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Pappadums
I was first introduced to pappadums at a Grey Cup party about 25 years ago. (The Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League’s version of the Super Bowl.)
Served alongside chili, potato chips, chicken wings, and other more typical fare for hungry football fans, these thin, crisp wafers made from lentil and rice flours were a novelty back then.
Pappadums are likely still not standard Grey Cup or Super Bowl party fare today. They are most often served as an accompaniment to Indian food, but they also go well with dips and chutneys and can be served as a snack or an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to soups, stews or chilis. Hmmm, why not serve them at a football championship party? Sounds as though they’d easily fit most menus.
You can purchase dried pappadums under a few different brand names. In my local grocery store, I can buy plain, garlic or black peppercorn pappadums under the Patak’s label.
Patak’s pappadums are sold in packages of 10 thin, flat discs. The pappadums must be fried in oil, baked in a microwave oven, or roasted over an open flame before serving.
I prefer to prepare them in a microwave oven, first lightly brushing them with oil on both sides. Then, one at a time, they are popped into the microwave to cook on High power for 45 to 60 seconds or until they expand. And expand they will! As they cook, the dried discs magically morph into crisp crackers with a multitude of craters and ridges!
This dip goes well with a plate of crisp pappadums.
Bean Dip
(Makes 4 servings)
1 cup (250 mL) canned drained kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground cumin
3 tablespoons (45 mL) low-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) lemon juice
In food processor or blender, combine all ingredients; blend until smooth. Serve with pappadums, naan or pita bread.
I heard about an interesting food web site today in an interview on CKCO News at Noon. The site – www.passeddown.com – invites visitors to submit favourite recipes that have been passed down in their families.
Dedicated to preserving food memories and sharing them with others, the site is the brain child of Adriana Salvia. She created the site in memory of her late father. Jennifer Mondoux participates as the site’s editor.
There is a helpful section on the site with tips and suggestions for submitting recipes and stories.
Here’s the recipe Adriana demonstrated in her interview today – Jim’s Greek Pita (Prassotiropita). It looked easy and delicious. And the story Jim submitted along with the recipe is very sweet.
Maple Parsnip Soup - garnished with a drizzle of maple syrup
This Maple and Parsnip Soup earned a 9 out of 10 on the Murray-meter. That’s surprising considering it contains onions and dijon mustard – two things my spouse hates. No, make that despises! The recipe also calls for garlic, another ingredient on his “I don’t eat these foods because they taste or smell bad, or worse – taste AND smell bad!” list. I figured the soup would survive just fine sans garlic, so for his sake (and the sake of our marriage!), the garlic was omitted. However – the onions and mustard stayed. And the soup still got a 9 out of 10.
I have to agree with Murray’s rating. Maple Parsnip Soup really is good. In fact, very good! Parsnips give it its unique ‘sweet’ root vegetable taste. Maple syrup also adds sweetness while mustard provides some balance with its tangy flavour. You could proudly serve this soup as a “take the chill off winter” dinner starter, or for lunch or a light supper along with a sandwich or salad.
Maple Parsnip Soup
(Makes 6 servings)
3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
1 lb (500 g) parsnips, chopped (2 to 3 parsnips)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (125 mL) evaporated milk
1/3 cup (75 mL) maple syrup
1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons (22 to 30 mL) Dijon mustard
Salt, to taste (optional)
Optional garnishes: maple syrup, croutons or toasted pine nuts
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add parsnips, onions and garlic; saute until onions are translucent, but not browned. Add broth and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer; cook until parsnips are soft, about 40 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in evaporated milk. Process in a blender or food processor (in batches, if necessary) until smooth. Add maple syrup and mustard; stir until thoroughly blended. Add salt, if desired. Reheat gently.
Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup, or croutons or toasted pine nuts.
Tips:
* Substitute whipping cream for the evaporated milk, if desired.
* Adjust the amount of Dijon mustard to your liking.
* Parsnips don’t need to be peeled. Wash well and trim any bruised or brown spots.
Recipe Source: Adapted from Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, Herald Press, 2005
The heady aroma of cinnamon greeted me a couple days ago when I entered the building where I work. It smelled as deliciously enticing as the aisle where the Cinnabon store is located in my local shopping mall.
Unfortunately I was not greeted with an oversized cinnamon bun oozing with a buttery cinnamon-sugar filling and dripping with icing. No, a co-worker had simply made cinnamon toast to start her day, permeating the office with the sweet smell of the familiar spice.
It was a fragrant reminder that sometimes the simple things are truly the best.
Savour the aroma and taste of Cinnamon Toast!
To make Cinnamon Toast, you can either toast or broil the bread. Either way, it’s is a deliciously simple treat!
Cinnamon Toast
(Makes 4 slices)
2 tablespoons (30 mL) granulated or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) ground cinnamon
4 slices bread
Butter or margarine, at room temperature
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Method 1: Toast bread. Spread with butter. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over top.
Method 2: Place slices of bread on a baking sheet. Spread each slice with butter. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over top. Broil bread 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) from grill until cinnamon-sugar topping is bubbly, about a minute or two. Watch closely so bread doesn’t burn.
Tips:
* Use the bread of your choice (whole wheat, white, Challah, French, etc.) or English muffins or bagels.
* Vary the proportion of sugar and cinnamon as you like.
* Make up extra topping mixture and fill a small spice bottle, container or sugar shaker so you can readily make cinnamon toast whenever the craving hits.
* If you’re a chocolate lover, add a little cocoa powder or some finely grated chocolate to the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Chocolate Banana Crunch Bread - photo from www.thekneadforbread.com
I enjoy The Knead for Bread blog for its great bread recipes and scrumptious-looking photography.
A couple recipes on the site caught my attention when I visited the blog today. Yes, both recipes contain chocolate. I’ve been rather focused on chocolate in my last few posts. I’ll try to diversify my taste preferences very soon!
* Chocolate Banana Crunch Bread – There’s no doubt that chocolate and banana pair well. Adding toffee bits makes this bread a sure winner!
* Triple Chocolate Scones – If one kind of chocolate is good, three kinds will be very, very, very good!
Hmmmm….I think I know what my weekend baking projects will be!
Interested in traveling a road made from chocolate? Get on the right path by attending Follow the Chocolate Road at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener on Monday, February 9.
Folia, a baroque chamber music group, invites you to to attend an evening of music that will follow chocolate from the New World through its conquest of Baroque Europe. Interspersed throughout the evening will be chocolate trivia. And, appropriately, there will be chocolate tasting courtesy of Silver Spoon Fine Chocolates of Waterloo! How sweet is that!
The evening starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adult, $15 for seniors and students, and $5 for children 18 and under.
Tickets are available at the Centre in the Square Box Office (101 Queen St. N., Kitchener; Ph: (519) 578-1570).
The Registry Theatre is located at 122 Frederick St. in Kitchener.
Chocolate lovers are invited to join me for a chocolate cooking class at Household China & Gifts cooking school in Waterloo on Thursday, Feb. 5th.
I’ll be demonstrating sweet and savoury recipes with the help of cooking school co-ordinator Donna-Marie Pye. There will be lots of chocolatey samples as well as tips on working with chocolate. We’ll be doing some chocolate tasting and, if we can fit it in, an easy hands-on chocolate “craft”, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The class runs from 6:30 until 9 p.m. and costs $70.00.
Sign up for Chocoholics Rejoice by calling 519-884-2792 or visiting Household China at 300 King Street North in Waterloo.
Be sure to check out the other cooking classes in Household China’s Winter Cooking class schedule.
Take my chocolate poll below to vote for your chocolate preference – milk, dark or white. (Yes, white chocolate is technically not chocolate because it doesn’t contain cocao solids but I’m including it anyway since many people consider it chocolate.)
What do you use for your groceries? Plastic, cloth or paper bags? Plastic bins? Take my poll below.
Two days ago, I finally remembered to bring cloth bags with me to the grocery store to bag my groceries.
This is a big deal for me!
I’ve been carrying half a dozen cloth bags with me in my vehicle for a long time, fully intending to bring the bags into the store with me each time I go shopping, but never remembering! I’d get partway through my shopping and remember I’d left my cloth bags in my car. Again!
That all changed a couple days ago. For some reason, that day I remembered those bags as I was getting out of my car at the grocery store.
Wow, a break through! Finally! I’m hoping this means I’ll be able to repeat the experience regularly from now on because…….
Yesterday, a couple grocery stores I usually shop at, announced that starting on Earth Day (April 22), it will be charging $0.05 for each plastic grocery bag. Zehrs and the Real Canadian Superstore (RCS) are joining numerous stores worldwide that now charge for their shopping bags.
(Please Note: Loblaws, the parent store to Zehrs and RCS, just started a fee-for-plastic-bags campaign this week in select stores in the Toronto area. Instead of using cloth bags, another option is to use plastic bins for your groceries. Between now and January 22, you can get a free G.R.E.E.N. Box if you spend $25 or more at certain stores in the Loblaws family of grocery stores. See Loblaws website for a coupon for the bin and a list of the participating stores.)
I usually bring home about eight plastic bags full of groceries on my weekly grocery shopping excursion. Come April, that will be about $0.40 worth of plastic bags. That’s a pittance really per week, and only about $21 for the year.
But the money may just be that extra bit of motivation I need to remember those darn bags in my car, and in the process, contribute in a small way to a greener planet and a healthier environment!
What do you use for your groceries? Take my poll below.
This joke may make you groan a little. Sorry!
Hopefully it elicits a wee smile too!
Q: Why don’t cannibals like to eat clowns?
A: They taste funny!
Have you been hit by the cold bug that seems to be making the rounds? Or caught a nasty flu bug?
If you haven’t been afflicted yet, count your blessings, and pray your turn won’t come! Then read on so you’ll know what to eat or drink to prevent getting your turn, or what to do if your temperature begins to soar or you find yourself reaching for the box of tissues.
If you have caught one or both bugs, you should read on too. Some of the suggestions below may help lessen the severity of your illness, and prevent additional bouts of cold or flu this winter.
When it comes to curing what ails them, some people turn to herbal remedies, others to pills. There are those who have their tried-and-true, often home-spun remedies handed down through the generations. Some of these “cures” may seem a little bizarre, although their proponents will swear by them.
I suffered from a nasty cold over Christmas while visiting my family in Winnipeg. My mom suggested I try something from my childhood – a mustard plaster, minus the mustard! I was a bit apprehensive, but felt miserable enough to give it a try.
First I placed a warm wet towel on my chest. That was followed by a piece of plastic, then a dry towel that had been warmed in the microwave. (Tossing it in the dryer briefly would work too.) I put on my pajama top over the layers, and then pinned everything together with safety pins so the layers would stay in place. Logically, you should be lying in your bed at this point so you can just pull the covers up around you, stay toasty warm, rest and get better. But I decided to wander around the house for a few minutes, then crawl into bed. By this point the warm towels had cooled off considerably.
I believe the theory here is that the heat of the layered towels will sweat out the virus/germs or whatever is causing the chest congestion/aches/pains/cough and you will feel much better the next day.
So, did it help?
Let’s just say it didn’t make things worse! To be fair, the towels had probably cooled off too quickly to be really effective.
I recall mustard being involved somehow in this treatment of my youth. I think a paste was made with dry mustard, flour and water and that concoction was applied directly to the chest. The towels and plastic were then layered over top. You had to be careful you didn’t leave the mustard plaster on too long or you could burn or blister your skin. Guess the layers generated a fair amount of heat that warmed the chest and and cleared out the congestion. Probably if you’d chowed down on a hot dog at the same time, you’d have been healed in minutes! LOL!
Here are a few other supposed “cures” for the common cold and influenza. (Please Note: I haven’t tried any of them. I’m not endorsing any of them. I’m just reporting what I’ve read or heard because I find some of these suggestions rather entertaining. If you’re intrigued or brave enough to give the more interesting ideas a whirl, please proceed with caution! Following this list is a link to the Mayo Clinic’s remedies for colds and flu. Let me know if you have any remedies you swear by.)
