Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘food’

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Cooking with Alison’s One Year Anniversary!

In Random on January 15, 2011 at pm

Cooking with Alison was created one year ago, today!  So, like I do every year on my own birthday, I’m going to reflect on the past year’s lessons, appreciate the people that made a difference, and make plans for improvement over the next year.  Here’s to you and, hopefully, to another year of Cooking with Alison!

Statistics From the First Year of Food Blogging:

Total number of views:  58, 764

Number of views on the busiest day (Jan. 13, 2011): 529

Number of posts:  232

The most popular posts were:  Four Different Sauces for Mushroom Ravioli, How to Steam Cook Food, and Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls) With Shrimp

Number of email subscribers:  45 (plus 8 wordpress.com subscribers)

Number of email subscribers lost:  4 – It is at this point that I’d like to give a shout out to my dad, because he is one of the people that unsubscribed, haha.  (I was posting too frequently for him.)  Love you dad!  🙂

Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a way of knowing how many RSS subscribers there are (or how many I’ve lost).  😉

Number of websites inspired by Cooking with Alison:  1  (My love affair with everything)

Most Importantly, Thank Yous:

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Coconut Mango Rice Pudding

In Other Desserts on January 13, 2011 at am

I serve this rice pudding warm, because it contrasts beautifully with the cool chunks of mango.  I also love the added texture that the toasted coconut gives to the creamy pudding.  (See my recipe for basic rice pudding here.)

Note:  The texture of your rice pudding will depend on whether you’re using long or short grain rice.  According to the Joy of Baking, using long grain rice will result in a pudding that’s chewier and slightly drier.

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Pad Thai Recipe

In Rice and Noodle Dishes on January 11, 2011 at am

There are so many different ways to make pad thai authentically, that it really annoys me when restaurants don’t make it properly.  The worst is when the “pad thai” is made with a thick, red coloured sauce.  I rarely order it so as to avoid disappointment.  Luckily, pad thai is very easy to make at home.  It usually contains rice stick noodles, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, fish sauce, and sugar.  White vinegar or tamarind are used in Thailand for the sour component of this dish.  More information on tamarind has been posted here.  Depending on the street vendor, other varying ingredients include eggs, tofu, pork, dried shrimp, fresh shrimp, preserved raddish, and/or dark thick soy sauce, etc.  So add whichever ingredients you like.  Ed and I prefer a mildly and lightly flavoured pad thai, but you can adjust the sweet and sour balance of the recipe below to your preference.

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How to use Tamarind

In How-To on January 10, 2011 at am

Tamarind is a pod-like fruit that is used in Southeast Asian and Indian cooking.  It is also available candied.  It has a hard, dry, light brown exterior and several hard seeds.  The flesh is reddish brown in colour, slightly chewy in texture, and unique and tart in flavour.  If you’re not familiar with tamarind, you might be surprised to learn that it is an ingredient in Worcestershire and HP steak sauce.  On a side note, I like tamarind, but I dislike those sauces.

If you’re starting with fresh tamarind, discard the shell, the seeds, and the fibrous thread that runs along the outside of the flesh.  Otherwise, tamarind can be purchased in other forms.  There doesn’t seem to be a consistent use of terms that distinguish between those options.  So depending on the source, it can be very confusing as to what a recipe actually calls for.  Here is my general understanding:  Wet tamarind or tamarind block is shown on the right side of the photo above.  This is often simply labeled as “tamarind”.  I have even seen this referred to as tamarind “paste”.  But in general, tamarind paste, tamarind juice, and tamarind water usually refer to tamarind that has been prepared for cooking.  To add further confusion, the term tamarind pulp has been used to describe both the flesh of tamarind (wet tamarind / tamarind block) and, contrarily, the parts of the tamarind that do not “dissolve” or mix with water.

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Apple Pie Recipe (using bacon fat in the crust… or not)

In Pies & Tarts on January 8, 2011 at am

Apple pie is one of my favourite desserts, but since even most store bought and restaurant apple pies disappoint me, I spared myself the time and money that would surely be wasted on testing homemade apple pie recipes.  I’ve always settled for making apple crisps and tarts (recipe here) instead.  But when Bob Blumer won third place in a pie baking contest after never having made a pie before, I knew that his recipe would be well worth the effort.  (Check out his Food Network show, Glutton for Punishment.)  I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it.  Even my dad, who doesn’t like pie, asked for seconds.

Bob Blumer suggests using bacon fat in the pie crust.  I was so excited about this fantastic use for bacon, but I substituted it for butter since I was making a healthy meal for my family.  I will update this post when I make it again properly (I can’t wait!).  I love using bacon in interesting ways and I plan on making bacon cupcakes and chocolate covered bacon some day.  See my bacon jam recipe here – it’s Delicious!  The only combination that I don’t like is bacon mints.

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Gourmet Mushroom Risotto Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Pasta, Rice, and Doughs, Sides and Sauces on January 6, 2011 at am

I’ve made butternut squash risotto and pea and prosciutto risotto before, but mushroom risotto is my family’s favourite – so far (I haven’t made them seafood risotto yet).  Since this dish is so simple, the selection of mushrooms is critical to the success of it.  The secret to my mushroom risotto is the use of dried black trumpet mushrooms.  The texture of these mushrooms is thin and leathery, but they lend the most amazing flavour and aroma.  When my mother tasted this, she was so impressed with the mushroom flavour that she thought I had added some processed or artificial flavouring.  For texture and aesthetic appeal, I also used dried porcini and fresh oyster mushrooms.  (I love the dried mushrooms from Marx Foods (review here).  You can taste the quality of their mushrooms from the soaking liquid, which in this case, added tremendous flavour to the rice.)

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Dulse

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, How-To, Sides and Sauces, Soups and Salads on January 2, 2011 at am

Update:  This photo was published in TAPS The Beer Magazine in the November/December 2012 issue!

I had never heard of dulse until I started making travel plans to the east coast of Canada.  So when we were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Krystal and I went looking for this and were lucky enough to find it at the City Market.  We purchased a bag of hand picked, sun dried dulse and brought it back to Ontario.  I wanted to share what I’ve learned as this might be of interest [in particular] to vegetarians, vegans, gardening enthusiasts and people who have anemia or hypothyroidism.  Note:  If you have hyperthyroidism, however, it may not be appropriate for you to consume dulse.

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Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Goat Cheese, Raisins, Walnuts

In Soups and Salads on December 31, 2010 at am

Quinoa is high in nutrients and an excellent plant-based source of protein.  I usually make quinoa salads in the warmer months.  But in the fall and winter, I like to enjoy this quinoa salad warm.  I love the contradicting textures and flavours of this healthy and filling dish.  For example, I love the creaminess and richness of the goat cheese, the crunch from the nuts, the sweetness and chewiness of the raisins, and the crisp sour bites of apple.  See my other quinoa recipes here and here.

I have compared quinoa purchased from Bulk Barn to Bob’s Red Mill organic quinoa.  I found that Bob’s Red Mill organic quinoa held its shape more firmly, had a better texture, and tasted better.  So in my opinion, it is worth it to pay [much] more for the brand name product.

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Sesame Noodle Salad Recipe

In Rice and Noodle Dishes, Soups and Salads on December 29, 2010 at am

This is an asian inspired noodle salad that Ed loves to eat.  Similar versions of this dish are sometimes referred to as “dragon noodles”.  It is served cold or at room temperature and is great for picnics or pot lucks.  I love the toasted sesame oil but I have to warn you, the noodles themselves are high in calories!  You could easily add julienned and stir fried onions, red pepper, carrots, broccoli florets and/or whole snow peas to this if you wanted more colour and texture.

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One Skillet Breakfast

In Breakfast on December 27, 2010 at am

I had some roasted mini potatoes leftover (recipe here) so I made a one skillet breakfast of eggs with bacon and potatoes.  The great thing about one skillet breakfasts is you can use whatever meat or vegetables you happen to have on hand.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Roasted Mini Potatoes

In Sides and Sauces on December 26, 2010 at am

I like using the leftovers for one skillet breakfasts (recipe here).

Roasted Mini Potatoes Recipe

makes 4 side servings

1 1/2 pounds mini potatoes, scrubbed clean and dried

1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth or water)

juice of 1 lemon (optional)

4 cloves garlic, minced

optional: 1 to 2 tsp dried or fresh herbs (I like using dried parsley, rosemary or oregano, but you could use any herbs in any combination that you like)

3 to 4 tbsp olive oil

coarse sea salt

ground black pepper

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Favourite Pancake Recipes

In Breakfast on December 22, 2010 at am

I have been searching for my favourite pancake recipe for a few years now.  I’m usually indifferent to pancakes because most of them are too fluffy, too airy, or too cakey for my taste.  I prefer pancakes that are soft and thin with a slightly chewy texture.

For a volunteering event, Ed and I went to the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area Sugar Bush, Kingston, ON, where I bought a bottle of medium maple syrup for motivation to test more pancake recipes.  (By the way, their maple syrup is my new favourite, because of its subtle maple flavour and sweetness.)  I tried more than 15 different recipes before I found two that I liked.  The first one is my favourite standard pancake recipe.  Add chocolate chips, mashed ripened bananas, blueberries, etc.  The second one has a slightly chewy texture and a fun twist that kids will love.  It was inspired by the McDonald’s hotcakes recipe.

I was very excited to learn (from Nigella Lawson) that cooked pancakes can be frozen and then reheated in the toaster for quick breakfasts.

Photo above:  The sap from maple trees is collected in these buckets.

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