Author Archive
Chef Paul: It’s Cold Outside!
January 26 2011
We’re experiencing a cold snap here in Halifax right now…it’s brutally cold.
When the thermometer goes this low I like to cook hearty, stick-to-your-bones kind of meals like stews and risottos. Tonight for diner I’ve planned a mushroom risotto to go along with some pork tenderloin. Many people are intimidated by risotto and therefore never make it. While they are time consuming, risottos are not all that difficult to make.
I always start by sweating off some finely chopped onions and then adding the rice and toasting it until the grains begin to change colour. Then, I add wine, either red or white depending on what else I’m putting in the risotto. Once the wine has been absorbed by the rice, I begin to slowly add the stock one ladle at a time (either chicken or beef, again depending on the other ingredients).
Now you stir…and stir…and stir continuously adding stock until it is absorbed by the rice.
A good risotto takes time, usually about 25 to 30 minutes. There are no shortcuts. The liquid has to be slowly absorbed by the rice in order to get that wonderful creamy consistency.
Once your rice is almost cooked you can begin adding your other ingredients like mushrooms, parmesan, squash, asparagus, etc. If you add your ingredients too soon, you’ll slow down the cooking process.
For most people, the hard part is knowing when the rice is done or almost done. The only way to tell is by tasting it. The rice should be soft but not mushy; it should retain it’s firmness without being crunchy. I’ve added quite a few risotto recipes to the MealEasy site, all with simple to follow instructions that I know will easy your trepidation towards risotto…give it a try. Once you’ve made one of these risotto recipes, you’ll no longer be intimidated.
Risotto with Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms 
Servings: x4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Cuisine Type: Italian, North American
To freeze extra portions for future use, increase the number of servings by clicking on “Edit Meal” in “Meal Options”.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups chicken broth, canned, low sodium
- 3 cups water
- 1 lb asparagus, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1/2″ long pieces (~3 1/3 cups)
- 1 onion, yellow, finely chopped (~2/3 cup)
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1 1/2 cups rice, arborio
- 1/2 cup wine, white dry
- 8 oz mushroom, shiitake, stemmed and sliced thin (~12 2/3)
- 1 cup tomatoes, sun-dried, in oil, drained, chopped
- 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
- 2 tbsp cream, heavy (35%)
- 1/4 cup cheese, Parmesan, low sodium, finely grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt, kosher
- 1 tsp pepper, black freshly ground
Instructions:
1. Cooking
1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a pot.
2. Add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes, until just soft.
3. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry.
4. Keep broth at a simmer.
5. Cook onion in 1/4 cup butter in saucepan over medium low heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
6. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
7. Add wine, increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.
8. Ladle in 1 cup simmering broth and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
9. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 4 oz at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, about 18 minutes.
10. Add the slice mushrooms, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, heavy cream and asparagus to the rice.
11. Simmer for 2 minutes.
12. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Vegetarian cooking
January 24 2011
While no one at my house is a vegetarian, we do make it a point of eating a vegetarian meal at least once a week. Initially some members of the household (
my wife) were not too keen on the idea of a meatless dinner but now everyone enjoys it.
Like many raised on a diet of meat and potatoes, my wife’s reticence for trying anything tofu goes way back. Not that vegetarian means there has to be tofu, or that tofu has to taste like mush, but like most non vegetarians, that was what she thought being meatless was all about.
Now that we have vegetarian meals on a regular basis and she has seen the variety of options out there, she has fully embraced our meatless dinners.
Eating vegetarian meals is tricky at first. You’ve got to make sure you’re getting the proper nutrients and protein. There’s more to it than replacing your meat with tofu. On the MealEasy site, we’ve made sure that there is a great variety of healthy and nutritious vegetarian meals using all kinds of beans, lentils, fruits, vegetables and yes tofu.
I’ve introduced my wife to a whole range of vegetables that she would avoid before, either because she’d never had them or in most cases because she’d never had them cooked properly (mushy grey beans anyone?).
Chef Paul: Chicken Soup for the Cold
January 20 2011
By now you’ve probably heard about my big bird…
the chicken I roasted a couple weekends ago.
Well, what I forgot to mention is that I also made some chicken stock using the bones of said chicken. I got about 4 liters of stock which I then froze for later use. I’m sure it sounds like we’ve got the world’s biggest chest freezer but I assure you that it’s a regular ole freezer. What is special about it is that when something goes in, we always try to take something out. Things can easily get lost at the bottom of a chest freezer.
But enough about my appliances (for now), let’s talk chicken (it’s not as formal as talking turkey). Continue reading
Canadian Running Recipe
January 18 2011
We’ve been asked to contribute a recipe for the May issue of Canadian Running. The way it works is their nutritionist talks about certain healthy foods in each issue and then I choose from those ingredients and send a 
recipe that uses at least one of the ingredients.
Instead of using a healthy recipe from our site, I’ve decide this would be a great opportunity to create a new recipe from scratch. Some of the ingredients to be featured are blueberries, quinoa, brown rice, dried dates, canned salmon, flax oil, and sundried tomatoes all of which are used frequently in our current recipes.
I am hoping to come up with something that not only uses at least three of these ingredients but is also low fat, low sodium and high in protein, vitamins and minerals…much like the recipes at MealEasy.com. Looking at the list it should be pretty easy. Quinoa, blueberries and sundried tomatoes are some of my favourite things to cook with. I love the nuttiness and texture of quinoa; the wonderful flavour of blueberries (and their incredible nutritional punch); as well as the salty chewiness of sundried tomatoes.
We’ll be filming the cooking and testing process so we can add it to our library of videos for the site. Look for it in a later blog and also, look for the May issue of Canadian Running for the recipe. Hey, if they like it, hopefully they’ll ask me to write a recipe for Canadian Cycling, their sister publication, as well.
Chef Paul: It’s Friday!
January 14 2011
And that means two things…the weekend starts tomorrow and most importantly, it’s pizza night!
I make a batch of pizza dough which I then separate into four and freeze for later use. I’m always planning ahead when it comes to meals. This way, on Friday’s I can come home, turn on the oven, chop some veggies and off we go. We love pizza night around our house. My daughter helps me make the pizza and we all sit on the floor in the living room and listen to music and drink wine…well it’s beer (apple juice) for the little one. Tonight’s pizza will feature chicken left over from last weekend’s roast chicken too. YUM!
My daughter loves helping dad make pizza. She helps place the ingredients on the dough…that’s if she hasn’t eaten all of them. She adores olives and goat cheese…not your typical fare for a 2 1/2 year old.
The weekend also means a trip to the farmer’s market. We buy about 90% of our groceries from the farmer’s market. I feel it’s very important to buy local and to buy organic whenever possible. Many of the farmers I buy from are farm’s we’ve visited, so I know that the cows were pasture raised on a diet of grass; I know that the carrots and beets I’m getting were not sprayed with pesticides; and I know that the dollars I spend are going to the people who deserve it and need it most…the farmers.
I try to always take my daughter along when we go to visit farms so that she understands where her food comes from. She knows that the pig she’s looking at will be slaughtered and eaten, same goes for the chickens, cows etc. (She calls beef “cow beef” which I adore). I feel it’s very important for her to understand that her food does not come from a grocery store but from a farm…because without farms and farmers, where would we be?
Round and Round We Go!
January 11 2011
On Tuesday of this week, the entire staff of MealEasy went skating!
Halifax, where we’re based, is hosting the Canada Winter Games. As part of the games, the city has constructed a speed skating oval in the middle of downtown. The oval is open to anyone and everyone regardless of skating ability.
It was fantastic to see so many people out enjoying the crisp winter air and getting an excellent work out in the process. There were people of all ages out there and everyone was wearing a smile. I truly believe that there is more to being healthy than just eating right…exercise must be part of your healthy lifestyle.
Our job here at MealEasy is to get you on the right path when it comes to food but it’s up to you to get out there and be active. I’m not saying you need to be in training to run a marathon but a simple daily exercise regime such as walking to work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Chef Paul: New Fridge
January 10 2011
Our new refrigerator arrived on the weekend!
This makes me very happy. We cooks love new kitchen stuff.
There was nothing really wrong with our old fridge; in fact it’s the kind of fridge most people want. Double door, fridge and freezer combo with ice and water dispenser but I disliked it because it lacked space for something that took up so much space. Don’t worry; we’re not throwing it out. We’ve donated it to a local charity.
What I like about the new one is that it’s all fridge! No freezer. We’ve got a chest freezer in the basement so having one upstairs as well, though convenient, was not necessary…at least that’s what I’m saying now…we’ll see in a few weeks if I’m still of the same mind.
The reason we went for the all fridge version is that I like having lots of shelves and not so many drawers and compartments. Because, when we get home from the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market, I like to process all the vegetables, meat and fruit before putting them away. Sure, it takes time to wash the lettuce, clean the fresh berries, portion any meats, etc. but I save so much time during the week when I go to cook stuff.
I like to wash the lettuces and spin them dry and then place them in a re-sealable container with paper towel on top and bottom to absorb any moisture. Then I always label the container with the name and date in order to make sure to use it before using a newer container of lettuce or vegetables or whatever. This way I’m always on top of what’s going on in my fridge, nothing goes bad and nothing is purchased unnecessarily.
Chef Paul: Roast Chicken Sundays
January 07 2011
Sundays around our house are what I call “production days”. What I mean by that is that I go into “production mode” and make a bunch of foods I can use at a later date, be it for lunches or quick suppers. This can be a big batch of spaghetti meat sauce (or Bolognese), more tourtieres (did I mention I love tourtiere?) or a large scale pasta casserole I can portion and freeze for later.
This Sunday was roast chicken dinner. I cooked up a BIG 9lbs bird in hopes of having lots of leftovers…and seeing as how there are only three of us (and one of us is only 2 ½) there will be lots left over. That means sandwiches for lunch, meat already cooked for a quick rice or pasta dinner or even a batch of soup that can go in the freezer.
This way I can stay ahead of the game. I love to cook. It’s what I do… but some nights I can be a little pressed for time, therefore I have a whole bunch of quick and easy meals ready to go.
I know a lot of people, with kids especially; never seem to have to time to make homemade meals, but I really don’t think a trip to the local burger joint is the answer. I’ll gladly spend 30 minutes in the kitchen after a busy work day because I think family meal time is important. It’s our time to all sit together, relax and talk about our day. We’ll often linger for an hour or more at the dinner table talking, playing or enjoying a glass of wine…well not the little one, she prefers beer (I tell her its beer but it’s really apple juice).
So I say, raise a glass to the family meal!
Chef Paul: Tourtiere!
January 06 2011
Once January 1st rolled around, my wife and I got busy making lunch items for our freezer.
Both of us insist on bringing our lunches to work. So on days where I’m not cooking here at MealEasy, I always have a homemade meal. It saves money and I know it’ll be good for me.
My wife made her wonderful lasagna recipe which was passed along to her from her mom and I made a couple of tourtieres…that’s what us frenchies call meat pie. I got my recipe from a friend who had us over to her place for Christmas dinner. She served both tourtiere and roast wild turkey…a turkey that she and her husband not only raised themselves but butchered as well! Talk about farm fresh!!! It was excellent. Us cooks LOVE it when people cook for us.
As for the tourtiere, even though I’ve used my own recipes in the past, I decided to give hers a try because it tasted sooooo good. It called for equal parts ground pork and ground beef both of which I got from our local farmer’s market (grass fed beef and pasture raised pork) as well as an assortment of spices such as allspice, bay leaves, cloves and fresh sage. EXCELLENT. I love tourtiere.
There are probably as many recipes out there for tourtiere as there are cooks but this one was great. I made it before with ground venison which adds a nice gamey flavor or even with ground chicken or turkey…I’ve even made salmon tourtiere. It’s definitely a comfort food favourite around our house; served with creamy mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli… I’m salivating just thinking about it.
If you want this recipe just shoot us an email (talk@mealeasy.com) and I’ll send it off to you.
Chef Paul: I got goosed on New Year’s Eve!
January 04 2011
Or rather, I cooked a goose on New Year’s Eve. My family and I enjoyed a wonderful evening at a friend’s cottage where I was able to prepare a wonderful roast goose. Not your typical cottage fare. Believe it or not, none of us had ever had goose before.
I know.
Here’s a professional chef who’s never had goose. In my defense, goose is not something you cook up very often in restaurant kitchens let alone at home.
I started by brining the goose for 24 hours. I made a bread based prune stuffing because prunes are a traditional accompaniment for goose. Then, I roasted the goose for about 2 ½ hours at 350F until golden. For the “gravy”, a bit of red wine, some homemade chicken stock and homemade cherry jelly reduced and thickened slightly with flour. I served the goose with Brussels sprouts, roasted root vegetables, wild rice and apples.
The result…FANTASTIC!!! I can’t wait to have another occasion to cook goose. The meat was very similar to duck so the trick is to just cook it enough so that it doesn’t dry out. Everyone loved it including my 2 ½ year old daughter…well she liked the wild rice and brussels sprouts anyhow. Maybe I’ll cook my goose for St Valentine’s Day?