Eats: Split Yellow Pea Soup

In mid-March, we spent a few days in Montreal, one of my favorite cities, and on the way back home to the states, we took an hour's detour to the countryside and did something we have always wanted to do when traveling in the Quebec region.  Known for its delicious and plentiful maple syrup, this part of eastern Canada is dotted with cabanes au sucre, maple sugar shacks that welcome visitors to stay and enjoy their products.

We had a delectable brunch of pancakes, biscuits, eggs, bacon, potatoes, sausage, and a variety of maple syrup-infused desserts all served with strong coffee. Pouring maple syrup on any or all of the dishes was encouraged, and Mark even tried a maple syrup beer. But my favorite part of the meal was actually what started the feast ~ it was a bright and hearty split pea soup made with yellow peas, and I knew I had to recreate it once I got home. 

I love soup for lunch especially in the cool, damp days of spring ~ it's warming but not heavy ~ and I whipped up a large pot of this recipe yesterday. What better way to open my sweet Mother's Day cards and chocolates than over steaming bowls of soup with my family!

Split Yellow Pea Soup 
(serves 6)

1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 thick slice of ham, diced
2 cups of dried split yellow peas, rinsed
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup of water
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
maple syrup

In a soup pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sautee vegetables for 5 minutes.  Add split yellow peas and mix.  Add vegetable broth and bay leaf, let simmer for 20 minutes, then add water.  On low heat, simmer soup until peas are soft, occasionally stirring.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with toasted pita or crusty french bread.  Oh, and don't forget to drizzle a little pure maple syrup on top. Enjoy!

Eats: Lady Mary Scones

Eats: What's Cooking in the Kitchen?

As yesterday was Sunday, or otherwise known in my house as Downton Abbey day, I thought it would be nice to whip up some scones. I've been a Downton fan since season one, and what has been especially wonderful about watching this period drama is the chatter that has been going on among us knitters. It's almost impossible to miss the various Downton Abbey knitalongs, and I love seeing how both designers and knitters are inspired by the fashions seen on the characters.

I have a feeling I'm not the only person who has had conversations with friends about which is our favorite character and while I enjoy them all, I have a special fondness for Lady Mary whose love and loyalty to her family's name and estate is fierce and unshakeable.  So, as I pulled together the ingredients for this scone recipe, I decided to name these English-inspired treats after Lady Mary.

I doubt very much that blueberries were are a typical ingredient in traditional English scones, but I love them and at the market found these beauties.  

That's what I call plump!

Making these scones could not be simpler.  All you need is flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, milk, and an egg, all staples in my pantry.

After dropping spoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheet, I dotted each one with either blueberries or semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled a bit of extra cane sugar on top before baking.  What's especially nice about this recipe is that you can add whatever extras you like:  nuts, cranberries, currants, crystallized ginger ... the list is endless.

Lady Mary Scones
Makes 10 scones

4 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons sweet butter, cut into pieces
1 2/3 cup of milk (1% is fine)
1 egg
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup semi-sweet high quality chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  With fingers, add pieces of butter and knead until incorporated into small lumps.  Beat egg into milk and add to flour mixture all at once.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the dry and wet ingredients are combined.  Add flour if the dough is too sticky but do not over mix.  

Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheet and top with either blueberries or chocolate chips.  Bake in oven for 35 minutes.  Serve with tea on pretty china accompanied by linen napkins, of course!

Eats: Maple Glazed Apples

Last week, I challenged myself to cook only from what I already had stocked in my kitchen, and while I did have to shop for certain perishables such as milk and yogurt, I did fairly well making every meal from my pantry stash (as coined by my friend Wei Siew).

One item I always have on hand are apples, and they don't usually last very long in our fruit bowl.  Somehow, I noticed that our pile of Macintoshes were turning a little so I decided to cook them up for our regular French Toast Sunday. 

First, I peeled and cored them.

Then I went in search of spices:  cinnamon, nutmeg, and, of course, a bit of sea salt.
 

I first thought to sautee them in butter and glaze them with pure maple syrup, a staple in our pantry, but then I saw my bottle of Maple Agave Nectar and knew that this would make a wonderful sweetener. The combination of spices made the kitchen smell like winter because you know, in my house winter smells like maple glazed apples.

Maple Glazed Apples

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

6 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons Maple Agave Nectar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine spices and agave nectar in a large bowl.  Add diced apples and mix until well coated.  Spread on baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter.  Roast in oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with french toast ... or roast chicken!



Eats: Winter Soup

Eats: What's Cooking in the Kitchen?

I'm a frugal shopper, especially when it comes to yarn and food. In the yarn department, I'm often on the look out for sales and deals (this applies to patterns, too), and when it comes to food, I've become quite the comparison shopper. But this isn't to say that I don't have a healthy yarn stash (at last count, I have 96 skeins in my cupboard -- what?) and my food pantry is no different.

Over the last couple of trips to the grocery store, I couldn't resist some great sales on vegetables, canned goods, and dried pastas. I love a well-stocked pantry, but there are moments when I have to face the fact that my inability to close the cupboard doors is a problem.

I decided to set myself a goal this week to cook every meal ONLY from what's in my pantry and refrigerator. I have this sinking excited feeling that I'm not going to have any problem doing this. So, what's first up on the menu?  Everyone is a little under the weather in my house today so I whipped up my favorite winter soup recipe which is incredibly simple and healthy. All the ingredients were easily found in my kitchen ... potatoes, carrots, stock, beans, and orzo. 

Left-over carrots from a previous dinner 

Canned chickpeas

I'm known to sprinkle a handful of grated cheese on soup, and my winter soup is no exception. So, one meal down and (counting on my fingers) 14 meals to go!

Winter Soup

serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 baby carrots, diced

3 potatoes, diced

3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

1 can of chick peas, drained

1 cup orzo

salt & pepper

shredded cheese of your choice for garnish

buttered toast or biscuits

In a large dutch oven, sautee onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add carrots and potatoes with a pinch of salt & pepper and cook for two minutes.  Add stock and let come to a light boil before lowering flame to simmer.  Add chick peas and orzo and let soup continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve hot with shredded cheese (cheddar for creaminess; mozzarella for stringiness) and buttered toast.  Enjoy!

Eats: Pullman Bread Pudding

Eats: What's Cooking in the Kitchen?

There are some winter days when you just have to put a bread pudding in the oven. Over the weekend, while the temperature hovered around the 40+ degree mark, the days were foggy, cool, and drizzly, which in my mind is perfect for a pan of bread pudding.

There are mainly two types of bread pudding:  super rich and soaking or minimalist and moist.  Depending on my mood, I like both but this weekend, I opted for a minimalist pudding that was still toothsome but light. Since the main ingredient in bread pudding is ... well ... bread, I looked around for something more interesting than simple white bread. Once I came across a freshly baked loaf of cinnamon raisin pullman bread, I knew my baking could begin.

Pullman bread or pain de mie is typically baked in a lidded loaf pan to keep the crust thin. The bread has a lovely texture when toasted and when made up into a pudding, carries the custard mixture beautifully. I was fortunate in that my loaf already had cinnamon and raisins but if you find only a plain pullman, I would strongly recommend adding a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of raisins to the recipe below.

This is an easy and delicious dessert which will scent your entire kitchen and make a winter's day just a pinch warmer!  Enjoy.

Pullman Bread Pudding
(serves 6)

1 loaf of cinnamon raisin pullman bread
2 1/2 cups of milk (I used 1% to keep the fat content down)
1/2 cup half & half
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Slice bread and lay in a buttered 9 x 12 baking dish.  With a whisk, mix the milk, half & half, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl.  Pour liquid mixture evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool and slice into squares.  Serve with ice cream or a dash of plain cream. 

Eats: French (Brioche) Toast

Eats: What's Cooking in the Kitchen?

I would say that 95% of our meals are made at home whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and while we're a family who loves to try new restaurants and visit old favorites, we truly prefer home-cooked meals. It got me thinking about how I'd like to create a weekly post about my love of cooking and hope that blogging here will also inspire me to try new recipes.

The general rule at chez project: stash is that Sundays are meant for french toast.  It's truly one of the simplest and most pleasurable dishes to both make and eat.  After all, the ingredients are ones you most likely have in your pantry (eggs, milk, butter, and bread) and the tools you need are staples (bowl, frying pan, fork, and spatula).

Now here is where I think the fun comes in.  While I'm partial to plain white bread as my base, if I come across a fresh loaf of brioche bread, I can't resist it. Using brioche is my favorite way of making french toast -- it's airy and soaks up the egg mixture beautifully; it's slightly sweet; and it toasts like a dream.

I imagine that the way I make french toast is not very different from how you make it.  I cut thick slices of bread, beat two eggs slightly with 1/4 cup of milk in a shallow bowl, and dip the bread into the egg mixture before slipping it into a hot buttered pan. After I turn the toast over, I sprinkle the cooked side with raw cane sugar and cinnamon for extra sweetness and flavor.  Another nice touch is to sprinkle the french toast with some powdered sugar and orange or lemon zest before serving.  

Add a few links of breakfast sausage to the plate for some savory goodness and pour on some pure maple syrup -- a great way to start a Sunday!

While in the kitchen, I'm listening to Amelie (french toast, french film, accordion -- what's not to love?)