Strong Opinions

Sometimes it's hard to hold a belief and not press it on people.

Right now, I'm talking about my own personal opinions on rape.  My values compel me to shut down any conversation, joke or comment that promotes the idea that sex can be "taken"; that women by nature don't want sex but will "trade" it for things (like dinner, commitment, jewellery, etc); that people don't mean what they say; and generally things that promote less than enthusiastic sex.

I'm (when awake, at least) a very enthusiastic person.  I like to describe myself this way:  If I like bread, and I just found an awesome new bakery that makes the best bread I have EVER had, then I will want to let everyone know about it, even if they vehemently dislike bread.  Of course, this is an imperfect analogy, because this extends beyond liking something and believing something is morally good or bad.

So how do I compare to, for example, someone who devoutly believes that the existence of homosexuality fundamentally damages their own world, and wants to educate everyone else about why this is true?

Honestly, I don't have a real answer--not one that I 100% believe yet, anyway.

I'd like to think that my values (on rape culture) are "better" or "correct", and that everyone would benefit from hearing me talk.  But wanting to "educate" everyone and wanting to convert everyone, I think, can be very similar.

Right now, I think the distinction between, "I disagree with what you say and will criticise your message" and "I forbid you to say those things and will shame you" is crucial.

I think one of the important things to remember in order to stay on the right track is to not guilt anyone for having values different from mine.  (Although sometimes it can be really, really hard to not call a misogynist an ignorant sack of shit.)


For anyone who's curious, here are some of the things my values on rape culture compel me to do:

• Kill the mood whenever someone tells a rape joke; 
• Describe sex as an activity (as opposed to a commodity for trade; eg: "We had sex" vs. "I had sex with her"); 
• Mention consent in sex stories ("I asked if he wanted to have sex, and he said yes" vs. "We had sex"); 
• Use the most accurate words to say what I mean (unless the difference between a good word and a great word takes so much time it impedes the effectiveness of my message); 
• Refrain from dividing populations into "men" and "women"; 
• Talk about sex; 
• Talk about talking about sex (eg: "My boyfriend and I talked about what we like best about sex", "He told me that it's uncomfortable when I do that, so now I know he doesn't like that", "I asked her where she likes to be touched and how", etc);
• Whenever someone describes rape as "random badguy jumping out of the bushes at night and raping people", clarify that rape is an enormously under-reported act of violence, and that there is likely a much higher incidence of rape among partners than strangers; 
• Bring up that better communication can prevent rape; 
• Insist that "unwanted sex" is rape, that coerced consent is not true consent; 
• Insist that rape is an act of violence, assault, that rape is when someone doesn't want to participate in sex, and is forced (or coerced) to participate; 
• Do not insist there are (only) two genders or that men are distinct from women; 
• ...more

It's late, will write more...later, when there's less schoolwork.  

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Canned Fish

As you may have already known, I'm a bit of a fan of Good Eats, a cooking show hosted by Alton Brown (AB), that recently (2011) ended.

Sometime last year, I began watching the series from the very first episode, and just recently watched "Live and Let Diet" (click for transcript and info), where AB explains how he changed his diet (not that he is "dieting" in the sense that the word has recently taken on), and lost 50 pounds, all while still eating tasty things!

I like his "list" idea, though I still have yet to look into, for example, why specifically carrots, sweet potatoes and avocadoes of all things?

But when I heard about canned fish such as sardines, brisling and herring--in oil!--my curiosity was piqued!  You ever hear the description of something, then try to imagine it in your head, and get so caught up in trying to imagine it that you just have to know if your prediction is correct?  That happened to me.

(Click to jump to recipe)

I immediately went to Safeway and bought two cans of sardines in soya oil, sardines in spring water, and one can of "golden smoked" herring fillets.

(All the photos are of Brunswick sardines in soya oil.)

I decided the first can I'd try would be the smoked herring, since I felt I had a better idea how that would be.  Tasty!  Very light in flavour, I was impressed that it wasn't over salted!  It seemed to be a "snacking" food, which is exactly how it was marketed ("Brunswick Seafood Snacks"), so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. 

Later I tried the sardines.  I was surprised how soft they were!  The slightest prod seemed to break the tender flakes of fish meat!

The dark thing in the middle of the two halves--are those
organs?  It was sure tasty!!

I opened up the fish laterally (to expose the length of the "spine" bones).  There was a dark mass of fish meat.  Organs?  I tried the muscular meat first.  Tender!  Flaky!  A rather mild flavour, actually.  Oily.  A little "fishy", but not horribly so.  I tried the spine.  I loved the crunch!  Whereas I find canned salmon spine to be kind of disgusting, I loved the little sardine spines!!  The little spikes felt almost like a delicate, thin chain bracelet on my tongue--but I assure you I mean this in the best way possible!

Then the organs.  HOLY CRAP, fishy and delicious!  What is this, liver?  Is this why fish livers are so highly valued--well, at least cod livers?  The texture was....like a fine and ever so slightly sandy paste.  I don't typically eat liver, so maybe this is characteristic of the organ?

I decided to make a meal out of my next can, so I did what made the most sense:  put 'em on toast!  I've formatted this as a recipe below, but honestly, it's just assembly and heating.

Today, I decided to try even more canned fish.  I picked up kippered herring, and brisling in olive oil (which is what AB recommends over "sardines").  Myro and I made two batches of fish on toast, using the different cans.

I found the brisling to be more "fishy" than the sardines.  They had a more "distinct" flavour, but I can't quite put my finger on what that flavour was.  It may have been the olive oil, though.  The oil was surprisingly fruity! I would like to try sardines in olive oil for comparison.  But there was also an almost mustardy flavour to the fish.  Maybe this is what AB meant when he called it "sweet"?  It reminds me of the way people say lamb meat is "sweeter" than, say, chicken.  (I don't think that lamb meat is "sweet", but it definitely has more flavour!)

I think I would prefer eating the brisling straight out of the can, while the sardines I would use for toast--but the olive oil of course is tastier than the soybean oil!

Sardine Toast
Active work: 5 min
Toaster Oven: 5 min

Software:

• 1 can (106g or so), sardines in oil
• 3 slices, bread (Canadian rye works very well and is just the right size)
• 1 clove, garlic, peeled (alt: 1 tsp garlic paste)
• salt and pepper to taste

Hardware:

• toaster oven
• culinary brush
• chef knife
• optional: mortar and pestle

Method:
Open the can and let the oils drain into a small cup or custard dish.  Reserve liquids.

Make garlic paste:  Peel the garlic.  If you have a mortar and pestle, and don't mind having to clean it for just one clove of garlic, then pestle that clove into a nice, fine paste.  Otherwise, use your chef knife to garlic paste (click for nice instructional video; I don't think I can concisely describe what he's doing faster than it takes to watch the video).

Mix the garlic into the oil.  Brush the oil onto both sides of each slice of bread.  Designate one side as the "bottom" and sprinkle with just a wee pinch of salt.  (This delivers the salt right to your tongue, instead of putting salt on top of the fish where it won't be tasted as easily--you'd have to use more salt (or eat the toast upside-down) to experience the same saltiness.)

On the "top" side, evenly distribute the sardines.  I find I get 3 fish per can, so it works out well.  I like to open the fish up to expose the spine, so that it takes up more area on the bread.

Toast in toaster oven about 5 minutes or until bread is browned to your liking and fish is warmed!  Make sure that the bottoms also get toasted, otherwise the bread will fall apart under the wet fishes' weight!

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Hammock

The following is a little story that has no real purpose, other than to express how much happiness I've gotten from a cheap and kind of silly little purchase from almost two years back.


While I was on my Journeyman qualification in 2010, a friend and I visited Montreal and we stopped by a quirky shop specialising in military gear.  They also sold camping, hiking and hunting things, but were more about "interesting things" than "high performance" or very technical products (I don't think they would have carried the latest model of anything).

My eyes drank up the tall shelves and aisles bursting with wares.  I didn't know what most of it was.  Honestly, military gear isn't a hobby for me the way it is for some of my coworkers.  My eyes landed on a coat tree, on which were hanging brightly multicoloured net-things.  I reached for one.  It was about as heavy as I expected.  Nylon cord had been knotted together to form a net with two ends; one end hung on the coat rack and the other in my hand, a large eyelet of tightly coiled cord, about the size of my palm.

It was a hammock, and I was in love with it.  

I picked out the least gaudy-looking one, a sort of puce-burgundy colour overall, but each cord having several different colours of strand.  The whole thing cost me about four dollars, and I was exceedingly proud of my purchase--even if I had no clue how to use it.

I had hoped to use it on the next military exercise, but it slipped into the background of my thoughts, and all too soon, I was back home in Winnipeg.

I really love this hammock.  You can see how simple it
is, no spreader bar and no complicated mechanisms
whatsoever!  Here I am just laying in my back yard.

A year went by without use, but in June 2011, I went camping for the first time (that I'm old enough to remember well) with some friends.  One showed me how to set up and use the simple hammock.  A simple lark's head in some 50/50 cord (I'm told this is actually not real "paracord", but we call it that anyhow) and a few winds around a tree would be enough to support my weight.  I was impressed!  I proceeded to spend the next several minutes attempting to climb in!

After a few tumbles, I got the hang of spreading out the net before sitting, and spreading again with my elbows to lay inside.  I loved it!

When I came home, I immediately sought a place to set it up in the back yard.  There weren't a lot of options, since most of the trees were planted immediately beside the deck.  But we did have the young apple tree!  I just made sure to tie it low enough that the apple tree wouldn't sway much.  Have I already said how much I love this hammock?

One especially warm night, I even slept outdoors in it!  I hung a bug net over top and staked the corners to the ground.  I even brought a little folding stool as a night table!  Sleeping was a bit difficult, especially with the mosquitoes, but by then I was a veteran at not falling out!

Morning was gorgeous.  I woke up to birdsong long before daylight.  Sore from the hammock, I moved to the grass below.  A fat young rabbit came hopping out from behind the trailer, completely oblivious to me.  It came to within three feet, when I decided I should frighten it away from my carrots!

This year, I'm looking to take my hammock to different places.  I've already taken it to a nearby park and used the little soccer net as posts!  (The trees were too far apart).  It may not be related, but when I started setting up the hammock, three of the four families (with very young children) left the premises.  I probably looked very strange!

This hammock is, perhaps, the best four bucks I've ever spent, and if it had a brand and a website, I would probably recommend it right here.  It really is one of those things one buys kind of randomly, and then happens to bring so much simple, unexpected happiness.

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Yard Work and Plans

With the crazy 20-degrees-above-normal weather we've been having recently, the snow and ice have almost disappeared from sight, and I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to start my seedlings a full month earlier than last year!  Ah yes, gardening fever is beginning again...!

This year I'd like to (try to) "keep things real", or at least, manageable.  Last year, my eyes were bigger than my, uh, garden; I had too much going on and not enough time and energy to do it all.  Also, because of the very strange weather (hot and humid--strange for Winnipeg!), we had some strange things happen, like rampant powdery mildew!

I think I've learned (a little) from (some of) last year's difficulties.  One of the things I'm trying to minimise is "garden fatigue".  This is what I'm going to call that mental state that happens to me when I have no set plan for the day, that I'm just going to "do yardwork" or I tell myself I'm going to frolic when I'm actually itching for something to do.  I'll just walk into the garden and start half-assedly doing stuff: pruning, weeding, tying tomato vines to stakes--but without any thought about what I'm actually doing.  While the last thing I ever want to do is turn gardening into a chore, I definitely don't want to go about haphazardly sowing flower seeds into the lawn, thinking how nice it would be to have daisies in the grass, when I paid for those seeds!

So I'm trying to generate more step-by-step plans.

For example:  I've noticed that in the 3x6 bed, which I'll also refer to as the "carrot bed", there is a lot of mulch from last year, and a lot of little rabbit droppings!  While the droppings are probably loaded with nice soil-enriching nutrients, they're probably still active, and I've read carrots don't even like compost unless it's old and absolutely positively done composting.  So both the mulch and droppings have got to go.

By the way, the carrots I left in the ground from last fall?  As far as I can tell, they got pulled up and eaten!  I haven't seen a single carrot seedling, but there are rather fresh-looking holes!  Maybe that idea of rabbits pulling up carrots has some truth!

I've decided to write down step-by-step what I need to do, and in what order, to prepare the bed for carrots this spring.

This list is mostly for my own benefit, but of course, it is free to view by the public:

Since the carrot bed is smaller, and carrots can be direct-sown earlier in the year, preparing the carrot bed takes priority.  Additionally, building the soil sorting device earlier avails them for use in the 3x16 bed.

Step One:  Buy materials for the soil sorting device!  I know this device has to have a name, but I can't seem to remember it (a grader?).  This device is basically a four-sided box with a mesh stapled to the bottom; and it will separate out the finer soil from the larger chunks.  I think this action also has a name (grading?) but I can't remember that either, so I'll refer to it as "sorting" the soil.  I'm thinking the device should be about 12" by 18" and about 6" deep.  The mesh comes from a roll of eavestrough liner I bought last year and barely used.  I'll have to buy some new lumber (2x6-es I presume) though.  I'll need at least two of these, but three or four would be better, as I plan to have another garden work party this year!

Step Two:  Remove the top layer of soil from the bed.  I'll probably use the large pet boxes to store the soil for easy dumping into the sorting device.

Step Three:  Build the sorter/s (as described above).

Step Three and a half:  Prepare cocopeat (see step five below).

Step Four:  Sort the soil.  I'll likely have a helper that day, and the two of us will sit by the carrot bed, dumping the green bins into our sorters and shaking away (over the bed).  The mulch can go into the mulch bin, and the rabbit poops can go into the compost heap.  (If adding cocopeat, remember to wet it down regularly.)

At this point, the important things have been accomplished.  However, this would be an ideal time to...

Step Five:  Add soil amendments.  (Of course, they'd have to be purchased earlier.)  In this case, the amendments would be sand, cocopeat and perhaps some bone meal.  Adding cocopeat takes time, as it needs to be rehydrated and broken apart.  Putting the block of cocopeat into the bed and sprinkling with the hose would before sorting the soil would probably provide enough time for the cocopeat to rehydrate.  When the soil has been sorted, take a hoe to the cocopeat and rake it apart.  If it crumbles easily, add the other materials (so that each pull of the hoe both breaks apart the cocopeat block and mixes in the amendments).

Step Six:  Level the surface and water the soil.  Use the back of a thatching rake to level.  Gently water using the "shower" setting.

At this point, the bed is just about ready for sowing!

Step Seven:  Sow carrots.  This is how I sowed carrots last year, and it really seemed to work, so I'll stick to it this year, too.  (I used this method because the soil was thick and heavy, but with the added sand and cocopeat, the first step may not be necessary!)

1. Cover the surface of the area in which carrots (or radishes) will grow, with a thin layer (half a centimetre) of cocopeat.  Level.  
2. Lay the square-foot grid.  This year, I'll be using sisal or jute twine, not the flimsy green plastic stuff from last year.  
3. Using a thin dowel, divide each squarefoot into sixteen squares by pressing the dowel into the cocopeat.  
4. In the centre of each little square, make a shallow depression using the end of the dowel.  
5. Sow one carrot (or radish) seed in each little hole.  
6. Fill in the holes.  

Step Eight:  Dampen, mulch and water again.  Use the "mist" setting on the hose showerhead to dampen the cocopeat.  Then cover the sown area with leaf mulch (at least 4cm).  Water the mulch gently (use the "shower" setting).

At this point, the carrots are ready to grow, but if last year was any indication, the leaves will need protection!  But carrots are slow to germinate, and the following step can be put off for maybe a week.

Step Nine:  Lay a net over the bed.  Or better yet, construct an easily removable framework over which a net may be secured.  Since the broccoli eventually grow to be much taller and wider than the carrots and radishes, a removable structure makes more sense right now.  Later, when the broccoli is large enough to be uninteresting to birds, I may only need a fence to keep the rabbits away from the carrots.

Step Ten:  Take a relaxing sit in the hammock.

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Hummus - Trial #1

The past week or so, I've been having this unprecedented craving for hummus, so I've made about five batches of the stuff.  As I've mentioned before, I love hummus and I'll eat it warm with a spoon!

But every time I've made it, I've been guessing at the proportions of ingredients.  It always turns out tasty, but it's extremely time consuming to stir in the ingredients, taste, add more of something and repeat.  So after making a batch almost daily for a week, I want to be able to throw everything in a food processor and go.

So today, I made a batch of hummus again, and have written down the approximate proportions.  I say approximate, because today was the first time I used dried chickpeas instead of canned; and I find there's a funny taste from the baking soda, and I'll have to work that out at a future time.

I use sesame oil instead of sesame butter (tahini) because, first, that's what we have at home, and second, I really can't taste the sesame flavour of the tahini.  Sesame oil has this rich, toasty flavour that I just adore!  Some say it makes for a "lighter" feeling hummus, too.

I also use roasted garlic by default in hummus; if I want the bite of raw garlic, then I'll add some, but I really prefer the mellow, nutty flavour of roasted garlic.



Hummus from Dried Chickpeas - Trial #1

Soak: overnight
Cook peas:  1 hour
Active work: about 20 min


Overnight Soak:

• 1 cup chickpeas, dried
• 2 cups water
• Large bowl or measuring cup

Chickpeas:

• the soaked chickpeas (approx 2 to 2.5 cups now) 
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Software:

• the cooked and drained chickpeas
• 1 to 2 Tbsp roasted garlic
• 10 Tbsp fresh water
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 5 tsp olive oil
• 2 to 3 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• 3 tsp smoked paprika 

Hardware:

• Immersion blender or food processor (some way of turning the chickpeas into a puree)
• spatula

Method:

Soak the chickpeas:  Inspect peas for any pebbles, twigs, that sort of thing.  Rinse well.  Soak overnight in a vessel large enough to contain the peas and water.

Cook the chickpeas:  Drain peas.  Boil the fresh water in a large pot or saucepan.  Add the salt, baking soda and peas.  Cook approx 1 hour, or until peas are tender.  Drain, rinse and don't reserve the liquid (it has that icky baking soda taste).  Make the hummus while the peas are still warm.

For the hummus:  In food processor, puree all the ingredients, scraping down the sides as needed.  You may have to adjust the water or lemon juice to get your desired consistency.  I like a consistency like fluffy mashed potatoes.

...this is just a first run; I hope to make improvements to this recipe in the future.

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Simple Foods

All right, since some of my "snack splurges" were actually something I like to call instead "simple pleasures", I've decided to reorganise and create this separate post.  From now on, you'll be able to find my snacks by searching for the "snack" label.

Again, they're usually only few ingredients each, none of them extraordinary, but have a sort of homeliness.  I was never a peasant myself (nor was my family, as far as I can tell), but I imagine this is what restaurant owners want you to feel when you order their "peasant food" (at exorbitant prices, no doubt).

Most of these are still snacks, though they range from little study snacks (seriously: apple slices), to small meals (eg: cottage cheese, mashed chickpeas).


Charlie's Favourite Simple Snacks!
(not an exhaustive list)


Crunchy apple slices - I once read that if you're packing a kid's lunch (and the kid doesn't really like fruit?), slice up the fruit instead of putting them in whole (especially apples, oranges, anything round that can be cut into wedges).  It is just so easy to not eat a whole fruit.  Now, I find this applies to myself as well.  If I pack an apple or orange, it is just so easy to think, "I'll just save it for tomorrow."  But if I go through the trouble of cutting it up into little pieces (dunked lovingly into acidulated water to prevent browning), I know I have to eat it.  Also, it's so convenient to eat: I don't have to dirty my hands (use a fork), which means I can eat while studying (especially crunchy apples, I love crunchy study foods)!

I've heard that peanut butter goes well with apple slices, but I have yet to actually try it myself.

Grilled cheese sandwich - Pretty straightforward, eh?  This is as much about the method as the ingredient, as a splurge snack I mean.  Heat frying pan with a bit of butter (do not substitute!!) on low heat.  Assemble your sandwich and when the water from the butter has steamed out, place the sandwich in the pan.  We have a tiny cast iron skillet, and I like to place it on top of the sandwich to provide weight.  My favourite bread to use is Winnipeg rye (sometimes called "Canadian", otherwise "light rye" is pretty close) that's chewy enough to provide some texture.  My favourite filling so far has been cheddar, dried chives and thin apple slices.

I once had a double-decker grilled cheese in Toronto; one layer had brie and bacon, the other layer had gouda (and at least two other cheeses) and tomatoes.  Splurrrge!

Garlic toast - I learned this one from Myro.  Toast some rye bread (use either a chewy bread, or a stale loaf) slowly under low heat.  The goal is to harden the bread, not so much to toast it.  Peel a clove of garlic (without crushing it too much), or two.  Rub the clove (or cloves) into the bread, almost like you're grating it.  Enjoy (preferably with soup, a creamy soup)!

I suppose if you buttered the garlic side and heated in the toaster oven you'd have a quick version of garlic bread!  I will have to investigate this further!

Cottage Cheese - My favourite way to eat it is with some dried chives, onion flakes and freshly ground black pepper.  That's it.  Nothing to it!  Eat with a spoon!



Chickpea mash - This is basically a cooked hummus made with a potato masher instead of a food processor, and eaten warm.  If I had to choose between heating hummus and making a fresh batch, I could really go either way!  Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas (or soak them if dry peas are what you have).  Gently boil the peas (in clean water) for a minute or so (if using dry, you must cook the peas; I'm sure you can find a time estimate online).  Drain loosely (it's ok if there's still some water).  Mash with potato masher.  This would be a great time to add anything, for example finely minced garlic or carrots, fresh or dried parsley...  Add a splash of olive oil or butter (treat it like mashed potatoes), maybe some black pepper.  If it's too dry, add a little water.  Mash until it's the consistency you like.  I personally like mine a little rough.



Warm garlicky hummus and sour cream - Strange, eh?  I discovered this out of desperation.  I love to eat warm hummus (home-made, of course), but one time, I accidentally put too much garlic!  The burning relentless!  Heating the garlic more didn't help much at this point, and I didn't have any more chickpeas to add.  So I reached for the sour cream, and whisked roughly to combine.  It's so fluffy and light, it's magical.  The garlic didn't burn as much, and the tangy twang of the sour cream added a really nice contrast to the heavy earthiness of the chickpeas.  I ate this with a spoon, but I imagine it would make a good spread or dip, too.


...more to come!

What are some of your favourite simple snacks?

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Pot Roast

Last week, SuperStore had beef blade roast at $1.98 per pound...which is ridiculous!  I bought one without thinking too hard about how I'd use it.

As usual, click here to jump to the recipe.

(Note:  This was made on Wed, but I just hadn't gotten around to posting til now.)

Thankfully this page explained that the "blade" comes from the shoulder.  Thanks to Alton Brown, I know that the shoulder of a cow does a lot of work, which means tougher meat; however this also typically has a lot of flavour.  So braising is a good option.  I typically use this method for my braises now (scroll down the page); although the fond started burn so I had to deglaze the pan before browning the veg.


(There was actually a rather embarrassing shuffle among three different cooking vessels [one of which had a handle that kept coming loose!] while I tried to deglaze the searing pan and brown vegetables at the same time, with no counter or table space; so everything [including the resting roast] was on the stove top!!)

There was also a bit of uncertainty when I examined the beef.  Some parts had turned brown (the dull brown-grey of boiled beef) and emitted a strong beefy odour.  Not sour or anything, just....intensely beefy, like cooked beef, actually.


I'll admit upfront that I don't typically cook much meat (until this year, actually) so I was very confused and nervous.  Mom said I could wash the roast and trim off any brown parts and I'd be fine.  In truth, I suspect I would have been fine anyway.  I don't think this was from rotting.

DISCLAIMER:  I'll be the first to admit I am a n00b at cooking meat (besides rack of lamb, leg of lamb and burgers).  This blog is mostly for my own record-keeping and it's not like I actively recommend anyone to do what I do.  If in doubt, seek professional resources, for example the USDA or the CFIA.

Here are some pretty shots of my mise en place; one onion, two carrots, some garlic, salt and coarsely ground black pepper, two bay leaves and some sprigs of thyme (still leftover from the lamb shanks).

 

After mangling the meat and tying it back with the only kitchen twine we had, I rubbed it down with peanut oil, then rubbed in the salt and pepper on all exposed surfaces.  Ideally, I would have seared the beef in the same vessel used for roasting, but I don't have a Dutch oven (or "French oven" for lovers of le Creuset), and most of my ceramic casseroles don't have handles.

But I did manage to get this fine browning at the end of the aforementioned frying pan ordeal!

I deglazed the searing pan and browned the carrots and onions in a separate pan.  I have another rather embarrassing story about the wine used in this recipe.  It seemed that our household always had at least one of two wines (or at least, wine beverages): Dubonnet aperitif, and a fruity red wine that came in a dark green bottle, bearing only a purple offset square ("diamond") label stating it was a "South African Cabernet Sauvignon" from 2008.

This is my absolute favourite red wine.  I don't know much about wine, but I'd call this one "unpretentious", it's just upfront and "honest".  How does it taste?  ...  I'll get back to you on that some other time.

Now, we had run out of this wine, so I thought to buy some more from the LC.  But alas, there was none; and nobody had every heard of it.  I was heartbroken!  I asked a wine-drinking friend where she thought I might be able to find it.  I described the label.  "No, it has to have more information than that," she asserted.  I insisted there was none.  "That's not legal!"

Well, the weekend came and my brother came over to my folks' place for dinner.  Casually, I mentioned my wine troubles.  He cocked his head.

"It's in a green bottle, has a purple diamond label and says South African Cabernet Sauvignon?"

"Yes, yes!  Why, do you know where I can find some??"

"Well, yeah.  I mean, I made it!"

Argh!  All this time, it was my brother's wine (he has a friend who's into wine-making--and sausage-making, actually!)!!  No wonder I couldn't find it on shelves anywhere!  Thankfully, he had several bottles left and gave us another.

 

Anyway, I used about a cup or less of this wine to dissolve the fond off the searing pan; then simmer with the bay leaves and thyme.  After the veg had browned, I added them into the liquid, brought back to a simmer; scooped the veg into the bottom of my casserole, placed the beef on top, and poured all the liquid over.  Since the casserole lid wouldn't fit, I crimped some aluminum foil tightly over top.  This went into a baking dish (for easier holding, since the casserole doesn't have handles) and into the oven.

The flavour of the sauce is heavenly.  I think most of this comes from the red wine; but I love the mild heat of the black pepper, and the green, herbal brightness from the celery leaves (see below).  The beef is....good.  I wouldn't say it's spectacular, but it is pretty darn good for a first try, I think.  Definitely has that robust beefy flavour.  Some parts are tender, others are a little chewy.  Save any leftover sauce.  It's absolutely spectacular on rice!!

A Simple Pot Roast
Active work: 40 min
Roasting: 2 hr

Software:

For the beef:
• beef blade roast, about 4 lbs (mine was closer to 5), netted or tied
• vegetable oil (one with a high smoke point, I like to use peanut oil)
• salt (approx 1 Tbsp, but depends on the surface area of your roast)
• coarsely ground black pepper (as with the salt)
For the veg
• 1 white onion (yellow is okay if you like that onion-ey flavour)
• 2 carrots
• 4-6 cloves, garlic
For the braise
• 1/2 to 1 cup, red wine
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup, beef broth (preferably no-salt or low-sodium)
• 10 peppercorns, crushed slightly
• 2 medium bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs, thyme
For the sauce
• OPTIONAL:  more aromatics and spices, to taste
  I used: celery leaves, 2 cloves garlic crushed slightly and about 5 peppercorns crushed slightly
• approx 1 tsp cornstarch
• salt to taste

Hardware:

• Dutch oven or lidded casserole (suitable for stovetop and oven cookery)
  Alternatively: a large non-stick frying pan or skillet and an oven-safe vessel, preferably ceramic or at least thick-walled, with either tight-fitting lid, or lots of heavy-duty aluminum foil
• another large non-stick frying pan (see discussion above)
• tongs (for turning meat during searing)
• spatula 
• chopsticks or a whisk, for stirring sauce
• sieve

Method:
Chop carrots 1cm thick (I prefer on on the bias for more surface area for browning).  Peel, trim and halve onion.  Chop into 1cm slices from top to bottom (root) so that the slices are mostly held together.  Mince garlic.  Set all veg aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Heat some peanut oil in bottom of Dutch oven (or large fry pan).

Meanwhile, pat beef dry.  Drizzle with oil and rub into the meat.  Repeat for salt and coarse black pepper.

Sear meat on all sides (approx 20min, depending on surface area of your roast).  Then, remove to plate.

Deglaze pan with red wine; add bay leaves, thyme and cracked pepper.  Simmer.  

Meanwhile, in other fry pan (or Dutch oven; alternatively, if the fond isn't sticking badly to the pan from searing, you may brown the veg in that pan instead), heat a little oil on med-high and add carrots.  Cook 1-2 min.  Add onions and cook until the veg are soft and beginning to brown.  Add garlic and cook until all veg browned.  

Pour in red wine mixture to deglaze.  Scoop out veg and place in bottom of Dutch oven (if you're not already using it).  Place beef on top.  Pour red wine over.  Cover (or tightly crimp on aluminum foil).  

Place casserole into 350F oven for 15min; then turn down to 250F and continue to bake another 2 hours or until done.  

To make sauce:  Remove the beef from the liquid.  Boil liquid 10 min.  Strain out veg, etc.  Taste and add aromatics and seasonings as desired.  Dissolve cornstarch with a little water, and add to pot.  Simmer 20 minutes or until thickened and concentrated to your tastes.  Salt to taste at this point (no sooner; or else it may be too salty).  Strain out solids.  Pour over slices of pot roast and enjoy!

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Slow Roasted Garlic

Recently my parents bought two large bags (I think they're 3lbs each) of garlic.  Some of the heads were already beginning to crack and some even began sprouting!  In my mind, there was only one thing to do: roast 'em.

Roasted garlic has this delicious, mellow and almost sweet taste (some say "nutty"), with just a wee bit of the heat of raw garlic.  I love to use it in mashed potatoes, pasta sauces and soups!  (Click here to jump to recipe.)

I usually roast, mash and freeze garlic to extend its usefulness.  Since I've started buying California garlic (as opposed to garlic grown in China and shipped to Canada), I can't go back to the economy three-pound bags.  It tastes awful, has almost no kick, a quarter of the bag is cracked or sprouting and by the time you finish half the bag, the rest of it is cracked or sprouting!

So now I usually only roast the garlic when it's been sitting in the kitchen for a while and maybe has started to crack.

In the past, I followed a method I read online: cut the top tenth off each clove (approximately), just so each bare clove would be visible, wrap each cut bulb in foil, drizzle carefully with olive oil and sprinkle even more carefully with a little salt; close up the tinfoil, arrange the wrapped bulbs in a baking pan and roast slowly for two hours; then painstakingly unwrap each one, pop out the clove; mash, pack and freeze.

You can tell by the green dots that this bulb
is getting old. But roasting may save them!

That's tedious!  With about 4lbs of garlic to go through, I certainly didn't have time for all that work!  I thought hard about what I needed in order to slow roast the garlic:

• cut (expose) each clove slightly (else, the garlic would be too mushy to reasonably cut after roasting); 
• lubricate and salt the exposed surfaces; 
• cover the exposed surfaces tightly (so the cut face would touch whatever it was covered with); then finally,
• roast at low heat for a long time.  

If I couldn't wrap each head in foil, maybe I could just flip the cut bulb upside-down.  But then, I thought, I'd have to cut either very little off the tallest point of the bulb, or cut so far down that it would create as much waste as product.  But wait, why should that top part be wasted?  Surely, if I cut the bulb roughly in half, I could use the top half as well!  

But for the roasting pan...  Metal would heat up too quickly (especially the metal pans we have!) and burn the cut faces before the rest of the bulb cooked.  I decided to try the Pyrex baking dishes we had; although I presume ceramic would also have worked (since glaze is essentially glass).  

I dug out the 9x11 and 9x9 -inch Pyrex baking dishes, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled in a little salt.  Between the two pans I got about 11 heads of garlic, halved, to fit snugly.

Since my dad was making a standing rib roast, I used the pre-heated oven and roasted my garlic at 225F for about 2 hours.  Unfortunately, both dishes wouldn't fit on the same rack, and the garlic from the lower rack ended up caramelising a little more than expected.

 

Above:  after roasting.  The left picture shows a top half head, after pulling away the paper.  On the right is a lower half; because of the shape of the curve, and the way the cloves attach to the roots, these ones need to be squeezed or poked out.  I used the thin end of a Japanese chopstick for this.

A note of caution!  The cloves that began forming sprouts were mealy and flavourless!!  However, it was also easy to tell which cloves those were, because they didn't turn soft and nearly homogeneous.  Instead, they were yellowish, dry, and the cut faces were slightly speckled.  Basically, if the clove doesn't look like the picture on the above right, it's not worth using.  As much as I dislike waste, it's really of no culinary use any more.

 

Into the food processor (attachment for my hand-held stick blender, omigosh I love that thing!) go about 3/4 of the garlic.  This batch, I pureed until smooth.  The remainder, I only pulsed a bit to break up the pieces.  This makes for an excellent texture later on!

I mixed the processed garlics together, then divided into two (although three would have been easier to manage).  I placed each portion on a sheet of waxed paper and spread out to form a line.  I folded over the wax paper and used a chopstick to squeeze the garlic into a tube shape; then rolled the wax paper up, folded up the ends, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a labelled freezer bag.  Mmm!

Slow-Roasted Garlic
Active work: 20 min
Roasting: 2 hr

Software:

• lots of garlic
• olive oil
• pinch of salt

Hardware:

• glass (or possibly ceramic) baking dishes large enough to accommodate your garlic
• straight edge (ruler, chopstick, spatula, etc)
• thin stick (chopstick or skewer) for removing cloves

Method:
Position oven rack to middle and higher (for additional baking dishes, if using).  Preheat oven to 225F.

Drizzle olive oil into your baking dishes.  Tilt to coat.  Sprinkle with salt.

Cut your garlic thusly:  Leave as much paper intact as possible.  Halve the garlic horizontally (you'll end up with a top and a bottom).  Carefully (leave the paper intact) place each half cut-side down into the baking dish.  Continue until you've used up all the available space, and each half is in full contact with the dish.

If your oven heats primarily from the top element, you may need to spritz your garlic with water very lightly so the paper doesn't burn.  (Mine heats mostly from the bottom so this was not an issue at all for me, and the water could well be completely unnecessary.)

Place baking dishes in oven.  Roast for 2 hours or until the cloves are brown and extremely soft.

Remove from oven.  First pinch the papers off the top halves (the pointy ones).  The cloves should mostly remain on the pan, though some may stick to the paper.  Transfer the cloves to a food processor (or large bowl for mashing).  Repeat for about half of the bottom halves (root end).  You may need to use a thin chopstick or skewer to help remove the cloves.

Tip:  If a clove is not soft and moist and brown, and has a visible circle in the middle, chances are it tastes terrible.  Go ahead and try it; but if it's mealy and doesn't taste great, don't bother using it.

Process (or mash) the collected cloves, to a fine consistency.  Remove from food processor (or if mashing, leave in bowl).  Add the remaining cloves.  Process (or mash) just to break up the pieces and then mix the two batches together.

Tip:  You could alternatively process the entire batch to be smooth (or chunkier!), but I like this consistency the best.  I get good distribution of the flavour, with a few surprise chunks now and then.

To store:  Spoon out about 1/4 cup of garlic into a line length-wise on a sheet of wax paper.  Fold the paper over the garlic, hold that end down, and use the straight edge to push into the roll of garlic, compressing it into a tube.  (Alton Brown does this on the show Good Eats; I'm sure there's a video out there.)  Fold the ends in and roll the wax paper.  Then roll the cylinder tightly in plastic wrap.  Repeat for remaining garlic.  Then place tubes in a (labelled) heavy duty zip-top freezer bag and freeze.

Enjoy in mashed potatoes, as a spread on toast, in pasta sauces, or whatever application you choose!

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Snack Splurges

Once in a while, I like to "pig out", to dive right into a decadent, luxurious, simple-to-make albeit nutritionally meagre snack splurge.  Usually these are fatty or sugary or just plain ol' nutritionally empty.  But dang, are they ever tasty and satisfying and boy do they ever cheer me up on rotten days!

So I've decided to start a list, just to help keep track.  Most of these require just a handful (sometimes just one) of ingredients, and take only a few minutes to prepare.  They are, afterall, snacks.

Note: Most of these make use of a toaster oven.

UPDATE:  Since some of these were actually something I like to call instead "simple pleasures", I've decided to reorganise and create this separate post.  From now on, you'll be able to find my snacks by searching for the "snack" label.


Charlie's Favourite Snack Splurges!
(not an exhaustive list)

Toasted marshmallows - For mini-marshmallows: take a handful and spread them as evenly as you can on a small aluminum pie plate; toast in toaster oven until tops are nicely browned; eat with fingers and/or a spoon.  For large marshmallows: place several marshmallows flat side down (or up) on aluminum pie plate, making sure to keep at least 1cm between them; toast in toaster oven until tops are nicely browned;


Cherry pie filling and graham crackers - What, you need more explanation?  Pour the pie filling (one quarter of the can is a good single serving size, I find) into a bowl.  Eat with graham crackers.  I find using a spoon helps get the cherries onto the crackers; and you'll want the spoon to clean out the bowl... before you go licking it clean!

If you have a few more ingredients and are willing to wait before you indulge, you can also make one heck of an "instant cheesecake".  You'll need a package of cream cheese and one single-serving yogurt cup (vanilla is best).  Optionally make a crust out of the graham crackers (otherwise, use the "cheesecake" as a dip for the crackers).  

In a large bowl, rake a fork through the cream cheese until it lightens (easier if it's warm, but don't microwave it for goodness' sake!).  When it's at a "spreadable" consistency, whip with an electric beater on low; add the yogurt until it's all incorporated.  Taste for sugar (I didn't need any).  Spread evenly into crust (or just a large deep dish).  Spread pie filling over top.  Cover and chill at least 30 min in the fridge (cheesecake will firm over time; if you eat the next day, it will be almost the consistency of real cheesecake!  Not bad, eh?).  Use graham crackers to dip.  Enjoy!!

Nutella Hot Chocolate - This takes considerably longer to make.  For one serving, use two heaping knife-scoops of Nutella, and 2/3 mug of milk.  Heat milk in saucepan.  Optionally add some red pepper flakes (it's so good with that heat) or cinnamon.  Add the Nutella.  Stir to combine (you may want to use a fork or whisk).  Optionally add a teaspoon of cocoa powder or instant coffee if (like me) you want to take the edge off the sugar.

Alcoholic variation:  Simmer 1.5 ounces of Frangelico (per serving) for a minute before adding the milk.  Or optionally, just tip it into the finished drink, without first boiling off some alcohol.  

Lemon curd on vanilla ice-cream - Spoon some warm home-made lemon curd over cold vanilla ice cream.



Dried figs and peanut butter - We sometimes keep dried figs in the pantry, so I won't usually have to go shopping first.  I've also stopped buying conventional peanut butter and opt instead for natural (peanuts only; sometimes oil added, but no hydrogenation), and add a wee bit of honey (half teaspoon honey for ever three tablespoons peanut butter) and a pinch of salt, and beat it into a more manageable consistency.  If the figs are deformed, form them back into roughly figgy shapes.  Cut off stem (unless you really want to eat that tough piece).  Slice figs into quarters (or more wedges if it's big enough) from stem to hole ("top to bottom").  Dip in peanut butter and enjoy its richness!

I like to open the wedges so the skin is almost flat; dip in peanut butter, and sort of scrape the seeds and flesh off with my teeth.  I love to squish the fruit and seeds into the peanut butter with my tongue, I just love the texture and taste!  (And then, eat the skin separately, maybe in another dip of peanut butter!)

Crostini with goat cheese and figs - In a pinch, any bread will do, but I like this with boring baguette (IMO: baguette is really only an edible plate).  Mash up some goat cheese until it's spreadable.  Mash up some fig guts until it's spreadable (or use fig jam if you have it).  Spread the cheese on the toast.  Spread the jam on the cheese.  Crunch on!



Avocado slices with sesame oil - Slice an avocado.  Drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with just the tiniest pinch of salt.  You could add any number of seasoning to this, but you may want to keep it simple with just black pepper and maybe some crushed onion flakes (powder is too fine).



Tomato-basil spaghetti tossed in butter - SuperStore sells tomato-basil spaghetti in the bulk bin (I think you can also buy it at Bulk Barn, but it's not listed online).  I ate mine tossed in butter, a wee bit of salt, and some mashed roasted garlic, which I keep in the freezer.



Brie, crackers and nectarines - This is the order I like: top the cracker with a slice of brie and the brie with a wedge of nectarine.  I like nectarines because they're sour and tend to be harder than peaches.  The texture of biting into the slightly firm fruit and having it break suddenly, only to find my teeth sinking into thick, creamy cheese, followed by the sharp crunch of the cracker--I think it's exquisite!




Brie and jam - Heat a small wheel of brie or camembert cheese in a small aluminum pie pan (or construct one out of heavy duty aluminum foil); top with a few spoonfuls of jam (raspberry or strawberry-rhubarb are my favourites); cover and bake in toaster oven until cheese has warmed throughout, about 10 minutes.  Alternatively, bake the cheese alone, and heat the jam in a small saucepan.  Optionally, add balsamic vinegar to the jam when using this method.  Place the cheese in a bowl just wide enough to hold; pour over the jam.  Eat with toast, bread or crackers.



Garlic bread - This does require garlic butter; but I like to make a large batch of it and keep it in the freezer.  I use about three heads of garlic (cut off root ends; crush and remove peel); blitz in food processor until finely chopped;  Mix in softened butter, salt to taste and parsley.  To make the toast, liberally spread garlic butter over slices of Winnipeg rye (or other "light rye" bread), and toast slices in toaster oven (about 3 min).  For soft garlic bread, stack at least two slices together, wrap in tin foil and bake in toaster oven (about 4 min). 




Salmon melts - It's like a tuna melt, made with salmon.  Lightly toast 2-3 slices bread (so it doesn't fall apart under the weight and moisture of the salmon).  Combine a can of salmon, cut up pieces of cooked bacon, dried chives, black pepper (and whatever other seasonings you like) with a splash of lemon juice.  Evenly spread on toast.  Sprinkle on grated cheese (cheddar works well).  Toast in toaster oven until cheese is at desired doneness (melty to toasty).  Slice each piece in half (for easier eating, and fewer collapses).  Enjoy with orange pekoe black tea with lemon.


...more to come, some other time!

What are some of your favourite splurge snacks?

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Garden Anticipation

It's getting closer to garden planning time again!  Average date of last frost in Winnipeg, MB is 25 May.  (Fellow Canadians: find yours here!)

Working backwards...  Most of the crops I'd like to plant need about a month to germinate indoors before they're ready to move permanently outside.  Last year, I believe I started my seeds on the last day of exams, or at least after the important ones were over.  I'll have to check again.

Since last year's tomatoes were a huge hit--in particular the Sunsugars--I'll be giving them more garden space this year!  Here are my tentative plans (click to enlarge).

3x16 bed:

That's right, TEN tomato plants.  I may also plant some tall-ish crops with the marigold, maybe celery?  Something that likes the shade of the tomatoes...

Mom has some beans from her friend, and I may plant some behind the zucchini to help fix nitrogen into the soil.  Although last year, the birds kept eating the peas I planted in that spot!

3x6 bed:

I want to be just swimming in carrots by the end of the season.  If I time it correctly, I may be able to have an almost continual supply of carrots until late fall!  (If every seed produces a carrot and I only sow once, I'll have 144 carrots!)

The broccoli is up for debate; but I would need a tall crop to grow at the very back.  Maybe peppers?

I'm also considering building another 3x6 bed.  If I have the resources, here's what I might plant, though I haven't given it too much thought yet.

I'm so excited!  I just can't wait til it's seed starting time!

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Goat Stew

I've been craving lamb lately.  So when I saw bone-in stewing goat chunks, I caved in and bought a kilo.  For those who've never had goat meat, I've heard it described as, "lamb, but lamb that's lived a more interesting life."  It definitely has that "lamby" taste, but in this stew, the flavour is pretty tame.  (Or else this was a very mild-tasting goat.)

The stew gets a rather sweet flavour from the parsnips (optional), red pepper and from cooking the tomato paste before adding the liquid.

To make a less sweet version, I suppose you could substitute the parsnips for more carrots (or omit altogether), use green pepper, and perhaps skip cooking the tomato paste (though I think it tames the brightness of the tomato flavour).



Jump to recipe by clicking here.

Above:  My mise en place!  I'm trying to get into the habit (when cooking alone at least) of getting all the "prep" before starting any cooking.

  

Browning the meat took much longer than I anticipated.  From when I began chopping veg to when the meat was done browning was about one hour!

   

Some methods will say that the next step after browning the meat is to deglaze the pan.  I disagree.  Now is the time to brown vegetables!  That's right, not to sweat them, but to brown them.  The way I see it: the veg can sweat and give up their flavours while the stew stews for several hours.  But right now is the time to start caramelisation and Maillard reactions!  

Here I'm adding veg in order of cooking time: carrots and parsnips; celery and red pepper; onion; garlic. 

  

I then added the spices (cumin, coriander, bay leaves) and tomato paste.  After adding in the liquids and grains, I simmered for about 30 min.  But since I was actually going to the WSO last night, I called home and asked if Mom would resume simmering for another 30 min.

The active cooking time for this soup was about 2 hours, including prep.  I presume the simmering could take place in a slow cooker instead, but I've never actually used ours.  The "stewing time" was more like six hours.  I came home around midnight and the stew was the PERFECT consistency, and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender!

For those who don't like bone-in stews, I offer this:

BONE MARROW.  DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS BONE MARROW.

I'll actually be saving the larger chunks of bone for making stock.  My method isn't approved by any organisation, so I won't recommend it, only describe it here (and document it later when I get around to it!).

I wash the bones with water; pat dry slightly and store in a zip-top freezer bag.  When I'm ready to make stock, I'll take the bones out and roast.  In my COMPLETELY NON-SCIENTIFIC opinion, the 400F roast should take care of any bacteria; as should the subsequent boiling and simmering for several hours; but if you know a better way, by all means leave a comment below!

The final texture of the stew is thick and a little "sticky" from the gelatin (which used to be collagen, a connective tissue).  The flavour is pretty mild actually.

I'm not sure how to adapt this for cooking grains; I used pre-cooked.

Bone-in Goat Stew
Prep:  20 min
Active cooking: 1.5 hr
Stewing time: 4-6 hr

Software:

• 1 kg frozen bone-in stewing goat
• a few Tbsp frying oil (be sure it has a high smoke point; I use peanut oil)
• Medium chop (1cm):
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 3 small parsnips, peeled
• 3 ribs celery (save leaves if any)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 white onion (yellow is ok, I like the milder white more)
• 5 tomatoes from can (800g or 28 fl oz or 796 mL) of tomatoes, seeded
  (feel free to add the whole can if you like tomatoey stews; I don't)
• Mince:
  • 4-6 cloves, garlic
• Rough chiffonade:
  • leaves from celery stalks
• Spices
  
  • 2 bay leaves 
  • black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or as much as you like)
  • Toast and grind: 
  • about 1/4 tsp whole cumin
  • about 1/4 tsp whole coriander
    (I ended up adding more later, so this may not be enough; feel free to double this)
    
• Liquids
  
  • 1/2 cup white wine
    
  • no-salt chicken or beef stock (about 1 cup or more, depending on your tastes)
  • juice from 1 can (800g or 28 fl oz or 796 mL) whole tomatoes
• Other:
  
  • about 1+1/2 cups cooked rice, barley or other grains
    (I use a blend of: short brown rice, long red cargo rice, barley, cavena nuda, wild rice, black 

Hardware:

• large pot (at least 6 quarts) with lid
• long metal tongs
• stirring utensil (spatula, spoon, etc)

Method:
Add enough oil to large pot to cover bottom by about 1 mm.  Heat on med-high to high, depending on your range.  Meanwhile, drizzle some oil on the goat meat; season with salt and pepper and rub into meat.

When pot has reached temperature, add about half or a third of the meat to the pan.  Do not over crowd (this will bring the temperature down, which will prevent a nice crust from forming on the meat).  Using tongs and working in batches, brown meat on all sides.  This could take up to 45 minutes.  Be careful not to burn the little bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (called "fond").  Remove browned chunks as they finish; then set meat aside.  (Work quickly, do not leave pot empty for long!!)

Tip:  If you have some chunks of meat with a large cross-section of bone showing, feel free to brown these even longer!  This loosens up the bone marrow, and makes an extra delicious stew!

Add carrots and parsnips.  Cook on med-high until beginning to brown.

Tip:  If necessary (ie: the fond is burning, or the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pan), deglaze very briefly with a splash of white wine with the carrots.  Scrub the brown bits off the bottom using larger chunks of veg.

Add red pepper and celery.  Cook another 4 min.  Add onion.  Cook 3 min.  Add garlic and all spices.  Cook another 5-10 min until all veg have browned slightly.

Push the veg to the sides of the pot.  Add tomato paste to bottom of pan and cook, stirring.  The idea is to "fry" the paste a little, to develop a sweeter, more complex flavour.  Cook 2 min, then mix in veg and continue to cook, stirring, another 5 min.  Add meat and any liquids that may have come out.  Stir to coat, and cook another 5 min.

Add liquids, and stir gently to combine.

Tip:  I like to add the wine first, to help the alcohol dissipate faster.

Add the cooked grains.  Simmer on low for 30 min.  Then turn off heat for 1 hour.  Then return to a simmer for 30-60min.  I don't have an exact timing for this since I was out of the house.  The stew is done when the meat is tender.

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Cereal Bars II

After a few days, the first batch of cereal bars developed a "fishy" smell, probably due to the flax oil.  The second batch, however, didn't.  So I decided to make a third attempt.

 

I used 6 cups of cereal (about half Brown Rice Krispies and half Corn Flakes); about 1/2 cup toasted and chopped almonds; and how ever much dried, chopped apricots that is.  It's hard to tell because of all the spaces in between, but I think I used 10 dried apricots.

Marshmallow Cereal Bars
(adapted from Alton Brown's Brown Crispy Rice Bars)

Software:

• 2 Tbsp flax oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• approx 1 tsp honey
• 200g  mini marshmallows
• 6 cups mixed cereal (Brown Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes by Kellog's), toasted lightly
• approx 1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
• approx 2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped (about 10-14 dried apricots)

Hardware:

• 9x13 inch baking pan
• parchment paper
• non-stick spray or oil
• large mixing bowl
• spatula or other stirring utensil (silicone or plastic is best)
• pot of simmering water

Method:
Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Also spray large mixing bowl.

Toast nuts and cereal in oven or toaster oven.

Set large mixing bowl over simmering water.  Add honey, oil and butter to bowl.  Then add marshmallows.  Stir until melted (4-5 min).  Once melted, quickly add cereal, nuts and fruit.  Stir to combine.

Tip:  Just dump the cereal on top of the marshmallows.  This prevents crumbs from sticking to the bottom of the mixing bowl, where they will cement themselves!

Coat hands (and optionally a spatula) with non-stick spray.  Press marshmallow mixture prepared baking pan.  Allow to cool completely before turning out and cutting.  Store in airtight container.  (AB recommends 1-2 days; I'm not sure about this myself.)

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