This Kitchen Wizard

L’gros luxe, Bernard st. Montreal, Quebec

Braised Mushroom Hash : Bbq mushrooms, tater tots, cherry tomatoes, green onions and bacon, topped with fried egg.

British Invasion : Bombay Sapphire, ginger lime syrup, lime, rhubarb bitters

Inspired by Korean japchae. 

Ingredients necessary:

- 1 bundle of glass noodles, cooked

- 1 celery stalk, julienned

- 1 large carrot, julienned

- 1 button mushroom, sliced

- 1 clove of garlic, crushed

- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

- 1/4 red pepper, thinly sliced

- 1/4 green pepper, thinly sliced

- 1 medium bok choy, sliced

- 2 tbsp soya sauce

- 1 tsp sugar

Procedure:

1. Bring water in a small pot to boil to cook the glass noodles.  

2.Mix soya sauce and sugar in a cup or small bowl and set aside.

3.  Heat a pan or wok on medium with cooking oil, and begin cooking carrots, celery and onions. 

4.  After about a minute add in the garlic, cook for another minute, and then add in the rest of the vegetables.

5. Stir in the soya sauce and sugar.  Continue cooking, and drain the noodles and stir in.  Cook for another minute until well combined and noodles are warmed. 

Serves about 1 person.  Feel free to double up for more portions.

This was something I'd been wanting to make for some while, so a pre birthday smoothie treat it was!

Ingredients necessary:

- 1 banana

- 1/2 c frozen mango

- 1/2 c frozen pineapple

- 3/4 c coconut water

- 1/2 c vanilla soy milk

Procedure:

1. As always blend and indulge.

Ingredients Necessary:

For the Bbq sauce : -3 tbsp kraft rib and chicken bbq sauce - 1 tsp white wine Dijon - 2 scallions, finely chopped - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed - 1/2 tsp oregano - 1 tbsp pepper  - Dash of salt  - 1/2 tsp basil

2 thick cut pork chops

For the salad: - 1/2 can chick peas, drained and rinsed - 10 asparagus spears, chunked -  2 c kale, finely shredded - 1 large bok choy, chopped - 1 scallion, chopped - Garlic olive oil - 1 garlic clove, crushed - 1/2 tsp paprika - 1 tsp pepper - Dash of salt - 1/2 tsp oregano

Procedure:

1. If you are using charcoal, it would be wise to start heating now.  Prep your sauce and coat the pork chops, set aside.  If you desire marinading with this sauce, go right ahead and prepare the chops in advance and let marinade for an hour or even over night.  You can begin cooking the chops when the grill is ready.

2. For the salad, heat olive oil in a large pan, and begin cooking the garlic for a moment, then add all vegetables and toss with spices until the vegetables are cooked by still crunchy.  Serve warm.

3.  Once the chops are cooked, remove them from the bbq and plate them with a salad.

It may be necessary to reheat the salad and that's fine.  I generally covered it and keep it in the microwave or oven until it's ready to serve, and it generally would only need a small fraction of time to spend reheating in the microwave.  Or you can always set your oven to a low temperature, such as 200f and leave your sides in there until everything is ready.

This was delightful!

Ingredients necessary:

- 1 small beet, peeled, chopped

- 1 banana, chunked

- 1/2 frozen berries with cherries blend

- handful of spinach

- 1/2 avocado

- 1 c coconut water

- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Procedure:

1. Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Awkward clip of my burrito from Tejano in (St-Henri) Montreal, Quebec.

Happy new year!

I spent my holidays at the cottage with my boyfriend and his family.  Christmas eve proved to provide a very wonderful meal.  It is tradition in his family that his mother prepares a 'meatless' meal for the eve, as was her family tradition growing up Polish.

She handmade mushroom pierogies(AMAZING.), yeast pancakes(delicious.), and beet soup.  We paired this with a green salad, pan cooked beets, onions, scallop potatoes, plank smoked salmon, which my boyfriend prepared on the barbeque.  His brother even prepared an herb dressing for the salad.  As well, they prepared a creamy dill sauce to go with the fish and worked well with the pierogies.

Ingredients necessary:

- 1c canned or fresh pumpkin

-1c brown sugar

-2 eggs

-1/2c milk

-1/4 c butter or margarin, melted

- 2c all purpose flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 1/2 tsp ginger

- 1 tsp cinnamon

-1 c semi sweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven at 350f. 

2. Combine wet ingredients - pumpkin, sugar, eggs, milk, and butter, in large mixing bowl.  Set aside.

3.Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

4. Using an electric mixer, slowly add the flour to the mix.  Once well mixed,  stir in chocolate chips.

5. Line muffin trays, and bake for about 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.

This turned out amazing!

Ingredients necessary:

Crust:

- 1 1/4 c all purpose flour

- 1/4 c lard

- 1/4 c margarine

- 1 tbsp lemon jucie

- 4 tbsp cold water

Filling:

- 3 c rhubarbe, chopped into 1/2" pieces - 2 c strawberries, chopped - 1 c sugar -3 tbsp cornstarch - 1 tsp cinnamom- 1/2 tsp ginger - 1 pie pan, about 9" - 1 egg yolk

Procedure:

1. Prepare the pie crust by cutting the margarine and lard into the flour in a large mixing bowl.

2.  Once the mixture looks crumbly, almost sand like, add the lemon juice and water, and combine into a dough ball. 

3. Put the ball in plastic wrap and cool it in the freeze for about 30 minutes.

4.  While the dough chills, prep your rhubarb and strawberries. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar,  cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Preheat the oven at 400f.

5. On a flat, clean surface and rolling pin, apply a bit of flour and begin rolling out the pie dough until there is enough to cover the tin. Make a large flat piece, carefully put it over the tin pan, gently dab it down into the corners and press it around the edge of the pan.  Using a sharp knife, cut the excess around the pie tin and save for the lattice pattern strips.

6.  Put the pie filing in the pie, over the dough.  If you find you mixture very liquid use a sieve spoon to spoon the filling in, and then once full, add a bit of the liquid over it.

7.  To make the lattice pattern you need to roll out your extra dough into a thin large piece and use a knife to cut it into strips.  Weave each piece, by setting up a row, and then gently weaving the columns by lifting when necessary.

8. Once completed, press down around the edge where the lattice pieces meet, and use a fork around the edge to give it a finished look.

9. Brush the egg yolk on the top of the piece. This will give the pie a nice glisten

10.  Cook the pie at 400f for about 20 minutes.  Then reduce the heat to 350f and continue baking for 40 minutes.  Once ready, you'll see the filling bubbling and the top will be golden brown.  Set on a metal rack to cool, serve mildly warm after a few hours, or fully cooled.

Twisted caesar salad:

Played with a classic, adding my touch, and with a home made dressing!

Ingredients necessary:

- 1 romaine leaf, shredded

- 1 kale leaf, shredded

- 1/3 large cucumber, cubed

- 1/2 avocado, cubed

- 1" cube of feta cheese, cut or crumbled

- 1 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

- 2 tbsp of caesar dressing

Dressing ingredients: (prepares a few portions so feel free to double up the salad ingredients or refrigerate left over dressing for up to a week)

- 2 tbsp mayonnaise

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard

- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

- 1 tsp black pepper

- 2 dash of salt

- 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 1/2 tbsp grated old cheddar cheese

- 2-3 tbsp olive oil

Procdure:

1.  For the dressing combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a dish, whisk well.

2. While whisking, slowly drizzle olive oil into mix to combine ingredients, set aside.