Marking my 50th Post

An auspicious day … the first day of spring and my fiftieth post on MA in the Kitchen.

My blog is hosted on Blogger, which provides information on how many times people look at your blog, what pages they look at and what countries they are in. According to the stats Blogger has provided, MA in the Kitchen has had almost one thousand pageviews since I began blogging just over four months ago. I have no idea how this number stands up in the greater blogosphere, but, for me, it is a real thrill just to think that my passion for food and love of writing are being shared.

I also find it exciting to check out where in the world readers are. So far, the posts have been read in Canada, the US, Germany, the UK, France, Mexico, Japan, India, Ukraine and Spain.

When I began this blog in November, my focus was (and continues to be) to create the best content I can. As I cook, photograph and write my way through each post, it’s interesting to see which posts are getting the most views. To date, the top five posts are:

1. Sloppy Chicken with Noodles and Greens
2. Harry’s Cheeks in Caps
3. Rustic Beef Stew with Bannock
4. Lentil Soup a la Moosewood
5. Feta not Chedda Scalloped Potatoes

View from our deck on the first day of spring 2013

I thank you and all my readers for your continued support.  I want to send a special thank you to the people who have chosen to keep up with MA in the Kitchen as either Followers through their Google account or as email subscribers when they submit their address in the little box on the right-hand side of the blog. It boosts my confidence, increases my commitment and just plain warms my heart to know you are there.

And to those who have given me feedback on the recipes, the photographs and the blog in general, thank you for being my editors, testers, critics and muses. I hope you will continue my kitchen journey with me.

Every day I find myself thinking of new ideas for the blog and look forward to sharing them with you, my dear readers. 

Here’s to the next fifty posts!

And, here’s to spring … may our thaw be slow and the rains gentle.

Two Soups for St Patty's Day

Suitably green: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

If you’ll be celebrating St Patrick’s Day, or St Patrick’s Weekend as I heard it referred to on TV this week, here are two soups for the occasion. Neither soup is what you would normally think of as Irish cuisine. In fact, my linking them to this Irish holiday could be seen as a little tenuous. For the record then, here’s my logic: the cabbage and sausage soup honours the Irish association with cabbage and potatoes, and the broccoli cheddar soup, well, it’s green. At any rate, both would go down well with a large glass of Guinness, so give one or both a try.

Cabbage and Sausage Soup

The cabbage and sausage soup is my own creation. It’s easy to prepare and will fill your whole house with a heady cabbage aroma while it cooks. I’ve used sweet Italian turkey sausage in mine, but do try whatever kind of sausage you like (and let me know how it worked). If you look closely at the prep photo, you might notice the icy sausage had been taken out of the freezer minutes before and went into the soup frozen. It cooks up very nicely by the time the soup is ready to serve, which is good news if you decide to make this soup on the spur of the moment.

The broccoli cheddar soup is a minimally altered recipe from Ken’s Soup Krazy cookbook. Ken is Ken Kostick - Winnipeg-born, north ender, cook, cookbook author and TV personality who died almost two years ago at age 58. I bought my copy of the book directly from him in Winnipeg Beach where he was promoting it at a cooking demonstration. Ken was a regular visitor to Manitoba’s Interlake, often seen with his dog family. Many of you may remember his long running cooking show “What’s For Dinner?” that he co-hosted with Mary Jo Eustace. It was always fun to watch. This book is still widely available and has many tasty recipes. It's a good one to have in your collection. This particular broccoli cheddar isn’t one of those heavy cream soups that your spoon will stand up in. It’s a thinner, lighter version rich in flavor and colour.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my Irish friends and to the rest of us who wish we were!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Original idea from Ken’s Soup Krazy by Ken Kostick)

Ingredients for Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 cups vegetable stock

4 cups broccoli florets

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp basil

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp pepper

1 cup skim milk

½ cup half-and-half cream

¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

In a large soup pot, bring stock to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Add the vegetables and spices.

Blending the soup

Simmer 15 minutes or until the broccoli is cooked and softened.

In a blender or with an immersion blender, puree until smooth and then return to soup pot.

Stir in the milk, cream and cheese.

Simmer gently until the cheese melts. Be sure to stir with lots of love so that the soup doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Makes 6 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Cabbage and Sausage Soup

Thawed enough to cut

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups onions, diced

2 cups celery, diced

10 cups vegetable broth

2 cups potatoes, diced

2 cups carrots, diced

1 tsp caraway seeds

Simmering the soup

500 gram package (that's 5 or 6) Italian Turkey Sausages, cut into 1 ½ “ pieces

In a large soup pot over medium heat, place oil, garlic, onions and celery. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add broth, potatoes, carrots and caraway seeds. Cook for 30 minutes.

Add sausages and cabbage. Cook over medium to low heat for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Cabbage and Sausage Soup

So good ... I made dinner rolls to enjoy with the soup

A Crunchy, Creamy Strawberry Dessert with Kiwi Coulis

Strawberries & whipped cream in phyllo cup with kiwi coulis

A typical weekday meal at my house does not include dessert unless, of course, company is coming. When there will be company for dinner, I like to have the dessert made before I get caught up preparing the rest of the meal. It gives me a sense of calm knowing that whatever happens, our meal will end on a sweet note.

Last time I made the Over-stuffed Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, we invited friends to join us. Because the lasagna is quite filling, I thought something light was in order for dessert. Looking in the refrigerator, I saw that I had some nice strawberries, an almost full bag of kiwis, and my trusty can of whipped cream. Looking in the freezer, I noticed the box of phyllo dough and then I got inspired. Before I started building the lasagna, I would bake some phyllo cups, clean the strawberries and make a kiwi coulis. At dessert time, I’d get out the whipped cream and quickly build the sweet ending to our meal. I felt calmer already.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos while I was prepping the dessert, but the process is easy and I’ll take you through it step-by-step. If you haven’t made a coulis before, don’t worry. It’s a fancy name for a sauce made from pureed fruit or vegetables. This kiwi one is uncooked and unstrained so it’s practically no work at all. I hope you'll try this sometime or be inspired to make your own version. It's delicious and just a little decadent.

Phyllo Cups with Strawberries, Cream and Kiwi Coulis

Strawberries: 

Clean about 12 strawberries. Leave whole or cut into pieces. Put aside until ready to assemble the dessert.

To make 6 phyllo cups:

4 sheets phyllo dough

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup sugar

1. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350º F. 
2. Butter the insides and rims of 6 large muffin cups. 
3. Keep sheets of phyllo dough stacked flat, covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel while you work with the individual sheets. 
4. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a clean, flat work surface. Brush evenly with about ¼ of the melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with sugar. Place 2nd sheet of phyllo on top of first and repeat covering with butter and sugar. Repeat with 3rd and 4th sheets of phyllo. 
5. Cut the stack of phyllo sheets into twelve squares. 
6. Place 1 stack of squares into a muffin cup so that it covers half of the bottom, gently press the dough against the side of the cup, letting the top of it hang over the muffin cup. Place a 2nd stack of squares, slightly over the 1st stack to cover the other half of the muffin cup. 
7. Repeat to make 5 more phyllo cups. 
8. Bake about 10 to 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. 
9. Let cool completely and then remove carefully from the muffin tin. 
10. Baked cups can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days before using.

A sweet treat for our guest Larry

Kiwi Coulis

5 kiwi fruits, peeled, ends cut out and cut into quarters

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

1. Puree all ingredients in a blender. Take care not to over blend as the seeds will come apart and turn the sauce brown. After pureeing, you can strain the seeds if you like don’t like the speckled look or have trouble digesting small seeds. 
2. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

To assemble:

1. Place phyllo cup on plate and fill it with strawberries and whipped cream.
2. Spoon kiwi coulis around phyllo cup.

Printable Recipe for Phyllo Cups with Strawberries, Cream and Kiwi Coulis

Banana Love: Sweet Top Banana Muffins

Sweet banana muffins

Time for another instalment of Banana Love.

There are a lot of banana muffin recipes out there. This is the one when you want something on the sweet side to enjoy with your afternoon cuppa. The sweet top is a streusel: brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter. Start mashing up those ripe bananas now and you could be indulging in these sweet delights within the hour. Gotta love bananas.

MA’s Sweet Top Banana Muffins

Muffin ingredients

Preheat oven to 375º F.

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cold butter

Sprinkle on the sweet stuff

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, mix together the bananas, sugar, egg and butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened.

Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.

Cut in butter to get a crumb consistency.

Sprinkle topping over the muffins.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until tester inserted into centre of muffin comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to rack to continue cooling.

Makes 12 muffins.

Printable Recipe for MA's Sweet Top Banana Muffins

Over-stuffed Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Over-stuffed roasted vegetable lasagna - gluten-free

My introduction to roasted vegetable lasagna came via the frozen food aisle. On several occasions, the shiny box of roasted vegetable lasagna was a suppertime timesaver – fast and easy. This homemade version bears little resemblance to what comes out of the box. It’s overstuffed with roasted vegetables (because you know how I love them), has three kinds of cheese, a good dose of tomato sauce and is made with rice noodles so it’s gluten free. It’ll take some time to prepare and bake, but I promise you won’t need any fancy cooking skills to put it together.

You can vary the mix of vegetables to suit your taste. I would recommend always using onion and garlic and have to say that eggplant is right at home in this lasagna. I used 8 cups of vegetables, which is what makes this over-stuffed. If you end up using less, adjust the baking time accordingly. This does make a lot of lasagna so be sure to invite some friends over or stash some in the freezer for a suppertime timesaver for another day.

MA’s Over-stuffed Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

What you need to overstuff the lasagna

Preheat oven to 350 F.

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2 green peppers, washed, seeded and coarsely diced

½ lb red, orange and yellow mini-peppers, washed, seeded and cut in half

2 (about 1 ½ lbs) zucchini, washed and sliced into ¼” rounds

2 carrots, sliced

2 medium onions, sliced

1 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 10-oz pkg rice lasagna noodles (12 noodles)

I love those roasted vegetables!

1 ½ cups tomato sauce, prepared or homemade

1 tsp oregano

1/3 cup dehydrated parsley flakes

½ tsp salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

500 gram ricotta cheese

2 eggs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

grated Parmesan for sprinkling

Tomato sauce is first in

Combine olive oil and vegetables on baking sheet. Roast until vegetables are softened. For tips about roasting vegetables, check out my previous post here.

Noodles, veggies, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce & mozza 

Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.

In a bowl, combine oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, ricotta, eggs and ½ cup grated Parmesan. Mix well.

To assemble: In a 9” x 13” baking pan, spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce in bottom of pan. Lay 4 noodles in the pan, overlapping them if needed. Spread 1/3 of the vegetable mixture onto the noodles. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the vegetable layer. Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce over the ricotta layer. Place slices of mozzarella over the tomato sauce layer. Repeat the layering (noodles, veg, ricotta, tomato sauce, mozza slices) twice.

Cover with foil. Cook for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and continue cooking for 45 to 60 minutes or until cooked through.

Makes 8 to 10 generous servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Over-stuffed Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

So good with a salad on the side

Tomato Lentil Soup with Parmesan-crusted BBAT

Tomato Lentil Soup with Parmesan-crusted BBAT Sandwich

Have you ever tried to recreate something you had at a restaurant? Has that ever lead you to create something that was not quite the same, but darned delicious anyway? That’s what happened to me last week.

Early in February, I took a short, basketball-related trip to Kelowna with my daughter Keeley. We had lunch at a friendly, downtown sports bar. One of those places with signed sports memorabilia covering the walls and smiling people at every table. I can’t remember the name of the place, but I know from what we ate that there was a great chef in the kitchen. My daughter and I ordered the same lunch special: tomato basil soup with a parmesan-crusted grilled cheese, bacon and avocado sandwich. It was the most memorable soup and sandwich I'd had in a long time. The MA in the Kitchen version of this became Tomato Lentil Soup with a Parmesan-crusted grilled cheese sandwich made with Brie, Bacon, Avocado and Tomato. I present them here for your enjoyment, with special thanks to the chef in Kelowna who inspired this re-creation.

For my soup, I used white lentils, but you can use any kind of lentil you want, as you will be cooking them before adding them to the soup. (Canned lentils are okay, too.) Cooked lentils are good for you: high in calcium, potassium, zinc and iron. I used canned tomatoes, which made the soup really quick and easy to prepare.

For my sandwich, I used a triple-crème goat Brie because it was in the fridge (a special treat for me from my husband). You could substitute any creamy soft cheese, but I recommend trying this one for its richness and tang. I think an aioli sauce would be great on this sandwich and will try it next time. If you try it before I do, please let us know how it worked out. Because of the extreme nature of this grilled cheese, it comes with a warning: you will need extra napkins to eat this cheesy, buttery, bacon-y sandwich and because it is very cheesy, buttery and bacon-y, it's best not to indulge in it too frequently. 

Okay, let’s start with the soup.

MA's Tomato Lentil Soup

A few things you'll need for the soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

6 cups vegetable stock

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes including juice

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

2 cups cooked or canned lentils*

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp turmeric

*To cook lentils: Wash 1 cup of lentils in cold water. Place in saucepan with 3 cups water and bring to boil. Boil furiously, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Cover the saucepan, lower heat and simmer for 25 to 45 minutes or until lentils are cooked through.

Stirring in the love: an important step

In a large soup pot, sauté garlic, onions, celery and carrots in olive oil on medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the stock, tomatoes, lentils, pepper and turmeric and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Tomato Lentil Soup

MA's Parmesan-crusted BBAT 

BBAT sandwich ingredients

To make 4 sandwiches:

8 slices bread, your favorite kind

½  180 gram wheel Triple-Crème Goat Brie, cut into about 12 pieces

3 or 4 Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 avocado, cut into about 12 slices

6-8 strips bacon, cooked quite crisp

several tablespoons of mayonnaise

several tablespoons of butter

1/3 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

Building the BBAT

To assemble each sandwich: 

• spread mayonnaise on the inside of both slices of bread
• add 3 or 4 pieces of Brie 
• add tomato slices 
• add avocado slices 
• add bacon 
• top sandwich with second slice of bread

Topping the bread with butter and Parmesan

Spread outside top slice with butter. Put Parmesan on buttered bread and pat down slightly to keep it in place.

Once you’ve built all 4 sandwiches, place them Parmesan-side down in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. 

After a few minutes, check the Parmesan-side of the sandwiches to see if the Parmesan is crispy and well toasted. When it is, it's time to spread some butter on the top of each sandwich and add the Parmesan, patting it down on to the bread. Carefully flip over each sandwich and cook until the second side is crispy.

Get out the napkins and enjoy!

Printable Recipe for MA's Parmesan-crusted BBAT Sandwich

Time for soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew and Cheddar Biscuits

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

The photo above doesn’t do justice to how good this chicken stew was.

I like making chicken stew in the slow cooker. The preparation is easy and, like all things made in the slow cooker, you can do other things while your dinner cooks. The only problem I’ve had with making chicken stew in the slow cooker is getting the stew to really thicken up. This takes a little time. The batch in the photo was almost as thick as I wanted it to be, but I was a little impatient and didn’t let it cook long enough to get to my desired level of stewiness. Nevertheless, it was delicious.

You can vary the vegetables in your stew. Cut up large potatoes instead of using the mini-potatoes. Add small whole boiler-type onions instead of cutting up large onions. Whole fresh mushrooms are also an excellent addition to this stew.

I use Old Bay seasoning in my chicken stew. If you don’t have it on hand, you can use poultry seasoning or experiment with your own spice combinations, such as thyme, sage and pepper.

On the day this batch of slow cooker chicken stew was served, my daughter Darcy was visiting and made some baking powder biscuits with cheddar cheese to go along with the stew. That recipe is included here for you, too. 

MA's Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

Chopped and ready for slow cooking

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs), cut into 1 ½” chunks

4 medium onions, cut into 8ths

2 tsp garlic, minced

5 ribs celery, thickly sliced

4 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced or diced

1.5 lbs mini-potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, halved if desired

1 cup frozen peas

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning or poultry seasoning

8 cups chicken broth or 3 chicken bouillon cubes with 8 cups boiling water

¼ cup flour

½ cup water or chicken broth

Now cover and cook s-l-o-w-l-y

Place onions, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes and chicken into slow cooker.

Pour chicken broth over chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and fork tender.

Add frozen peas and cook for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together flour and water/broth to make a smooth paste. Stir the paste into the stew. Cover the slow cooker and cook until thickened, about 15 or 20 minutes.

Serve with biscuits or bread.

Makes 8 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

MA’s Cheddar Biscuits

Chicken Stew with Cheddar Biscuit

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

4 tbsp butter or margarine, chilled

2/3 to ¾ cup milk

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and grated cheddar.

Cut the butter or margarine into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or two knives.

Add the milk slowly, stirring only until the soft dough forms a ball.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly for a few seconds.

Pat or roll out the dough to ½ to ¾ inch thickness.

Cut with floured biscuit cutter.

Place the biscuits on the prepared pan.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until biscuits are a golden brown.

Makes 10 - 12 biscuits.

Printable Recipe for MA's Cheddar Biscuits

You made it: Ginger Cookies

Ginger Cookies for Valentine's Day from Aunt Diane

About a week ago I experienced a blog first that really gave me a thrill: a reader tried a recipe from one of my posts and shared her experience and photos. The reader was my Aunt Diane in Calgary. The recipe was the ginger cookies.

As you can see from the photos, Aunt Diane baked the cookies for Valentine's day, and instead of rolling the dough into balls, used a cookie cutter and then added a pretty icing outline. She made both the crisp and soft versions and tells me that the cookies were a hit with family and friends.

Soft and snappy and filled with love

Thank you so much, Aunt Diane, for following my blog and for letting me know how the recipe worked for you. I always value whatever feedback I get and am happy to share results here with other readers of MA in the Kitchen.