Everything's better with bacon

Bacon has been a food trend for some time now...it pops up in the expected places (with fish, for example) as well as the unexpected ones (candied...or in a brownie).

So what's the big deal?  Why is everything better with bacon?  The answer is surprisingly straightforward: bacon contains both salt and fat, and these both make food taste better.

The reasons for the role of fat in this are fairly simple: things that are fatty contain many calories, and we need calories to survive.  Therefore we are, in essence, biologically programmed to enjoy fatty foods (much to the chagrin of anyone attempting to diet).  This also explains why, as Julia Child famously said, everything is better with butter (again....fat).

The deliciousness of salt is a slightly more complicated matter...because it's not simply that salt itself is delicious, but rather that it makes other things taste better.  The reasons for this are varied and complicated, but the gist of the idea is that salt "wakes up" our tastebuds and helps us experience the full flavours of food.

(For those of you, like me, who may like to watch the odd cooking show or six...this is why the word "underseasoned" is the kiss of death: when something is underseasoned it usually means that there is not enough salt, meaning that the flavours just don't pop as much as they should.)

(If you want to know more about why salt does the things that it does, check out this link...)

All that being said...there's a good reason why people love bacon as much as they do.  It adds salt and fat to the meal...as well as that undeniable "cured pork" flavour, with just a hint of smokiness.  

Here are two ways that you can put more bacon on your plate.....

#1- Prosciutto wrapped chicken

Prosciutto is an Italian dry-cured pork product similar in nature to bacon, but not as fatty...which makes it perfect for wrapping around things.

(The problem with wrapping other meats in bacon being that the meat on the inside often overcooks before the bacon has become beautifully crispy...making the timing difficult.)

It's a super easy process: simply take the chicken, and wrap some prosciutto around it.  Then bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes (or until the chicken is done).  Or, for something a little fancier, wrap the prosciutto around a stuffed chicken breast...

This chicken breasts were stuffed with provolone cheese and just a little bit of pesto...makes it a bit of an inside out chicken cordon blue.  Yum.....

#2- Bacon and Egg Udon 

The original recipe that I used for this (from Fine Cooking) called for 225g of bacon...but I find that you don't need that much.  Adding some chicken would be a great way to bulk up this soup if you don't find it filling...you could cut the chicken into strips and poach it in the broth before adding the noodles.

You will need...

-eggs (1 or 2 per bowl of soup, really depends on your personal preference)

-4 to 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

-a bunch of green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or Sriracha...something to give the broth some heat)

-1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

-4 cups chicken broth

-1 cup water

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-udon noodles or, as the original recipe suggested, ramen noodles (discard the flavour packs if using the Sapporo Ichiban or Mr. Noodles variety)

-baby spinach (as much as you want...kale would also be delicious)

First: poach the eggs and transfer them to a plate (set aside for later).

Cook the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until just browned and crispy.  Carefully pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving about 2tsp (and leaving all of the bacon in the pan).  Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and chili sauce.  Cook, stirring constantly, for -2 minutes (until the garlic begins to brown).  Add the chicken broth, water, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (where are the salty bacon flavour is).  Add the noodles and cook until they are done (2-3 minutes).

Put some baby spinach in the bottom of two deep soup bowls.  Divide the udon and broth among the bowls, and top with the poached eggs.

Three things to do with carrots

The humble carrot: healthy, delicious, cheap, and underrated.  While salads and carrot sticks are obvious choices, there are so many things that you can do with this vegetable!  Here are three suggestions....

1) Roasted

Carrots are sweet, which means that they roast beautifully.  It's also ridiculously easy: once the carrots are in the oven all you need to do is set a timer and take them out when it dings...no need to slave over the stove checking for done-ness.

The method is basic.  First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Cut up the carrots into bite sized pieces (as a general rule, the larger they are, the longer they will take to cook).  Toss them with a little oil (I prefer canola or vegetable oil for this since olive oil tends to smoke in the oven at high temperatures), add salt and pepper to taste, as well as whatever other spices/flavours you desire.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes (longer if necessary).

Using a mix of coloured carrots is not only delicious, it's also beautiful!

2) Soup

I love vegetable soups: they are creamy and delicious...and ridiculously good for you since they amount to little more than veggie puree thinned out with a little chicken stock.  Also, really easy to make.  For this particular curried carrot soup you will need the following:

-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (if you can't be bothered peeling/chopping, just buy a bag of baby carrots from the store!)
-6 cups chicken stock
-1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
-1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (more=spicier)
-salt and pepper (to taste)
-sour cream (for serving)

Preheat a large pot over medium heat.  Add olive oil, onion, and carrots; saute 5 minutes.  Add 4 cups of chicken stock, curry powder, cayenne, and about 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the carrots are very tender (15 minutes or so).  Remove from heat, and use a hand blender to blend until smooth (or, you can blend small batches in a normal blender.  Be careful though...hot liquids in a blender tend to splash!).  Return to heat; if the soup is too thick add more chicken stock (until you reach the desired consistency).  Add salt and pepper to taste; serve with sour cream.

You can make these fancy hearts by putting down small dollops of sour cream and then dragging a toothpick through them in a circle.

3) Bake

Muffins are a great place to put vegetables, especially since grated veggies take the place of oil or milk.  These muffins are extra special since they also contain crushed pineapple...and they freeze really well!

-1 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar
-3/4 cup natural bran

(If you don't like bran in your muffins you can just use 2 cups of flour and omit the bran.  Another option is to use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat!)

-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the centre, and set aside.

-2 eggs
-1 cup grated carrot
-1 can (398 mL) crushed pineapple with juice
-1 tbsp cooking oil

In a small bowl beat eggs lightly.  Add carrot, pineapple, and oil; mix well.  Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients.  Stir to moisten.

(At this point you can, if you choose, add 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries.)

Fill greased muffin cups with batter.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.

As always...enjoy!!

Biscuits 101

Baking is probably the most intimidating form of cooking, if only because it requires that you be particularly exact: fail to cream the butter and sugar together for long enough and your cake will not have the right texture...mix too vigorously and your muffins turn into hockey pucks.  Can't let doughs rise for too long, but you have to make sure that they rise for long enough.....

Lots of errors are made when learning how to be a good baker, and I have made most of them.  But the result of all that trial and error is delicious, and so all the mistakes turn out to be worth it.

One of the first things that I learned how to bake was biscuits, buttermilk ones to be precise.  My mom always used to make them when we had beef stew...they're perfect for sopping up that last little bit of gravy in the bottom of the bowl.  Working well for gravy also means that they're delicious with soup, which is what I paired them with this particular weekend...meaning that you're about to get two recipes for the price of one.

First, the soup: roasted broccoli and garlic.  I love roasted vegetable soups of any kind, mostly because they are basically a giant pot of vegetable puree and are super good for you.  Roasting the broccoli adds a depth of flavour that you can't get from merely boiling it, though if you were pressed for time you could just boil the broccoli in the chicken stock before blending in the cream cheese.

You will need....
-5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
-2 pounds of broccoli florets
-4 tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper
-125g cream cheese
-3 or 4 cups chicken broth (personal preference...depends on how thick you like your soup)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Wrap the garlic in a foil packet and roast for 50 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss the broccoli florets in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes (or until tender).

Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a large soup pot.  Add the broccoli, cream cheese, and chicken broth; puree until smooth using a hand blender.

(Of course you can use a normal blender instead...just put the broccoli, garlic, etc. into the blender instead of the pot!)

Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste...then serve.

Garnished with bacon...though a sprinkling of old cheddar would be just as delicious.

Now, the biscuits.  I used to do mine the old fashioned way (adding cubes of butter to the flour and then mixing until a mealy texture was achieved), but then I got my hands on a cookbook by Michael Smith.  His tip: freeze the butter, then grate it in.  Seriously.  All you have to do then is mix the flour and butter together and you will immediately achieve the right texture...less work.  I like things that involve less work.....

Trust Michael.  You'll never go back.......

Ingredients
-4 cups all purpose flour
-2 tbsp baking powder
-2 tsp salt
-1 cup butter, frozen
-1 1/2 cups milk (try buttermilk...it will give your biscuits a rich, creamy flavour!)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F (convenient if you're making this recipe at the same time as the soup).  Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.  Using a grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour and toss lightly until it's all combined.

At this point you can also add all kinds of things for a little extra flavour: chopped dried herbs, curry powder, a handful of cheese.....get creative!

Pour the milk into the four mixture, and stir until it forms a large mass.  As with muffins you don't want to overmix the batter...as soon as most of the mixture forms a ball tip everything out onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough over a couple of times until it all comes together.  Roll the dough out until it's about 1/2 inch thick, and use whatever you have handy to cut it into the shape that you desire (I use a water glass since I don't have a biscuit cutter).

I also use a wine bottle to roll out my dough since I don't have a proper rolling pin...

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes...until they're deliciously golden brown.

And I quote: "Better than my mum's!"

What I'm eating now: Butternut squash

'Tis the season...winter that is.  A season when supermarket produce starts to look a little suspect...

The joy of the modern age is that we can basically get whatever fruits and veggies we want whenever we want them.  Unfortunately, for those of us in northern climates that means trucking (flying, boating) produce in from warmer places, and the journey isn't always kind.  So instead of going for the same greens you enjoy during the summer months, consider moving on to winter squash when the weather turns cold.

There's something about butternut squash that makes it perfect for soups, stews, and casseroles...which is exactly what I want to eat when it's cold outside.  So the other night I made myself a delightful pot of soup, which I then dressed up with some roasted shrimp and a dry Riesling.

Living alone doesn't mean that you can't get fancy once in awhile!

The general directions for roasting the shrimp can be found here.  The only change I made was in how I seasoned the shrimp...this time I used lime zest (since I had a lime for the soup), chili paste, ginger paste, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Don't worry too much about quantities; season to your own taste.  Other than that the directions are exactly the same.

As for the soup, the recipe follows.....

Ingredients (makes about 6 cups of soup)
-1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 2 inch cubes
-4 tsp canola oil
-3/4 tsp salt
-1 cup chopped onion
-3 cups chicken stock
-4 tsp red curry paste (or a little more if you like it spicy)
-1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
-1 can (400 ml) light coconut milk
-cilantro and red chiles to garnish (if desired)

First, roast the squash.  Toss with 3 tsp canola oil and 1/4 tsp salt.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 35-40 minutes (until golden and tender).

After the squash is ready, heat the remaining oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook 5 minutes (until soft), stirring occasionally.  Add the curry paste, chicken stock, and the squash.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil.  Then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (stirring occasionally).

(If you're roasting shrimp to go along with the soup, put them in the over when the soup has about 5 minutes of simmering left.  That way they'll be done at the same time that the soup is.....)

After 15 minutes, remove the soup from the heat.  Stir in lime juice and coconut milk.  You have two options for what to do next.....

Option 1: for a silky smooth soup, blend the mixture.  I have an immersion blender that I use for this part, but you could use a regular blender as well.  If you are using a regular blender, make sure to remove the round cap from the lid (to let the steam out), and cover the hole with a towel.  Be careful, the soup will be hot!

Option 2: for a soup with a little more texture (or if you don't have a blender), mash the squash in the pot.  You can use a potato masher, ladle, or fork...whatever works for you.  This soup will not be as smooth as the one in option #1, but it will be equally delicious.

Divide soup into bowls, add shrimp, and garnish however you please!