Turkey Meatballs

I know, it seems a bit silly to be posting a turkey recipe after Canadian Thanksgiving, doesn’t it? My apologies to my fellow Canucks; this year I spent Thanksgiving itself at work (blame Australia!), and the lead-up to Thanksgiving in Fiji (blame no one, it was awesome). And, our recent celebration of Christmas in July has left me rather satiated on the big roast dinner thing. I never thought I would pass up the opportunity to gobble down stuffing and pumpkin pie, but I guess it was bound to happen one day.

Anyway! In hopes that some of you Americans will find this a lovely alternative to a roast turkey dinner at your Thanksgiving, and knowing that you Aussies don’t care anyway, here’s a delicious turkey meatball recipe for you to enjoy. It’s pretty easy to make and ever-so-tasty, plus, turkey mince tends to be cheaper on average than even chicken or beef mince. The recipe for homemade cranberry sauce is following shortly.

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Edited: October 28th, 2011

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Ah the life of a food blogger. I must have taken three different sets of photos for this soup, to finally settle on this photo which needed more than a little Photoshopping (and yes, that’s a recognized verb in my browser) in the end. It looks okay… yet somehow I feel like I’m in a photography slump lately, and perhaps that’s the reason for the infrequent postings this last month or so. Work has been quiet and I’ve had more than enough daylight to take those lovely window-lit photos mid-afternoon that other food bloggers rave about… and yet I look at my plating and composition and feel thoroughly unsatisfied. Argh!

Some exciting news however is that I found a great eBay deal on a Canon Speedlite 430ex external flash for my lil’ Rebel—and while it has not revolutionized my photography literally overnight, sigh—I do look forward to having a bit more flexibility in the kitchen. There’s a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to it!

Anyway, this cheesy cauliflower soup is a Jamie Oliver-inspired dish from his Ministry of Food cookbook. It’s a brilliant thing! The average foodie might pick it up and see all the basic recipes and go, “What do I need this for?” but it’s just darn useful. A few of my favourite recipes have come from it—check out my basic steamed rice, meatballs, and carrot feta salad, all of which were inspired by Ministry of Food.

The bragging rights for this soup are a bit special for me. Our roommate Tom—a chronic carnivore and unfoodie—isn’t a fan of soups and is only borderline on stews. The poor boy has been at home the last couple weeks sick with mono—with a slight silver lining being that his throat has swollen so that he can eat nothing but soup! It’s hardly a pleasing situation, but at least I had an excuse to perfect some recipes.

Upon serving up a dish of this soup, he immediately turned to me and went, “This is bloody good!” …so there you go. A soup to please even the most discerning of soup skeptics. Enjoy! (more…)

Edited: August 7th, 2011

Tomato Soup – Homemade & Healthy!

I love tomato soup. It’s just so wonderfully comforting and filling, and is a wonderful vehicle for consuming a large number of grilled cheese sandwiches (one of my favourite pass times!). This tomato soup is, if I do say myself, a gorgeous and slightly more grown-up version of the traditional “from a can” stuff that you probably had as a kid. And it’s ever-so-satisfying to the tastebuds as well as the stomach—the addition of red lentils makes this soup heartier and more filling.

Another great thing about this soup is how quickly it can be made; I literally threw it together in fifteen minutes, then just had to let it simmer for a little while. If you have nothing but tinned goods in your pantry but need something warm and filling, this fits the ticket admirably! Consider replacing the tinned diced tomatoes with fresh tomatoes, about 2-3 per tin, depending on their size. The soup would also be wonderful with a handful of fresh basil leaves, blended in or as a garnish.

Enjoy this hearty and delicious soup!

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Edited: May 17th, 2011

Steamed Moroccan Vegetables

Do I have an obsession with anything “Moroccan”? Sort of. Stick Moroccan in front of any kind of food and I’m going to be excited to try it. After my friends Alaina and Ashton (yes, one of the original Cheeses and her hubby) had a Moroccan-themed dinner party at their apartment to showcase their tajine and new recipes (from… you guessed it, Morocco!) I was so impressed by the combinations of unique spices and flavours—I mean, what North American would even consider putting cinnamon with meat? It blew my mind and my tastebuds and I’ve been gobbling up Moroccan recipes ever since.

This recipe is an alteration from Martha Stewart, so I can hardly claim any sort of authenticity. But darn, these baking paper-wrapped parcels of veggies are good! If you actually own a tajine, this recipe could be easily adapted.

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Edited: February 7th, 2011