#shrpknvs

this post was inspired by a trip to loblaw’s and an incredible deal on a whole duck. i don’t usually make whole duck, i usually just buy the breast. when i walked through the meat section i noticed the duck on sale. i looked closer and the entire duck was 10 dollars. i couldn’t believe it, you can't even buy two chicken breasts for that. dinner plans had been made.

this recipe is a great holiday meal and duck is delicious. it’s richer than chicken and albeit more expensive, sometimes you can get amazing deals, if you just look.

whole roasted duck with a blackberry and blueberry sauce

whole roasted duck - 

ingredients:

1 whole duck (2-3 kg)

6 cloves, whole

all-spice

peppercorns

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp salt

several sprigs cilantro

3 garlic cloves

grind together cloves, all-spice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper until a fine powder.

trim off excess fat and skin from the duck and discard. wash and pat duck dry with paper towel. with a sharp knife, make superficial criss-cross incisions across the skin of the duck breasts. this will help the fat drain as it roasts.

rub the entire duck, inside and outside, with spice mix. stuff the crushed garlic cloves and cilantro inside the duck cavity. truss the duck if desired.

refrigerate the duck for several hours or overnight.

preheat oven to 350 F. place duck into a large and deep roasting pan with the breast side up. roast in centre of oven for 1 hour. baste and brush the duck with the duck fat while roasting.

flip the duck breast side down and roast for another hour. flip the duck back breast-side up and turn the oven temperature up to 400 F. roast for another hour. continue brushing the duck with the duck fat while roasting.

remove the duck from the oven and allow to sit on a cutting board for 5 minutes before carving. strain and reserve the liquid duck fat and save in fridge or freezer as it can be used for many other recipes.

blackberry and blueberry sauce - 

ingredients:

1 small container blackberries

1 small container blueberries

handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

1/4 cup white sugar

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp butter (or some preserved duck fat)

combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over low-medium heat. once warm and simmering smash fruit with a wooden spoon and then blend with an emulsion blender.

ok. this post ends a long hiatus. you know i’m not sure exactly when the blog started trailing off, but at some point the urge to post was overwhelmed by the effort to do it and things just dropped off. i was a bit ashamed about that and would scrounge together an odd post here and there. but going back on to write something else would just kind of remind me of how little effort i’d been putting into it. sure it would be easy to just blame it on being “busy” but it’s not that. i have the time. i’ve just been neglecting it. 

i won’t say that’s magically all going to change, but this month has been an interesting one of reflection for me, and i definitely plan on readjusting my time to focus on things that are important to me. this blog is clearly one of them.

so without further ado i will get onto this incredibly quick and easy dinner i whipped up. i’m really proud of this recipe. i made the recipe up myself on a whim, and it turned out better than i ever could have expected. 

give this guy a try, its quick, relatively easy, and healthy. a great weeknight dinner that is also guaranteed to impress.

cajun tilapia with roasted butternut squash and a black bean and corn salsa

roasted butternut squash - 

ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes

1 tbsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

couple dashes sea salt

3-4 tbsp olive oil

preheat over to 425 F. pour oil and spices over squash and toss so it is all evenly coated. spread cubes onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. place into centre of preheated over and bake for 20 minutes. toss and turn the oven temperature down to 400 F. cook until easily poked with a fork, another 15-25 minutes.

black bean and corn salsa - 

ingredients:

1 can black beans (about 500 ml)

1 can corn kernels (about 350 ml)

1/2 cup tomatoes, diced

2 handfuls of green onions, chopped

1-2 handfuls of cilantro, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar

drain black beans and corn and mix together in a large bowl. add tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. toss with balsamic and red wine vinegar. add salt to taste.

cajun tilapia -

ingredients:

2 fillets of tilapia

1 tbsp of salt

2 tbsp chilli powder

1 tbsp cayenne pepper (optional for added kick)

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

heat some oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. meanwhile make spice mixture, pat fish dry with paper towel and rub spice mixture into both sides. sear the fish 3-4 minutes on each side, longer if a thick filet. carefully remove from pan and plate.