Homemade Vegetable Stock

When it comes to the stock that I use in soups, stews or anywhere else that it's required, I almost always use vegetable stock no matter what the recipe calls for.  My biggest problem is that if I buy the cartons from the grocery store I usually only get to use about half of it and the rest gets put into the fridge until I need it for something else - by then though, it's undoubtedly found it's way to the very back, hidden by a plethora of condiments, and I forget that it's there.

Today was a less than stellar day as far as summer weather was concerned (very blustery), so it was a perfect day for boiling up some homemade vegetable stock that made the house smell divine - it even made my hubby pause just inside the door when he got home from work to ask what the lovely smell was.  Alas, I didn't actually make anything with the stock today so he didn't get to enjoy it, but the freezer is now full with 9 cups of golden nectar, ready for my curried carrot soup that I'm going to make in a day or two.

Homemade Vegetable Stock
makes 8-9 cups

1 red bell pepper, cut into eighths
1 kg carrots, chopped (no need to peel)
1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 large or 2 medium purple onions, peeled and quartered
1 large bunch of celery, coarsely chopped (include the small internal leaves)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt (optional)
12 cups water

• preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• put all of the chopped vegetables into a large roasting pan and roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes until just beginning to colour slightly.
• transfer the vegetables to a large pot; add all the other ingredients and mix together.
• cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
• reduce the heat to medium and rapid simmer for around 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until the vegetables are soft and muted in colour.
• strain the vegetables and liquid through a fine mesh strainer (or even cheesecloth if you want a clearer stock), adjust any seasoning if you want and let cool.
• divide into 1 or 2 cup containers or ziploc bags (for easier use) and freeze until needed.

 Homemade Vegetable Stock ingredients.

roast all of the chopped vegetables in the oven until they're beginning to colour slightly.

transfer the roasted vegetables and all the other ingredients to a large pot and over medium heat rapid simmer until...

...soft and muted in colour.

strain the vegetables and liquid through a fine mesh strainer and once cool...

divide between containers (or freezer bags) ready for the freezer.

(the square ones are 2 cups and the circular ones are 1 cup capacity).

Don't forget to label them (like I did at first :o), otherwise in a couple of months time you'll be wondering if it's stock or apple juice!!!

Lou's Spicy "Branston" Pickle

For as long as I've known my husband, and that's coming up to 28 years now (wow!!), his all-time favourite sandwich has been cheddar cheese and Branston pickle - it doesn't need anything else added, just those two ingredients onto buttered bread and he's a very happy man.  When we moved to Canada back in 2005 however, we found out - much to his dismay - that traditional Cross & Blackwell Branston Pickle isn't readily available in every grocery store in our area, and even when we do manage to find it, it is hideously expensive for a small jar.  This has resulted in him having to limit his favourite sandwich consumption at times which makes for a sad hubby :o(

My quest was on to try and make an acceptable substitute and after mixing and matching various recipes online, and reading the ingredients on the back of the Branston pickle jar in the fridge, I came up with my first attempt for him.  His verdict?.....a little spicier (but he likes spicy so that's okay), not quite such a deep colour or flavour (but I'm hoping the longer the jars sit the flavour will intensify), but all in all a very nice pickle to accompany his cheddar cheese :o)  I'm soooo pleased he liked it, because he has another seven jars of it in the cupboard to get through before I attempt another batch!!!!

This is definitely not a spur-of-the-moment thing to cook - the prep work alone took me over one and a half hours with all the fine chopping, but pop the TV on a movie channel or the radio onto your favourite station and the time will soon pass :o)

Lou's Spicy "Branston" Pickle
makes about 2 lbs of pickle

9 oz carrots, peeled and chopped
2 small rutabaga (swede/turnip), peeled and chopped
1 small cauliflower, florets divided and chopped
2 medium apples, peeled and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
5 oz dates, chopped
15-20 small pickled gherkins, chopped
3 Tbs of juice from pickled gherkins
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup malt vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
4 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs blackstrap molasses
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

• in a small bowl or measuring jug mix together well the pickle juice, malt vinegar, brown sugar, lemon juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard seeds, allspice, cayenne, salt and pepper;  set aside.
• after you've chopped the carrots, rutabagas, cauliflower, apples, onions, dates and gherkins into small dice (about 1/8-1/4 inch), mix all together, with the chopped garlic in a large lidded pot.
• pour in the vinegar mixture and blend together well (it may seem that there isn't enough liquid at this stage, but as the vegetables softened over time the liquid will increase.)
• bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes.
• after an hour, remove the lid and simmer for another hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes until the liquid has reduced, thickened and darkened in colour.  If you feel that you need it, you can add 1 Tbs of cornflour to thicken the liquid and simmer for a further 15 minutes, but mine came out fine.

 Lou's Spicy "Branston" Pickle ingredients (except the molasses - it joined the party too late for the photo shoot :o)

I found it easier to peel everything and get it ready for the....

....marathon chopping session - phew!!!

add the vinegar mixture to the chopped veggies, bring to the boil and then simmer with the lid on for an hour.

this is what it looked liked after the first hour.

another hour with the lid off and the colour had deepened and the liquid had thickened up.

I managed to get 7 x 250ml jars, plus extra that is already in the fridge being used.

(I sealed the jars using the boiling water, canning method - I haven't included all the details here as you can find instructions for canning on the internet really easily.)

hopefully this little lot will keep Deanie happy for a while :o)

it got it's debut on some fresh homemade bread pretty much as soon as Dean got home :o)

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles

I'll be honest, I had absolutely no idea what we were going to have for dinner tonight.  First thing this morning I searched through the freezer and got out some frying steaks to defrost, but even looking at them I didn't really have any inspiration at the time.  Shall we have some Philly cheesesteaks - no.  How about some steak and blue cheese mini roulades - no (mainly because I don't have any blue cheese!!).  Dilemmas, dilemmas, dilemmas....

...after a search from front to back of the pantry and a browse through some cookbooks to give me some ideas, I decided on this curry.  Even though it would, I'm sure, taste wonderful if I had the inclination to mix up all the authentic spices and herbs, the easier and quite frankly just as delicious route is the use of the ready made curry paste that I found in the pantry.

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles
4 servings

8 oz vermicelli (rice noodles) or angel-hair pasta
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 lb beef frying steak, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs Thai red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbs lime juice

• bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt and cook the noodles until tender; drain.
• meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high.  Season the beef and cook, turning, until browned on both sides, 4-5 minutes.  Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
• add onion, peppers and the water to skillet; season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes.
• add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until paste is combined completely and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• return the beef and any accumulated juices to the skillet and add the coconut milk.
• simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 4-5 minutes.
• remove from heat and stir in the lime juice, and season with salt and pepper if required.
• serve over the prepared noodles.

 Coconut and Beef Curry ingredients

cut the beef into thin slices, and then fry off in the oil until browned.

cut the vegetables fairly thinly, that way they don't need too long in the skillet.

 once you've fried the beef and set aside, saute the vegetables until crisp/tender - the hand belongs to my hubby - it's always a pleasure to have such a handsome helper :o)

fry the vegetables until crisp-tender, then add the curry paste - the smell at this stage is amazing.

add the beef back into the skillet with it's juices.

it might seem very 'liquidy' when you add the coconut milk, but within a couple of minutes it will thicken up nicely.

I'm not a big drinker, but today our niece and her fiancee had their first little baby girl, so we opened a bottle of wine to celebrate :o)

Coleslaw Dressing

A lot of coleslaw's are pretty much the same ingredients, albeit in different quantities and combinations, but most of the pre-packaged ones that I've come across are a bit too mayonnasey (is that even a word :), for my taste.  Don't get me wrong, I love mayo as much as the next gal, but if there's too much of it in a dressing I find that I can't taste anything but mayo.  This one is from a wonderful vegan cookbook called La Dolce Vegan (I substituted Miracle Whip for the vegan mayo), and it's sweet and tart and delicious!!!

Coleslaw Dressing
makes approximately 1 cup

3/4 cup mayonnaise (as I said I used Miracle Whip
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs fresh parsley, minced (I didn't have any fresh so I used 1 tsp of dried - worked great)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• whisk everything in a bowl or put everything in a jar with a lid and shake.

 coleslaw dressing ingredients.

for ease I bought a bag of pre-cut coleslaw vegetables, but I only make up a little at a time using a couple of tablespoons of dressing - that way the vegetables stay crispy which I like.

One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Yay, we finally have a stocked fridge and pantry again - and it only took us three weeks to get to the grocery store!!

Of course, after that heinous expedition (believe it or not, I don't particularly like grocery shopping :), the last thing I wanted to do was cook some elaborate dinner even if we did have some awesome ingredients to choose from.  So out came the deep dish roasting pan for a simple chicken and vegetable roast.  It all goes in together, gets roasted to perfection and tastes divine.

Roast Chicken and Vegetables
2 servings

2 chicken portions (whatever you prefer works, we had a couple of full leg portions)
2 medium russet potatoes
1-2 carrots (depending on size)
1 red onion
1 red pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 Tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning
pinch salt & pepper

• preheat oven to 425 F.
• cut the potatoes, carrots, onion and pepper into 1 inch size pieces.
• chop one of the garlic cloves into slices but leave the other three whole (in their skins is okay).
• place the chicken into a large deep roasting pan surrounded by all the vegetables.  Pour the olive oil over everything and stir until everything is coated evenly.
• sprinkle salt and pepper over everything, and the chicken seasoning over the chicken.
• bake for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables halfway through cooking.
• serve with a little gravy if desired.

simple ingredients = good food

cut all the vegetables to uniform bite size pieces.

don't crowd the pan too much, otherwise the vegetables won't get crispy.

looks delicious!!

a little homestyle gravy finished it quite nicely :o)

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries and Balsamic Peas

One of my favourite pieces of equipment in the kitchen is undoubtedly my slow cooker.  I love it so much in fact that I have two of them!!  Who doesn't want to have only a little prep work and then....voila....hours later a main course and either a side or even a dessert all ready to go.  I even have an insulated carry bag (it came free when we purchased the second slow cooker), and there's nothing quite like taking something hot, that stays hot, to a pot luck or even a picnic - I took a creamy potato and ham bake on a picnic back in the summer and a friend of ours said that it was the first picnic he'd ever been on with hot food :o)

Having said that, today I only used one of the cookers but hey, I have to make it look as if I'm working hard in the kitchen don't I? :o)

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
4 servings

4 chicken breasts (boneless & skinless), cut in half
1 bottle favourite BBQ sauce (I used a hickory smoked one today)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp mesquite seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

• in a bowl, mix all ingredients except the chicken breasts.
• place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and pour the BBQ mixture over all to cover.
• cook on low temp for 5-6 hours.

Sweet Potato Fries
4 servings

3-4 red skinned sweet potatoes (depending on size)
2 Tbs garlic olive oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

• preheat oven to 425 F.
• wash the potatoes and pat dry.  Leaving the skins on, cut into chunky 'sticks', place into a large bowl and toss with the oil.
• sprinkle the chili powder, paprika and salt over the oiled fries and toss until evenly distributed.
• arrange fries in a single layer onto one or two baking trays covered with parchment paper or foil sprayed with cooking spray, and bake for 25-30 mins, turning half way through cooking, until fries are browned and crispy.

Balsamic Peas
4 servings

10 oz  frozen peas
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
a good pinch of salt and black pepper

• place the frozen peas in a colander and run under warm water until thawed.  Place into a bowl.
• add the mayo, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and stir until combined.
• cover and refrigerate until needed.

 I used an extra chicken breast today because the ones I had were pretty puny.

make sure each chicken piece is coated with sauce.

I like to keep the skins on for that home-style feels, but you can peel them first if you prefer.

even before they're baked they look yummy :o)

you can add practically anything else to this dish that you might have on hand - green onions, red peppers, feta cheese...

green jewels.

a little dollop of sour cream for the fries is all that's missing.