetable soup with dill. A delicious way to use up all of the veggies in the fridge.

Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Since I can’t find a recipe I completely, absolutely love, I am inventing my own. I’ve started by combining a few of my favourites; I’m getting there!

Blueberry crisp with homemade butterscotch ice cream.

The makings of Mexican pizza.

Charcuterie plate from a restaurant.

Spicy red lentil soup.

Mexican queso.

Chunky guacamole.

Homemade cocoa and black cherry ice cream.

 

Garlic scape pesto with gnocchi, roasted salmon and salad.

Massaged kale salad with roasted veggies tossed in tahini dressing. This was the one and only time I ever found kale in a supermarket. Why must it be so hard to find kale in Montreal?

S’mores brownies. Yes, I actually tried the Perfect Brownie Pan and no, I do not recommend it unless having brownies cut in perfectly sized pieces is a priority for you. I thought that the brownies would all have crispy edges but they didn’t. The pan is also quite small and doesn’t hold much batter. I usually make brownies in a 9 x 13 pan and this one was much smaller and quite shallow.

 

Buttermilk pancakes with summer raspberries.

The makings of hummus.

Chinese chili chicken.

Buffalo chicken pizza.

 

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Creamy Crab and and Goat Cheese Pasta

 

I don’t really like pasta (I can practically hear an audible gasp here), but for whatever reason I really was craving it last week. I have a habit of buying bottles and other sundry food items and taking my sweet time to use them up, so lately I’ve really been making and effort to use up more items; this pasta is a result of me trying to cook out of my pantry.

Red pepper.

Green onions, salt and pepper.

Minced chillies.

A can of crab meat. I envy people who can get fresh crab meat in bulk. That mean pretty much everyone south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Cooked through with tomato sauce added.

Delicious goat cheese.

Melted through.

With cooked spaghetti and fresh parsley added in at the last moment.

Creamy and delicious. Bliss my friends.

del.icio.us Tags: Pasta,Crab,Seafood

Chewy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think all foodies must have an elusive holy grail of recipes that they are constantly searching for. Mine is the oh so humble but very delicious, chewy chocolate chip cookie.

I have tried many recipes but still haven’t found one that I love.

I love cookies that are big and thick yet chewy but not too sweet. Is that too much to ask? I’ve gone through every recipe on Martha Stewart’s website and for these cookies I tried the ones on the back of the milk chocolate chip bag http://www.hersheycanada.com/en/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=6624&page=6&per=25 but I found them too sweet. I eat things that would probably put a diabetic person in a coma so that’s saying something. Or maybe it was the fact that I very generously eyeballed the chocolate chip amount? Nah…. Anyways, dear readers, I have a request:

Can anyone steer me in the direction of a really great thick and chewy chocolate chip recipe? I and my stomach would be forever grateful.

Japanese Curry

Curry is one of those foods that is very popular outside Japan but virtually unknown outside the country. Recently, I was in a Korean supermarket and they had a small Japanese food section in which they sold Japanese curry mix. I practically did a happy dance in the aisle and then ran home to make this recipe. Japanese curry tastes quite different from Indian curries, it is a lot milder and slightly sweet, but quite delicious.

To start off with you brown onions and carrots in a pot.

Followed by mushrooms.

And potatoes and garlic at the last moment.

 

Most curries I have had are made with pork, but honestly, since I don’t really like meat I ended up using chicken.

At this point you add in your curry mix. It might say hot on the package but it is incredibly mild. I would have to spike it liberally with chillies to come anywhere near hot.

The curry basically looks like a gigantic chocolate bar and has the consistency of a boullion cube.

Now you add water to your veggie and meat mixture, and the curry. It will sort of melt into the water and form a stew.

At this point in time it will be very soupy but if you let it cook for a while it will thicken up.

Like this.

Usually curry is eaten with pickled vegetables and rice. I love pickled lotus roots but all they had at the store was pickled radish. They look a bit like lemon candies when sliced up, no? I wasn’t a big fan as they were too sweet for my tastes.

I also made some quick pickled green onions on the side.

I hadn’t eaten this in years so I was really happy to finally have found the mix to make it. I usually don’t cook from pre-made mixes but I wasn’t able to find a Japanese curry recipe and since everyone in Japan uses the mix, that’s good enough for me. It’s not the most photogenic picture but it sure is tasty.