Ginger & Coconut Cauliflower Bisque

Dan    Recipes, Soups, Vegan     coconut, gluten-free, soup, spicy, Thai, vegan

What you’ll need…

1 yellow onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

olive oil

4 cups cauliflower florets (chopped)

2 TSP five star spice

4 cups coconut milk

1 TBSP red curry paste

1 TBSP sambal oelek

2 cups  chicken stock (or veggie to keep things vegan)

1 lemongrass stalk (cut into 1/4s)

1 lime

1 TBSP sesame oil

2 cups carrot (thinly sliced)

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup green onions (thinly sliced)

salt & pepper

Cold weather always puts me on a soup kick. I mean, what better way to stay warm right? I’ve had an on-again-off-again relationship with cauliflower since I was about 14 (it’s complicated, don’t ask..and just between you and me, she recently un-friended me on Facebook, so it’s a touchy subject…), but I always find myself coming back to the cauli when I need a good quality ‘warm my bones’ kind of dinner. In addition to being delicious, this soup is also gluten and lactose free, which can also be made vegan if using vegetable stock. Culinary minorities rejoice!

Let’s start things off by throwing the onion and garlic into a medium-sized pot. Drizzle with some olive oil and let cook on medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes or so. Next, turn down to medium heat, add-in the cauliflower and five star spice. Give everything a good stir and let cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the 5 minutes are up, add the coconut milk, curry paste, and sambal oelek. Stir, and let come the soup simmer away for 10 more minutes.

Now, using a hand-held emulsifier or blender puree soup until smooth. Add the chicken stock, lemongrass, 1/2 lime (reserve remainig half for garnishing slices), and sesame oil to the pot. Once the soup returns to a bubble, take a sip and salt & pepper to taste. Just an FYI, you might need a decent amount of salt, we’ve added none thus far! Once that’s all taken care off portion out the carrot and spinach into each bowl. Pour the hot soup over top and garnish with a lime slice and green onions.

Sip back and enjoy!

**note: feel free to add chicken for some solid protein content!**

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…30 min

Kick The KD: Update #3

Dan    Start From Scratch, The Progress     awesome, calgary, cooking, education, Kick The KD

Well, it was tough, but after reading through a pile of applications (over 100, to be exact!) myself and the KTKD team decided on 15 prime participants to take part in Kick The KD! Their cooking abilities seem to vary from ‘Help me!’ to..well…worse, but, hey, that’s exactly the kind of self-realization that we’re looking for here.

So now, it’s two weeks away from the very first Kick The KD class, and quite honestly, I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve been working away diligently on the course outline, and it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. From learning some tasty, tasty beer recipes (courtesy of KTKD sponsor Steam Whistle) to vegan and gluten-free meals, I think it’s going to be an eye-opening mouth-watering experience for all.

Over the next week, I’ll be working on all things Kick The KD, including short participant bios to post on the site, so you can get to know the people on their 10-week road to cooking redemption! As previously mentioned, each KTKD student will be paired up with a Canadian food blogger to follow over the course and I’m still looking for a few more great Canadian food blogs. If you have some suggestions, send ‘em my way!

More Kick The KD info coming soon!

In the meantime…

Like KTKD on Facebook here!

Follow KTKD on Twitter: @KickTheKD

Acorn Squash & Smoked Salmon Pasta

Dan    Mains, Recipes     awesome, cheese, pasta, salmon, sauce, squash, winter

What you’ll need…

1 acorn squash

1/2 garlic bulb

olive oil

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup romano cheese

1 TSP tumeric

2 TSP yellow curry powder

salt & pepper

2 cups fresh spinach

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1/4 pound smoked salmon (chopped, skin removed)

5 cups cooked pasta (I used ditali, but feel free to switch it up!)

Let it be known that the mighty tomato does not always rule in the land of pasta sauce! Don’t get me wrong, I have had/made/enjoyed plenty of tomato-based sauces on my noodles, but in times like these (and by these I, of course, mean winter) squash is a nice, hearty alternative.

Let’s start off by roasting the squash and garlic. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Slice the squash in half, scoop out the ‘guts’ and brush the halves with some olive oil. For the garlic, try and keep the 1/2 attached to the base and slice off the tip of the garlic bulb. Brush the top with a bit of olive oil as well and wrap up with some tin foil. Place the squash and the garlic on a medium-sized baking tray and let cook in the oven for 35 minutes.

While you’re waiting, feel free to watch an episode of 30 Rock or make a salad, or something…If you decide to make a salad, try out this dressing!

Once those 35 minutes are up, remove tray from oven and let cool for 10 minutes or so. Scoop out the flesh of the squash into a blender, and squeeze the roasted garlic in as well. Also add-in the cream, water, cheese, and spices then puree until smooth. Pour into a small pot and let the sauce come to a simmer on medium heat, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now it is time to assemble the pasta! Place all remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Pour the squash sauce over top and mix gently with tongs (so you won’t. Portion out into pasta bowls and enjoy!

Sorry Tomato, you weren’t invited…

Serves 4

Total cook time…50 min

The Balconies

Dan    Thoughts     addictive, awesome, Canadian, indie, music, pop, rock

Brothers and sisters don’t always get along (speaking from personal experience), but in this case, I must admit, it all turned out pretty swell…The Balconies are an indie pop/rock band based out of Toronto, Ontario. I first came across their music about a year ago and haven’t stopped listening since.

The band is fronted by Jacquie Neville (sister), with Stephen Neville (brother) as co-lead vocalist. Last, but not least, there’s Liam Jaeger on the drums (boyfriend…to the sister, not the brother) and you’ve got a lovely sound that your iTunes top 25 will welcome with open arms! I promise.

Their self-titled album is available on iTunes now, so download it today and support some great Canadian talent.

Hear some of their music here!

Twitter: @thebalconies

Wine Braised Onion Soup

Dan    Recipes, Soups     baked, cheesy, onions, soups, vegetarian, winter

What you’ll need…

6 yellow onions

3 cloves garlic

1 cup dry red wine

5 cups beef stock (or veggie if you’re a vegetarian)

1 TSP rosemary

1 TSP chili powder

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 sour dough baguette

2 cups grated mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

olive oil

salt & pepper

I love French onion soup. Love. Love. Love. Hot broth, caramelized onions, tons of cheese…mmm…How can one go wrong? So, let’s fancy this basic recipe up a bit, and nothing quite says ‘fancy’ like pouring in some wine. Am I right, or am I right? This is a nice, rich soup with a bit of a kick. Let’s do it!

The first step will be to slice your onions. Now, we don’t want little tiny pieces of onion for this soup. Rather, halve the onions then make 1/4″ slices from tip to tip. It’s going to seem like a lot of onions, but don’t worry, they’ll cook down, and really…this is onion soup after all…Oh yeah, mince the garlic cloves too! Put both into a medium-sized pot with some olive oil and turn to medium-high heat. Stirring regularly, let the onions cook down until they are approximately 1/4 of their original size and are starting to turn a golden colour, approximately 10-12 minutes. At this point, add the cup of wine. Once the pot begins to bubble, reduce to medium heat and let the mixture simmer until it has reduced by half, about 6-8 minutes.

Now, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Next, add the stock, rosemary, chili powder, and balsamic vinegar to the pot. Give the soup a good stir and let simmer for another 15 minutes. While the soup is simmering, slice your baguette (1″ slices), drizzle with some olive oil and toast in the oven for 10 minutes to make some quick crostini. Take the cheeses and toss together until evenly mixed. Once the bread has crisped up, the soup should be ready to go as well!

Assembly time! Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls, place enough crostini on top of each soup (enough to cover), and place a generous amount of shredded cheese onto all as the final layer. Pop the bowls onto a large baking tray and into the oven for 8 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

Dish out, then enjoy the hot soup and gooey cheese, but please remind your guests that the bowls are hot. That’s my disclaimer…now you can’t sue me…

Serves 4

Total cook time…45 min

Honey & Mandarin-Glazed Pork Chops

Dan    Mains, Recipes     Asian-inspired, honey, orange, pork, supper, tasty

What you’ll need…

Glaze:

2 mandarin oranges

2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP honey

1 TSP fish sauce

2 TSP sambal oelek (chili paste)

black pepper

Pork & Stuffing:

4 pork chops

1 head baby bok choy

1/2 cup water chestnuts

2 green onion stalks

2 TSP sesame oil

salt & pepper

After I made this dish for dinner the other night I had a bit of a ‘this is something my mom would make for supper’ kind of moment. That being said…I had to ask myself: Am I turning into my mother? Well, who’s to know? So, before I make that transition, let’s all enjoy some tasty pork chops and not bring up the transformation at hand…

Start things off by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Next, juice the oranges and mince the garlic. Combine the juice and garlic with the remaining glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until the honey dissolves and everything is nicely combined. Finish with some ground black pepper. Set aside for now.

For the pork chop stuffing all you need to do is quickly chop up the bok choy, water chestnuts, and green onions. Place the items into a bowl, add the sesame oil and a bit of salt & pepper, then toss a few times to evenly coat. Set aside as well.

Now we’re ready to stuff and glaze….Butterfly the pork chops (i.e. slice in halfway length-wise, but stop before cutting through completely so that the chop opens up like a book). Add a small handful of stuffing to each opened pork chop along with a tea spoon of the glaze mixture. Now, fold over the side of the meat to close the pork chop up. Tie each chop tightly with a couple pieces of string and place into a prepared, medium-sized baking tray. Brush a generous amount of glaze onto each pork chop then cover with tin foil and place into your preheated oven. After roasting for 10 minutes, remove foil, apply remaining glaze and let cook for another 10 minutes.

Best served with some tasty green vegetables. My solid go-to guy is broccoli.

Enjoy! (and don’t eat the strings…)

Serves 4

Total cook time…30 min