"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard
Pho is one of my favourite winter comfort foods. It is widely available and pretty cheap to get a bowl of pho in most places these days. My medium-sized city has dozens of pho restaurants that sell a huge, steaming bowl of beef, noodles and broth for $8 or less.
But sometimes - like this weekend - it is just too cold to go outside. We've had a huge snowfall in the past few days, so making pho at home is a warming treat.
Pho broth is usually made with beef bones cooked with charred onions, ginger and spices. Serious Eats' The Food Lab has a great tutorial for traditional pho. I highly recommend checking it out, whether to make the recipe or read an interesting history of the dish.
But I've rarely got oxtail on hand, or the time to boil bones all day. So this quicky shortcut using store-bought beef broth is a makes home made pho a weeknight meal. It also adds in mushrooms and greens which, while not traditional, make an even heartier, healthier meal. This recipe is inspired by Epicurious Detox Pho.
Here's what you need for this tasty soup. You could double the broth and freeze it for a winter treat any time.
It's that time of year! Pumpkin spice is on everyone's mind.
I was never a huge fan of pumpkin pie - it's a little dense and the texture isn't that appealing to me. But these pumpkin spice tarts are lightened up with cream cheese, and I love the gingersnap crust.
Here's what you need for these easy fall treats:
I've been really enjoying hot beverages this holiday season. Normally I prefer cold drinks, but hot apple cider (with rum), hot chocolate (with Peppermint Kahlua), and hot mulled wine with spices have been keeping me warm lately.
Mulled wine is so easy, I can't believe I've never made it before. You can add any spices you choose. I went with a wide variety but you can select just a few of these:
plus about 1/4 cup of brown sugar
Pour a bottle of wine over the spices. You can do this in a pot on the stove or in a crock pot. If you're serving a crowd, go ahead and double this.
Warm over medium heat until steaming, then keep warm for serving.
I like the spicy flavour the ginger adds, but you can play around until you find your personal ideal spice combination.
Ladle into mugs to serve and enjoy this winter treat. Happy Holidays!
I've wanted to make kofta for a long time. It's intriguing. It's sort of like a little burger or meatloaf grilled on a skewer. Ground lamb is not easy to find in my local supermarkets but I did find some at my local farmers market last weekend. I thought it would be delicious with some middle eastern spices and I was right. You can also use ground beef if that's what you have.
This recipe comes from Vikram Vij whose Vancouver restaurant I hope to visit one day.
Here's what you need:
1 pound lean ground lamb
2 hot peppers
1 inch fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons flour
1 medium onion, finely grated
This was a last-minute pantry dinner that turned out very nicely. I was looking for a way to use some boneless chicken thighs and found this recipe on Epicurious. I adapted it a bit and it was quick and tasty.
Here's what you need:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon each salt & black pepper
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large sweet potato, 1 small butternut squash or a combination of both (1.5 lbs total)
1 cup dried apricot halves
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
First mix the thyme, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a small dish.
You can leave the chicken thighs whole but I like to chop them into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the chicken with the spice mixture.
Chop the onion, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan over high heat and add the onions. Sauté about 5 minutes then add the chopped garlic and cook one minute more.
Slide the onions and garlic over to one side of the pan. Add a bit more oil.
Then add the chicken to the pan. Let cook without stirring for 2 minutes to get a brown crust on the meat.
Then flip the chicken and continue to cook for about a minute more.
Chop the dried apricots.
And get your spices ready.
Add the apricots, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to the chicken in the pan. (Only 2 cloves!)
Meanwhile peel and dice the sweet potatoes and/or butternut squash. I just used sweet potatoes this time.
Add the sweet potatoes to the chicken along with the canned tomatoes.
Stir it up, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.
About 5 minutes before the stew is done, cook up some couscous. This is so easy. Put a cup of couscous in a pot or bowl.
Add a cup of boiling water.
Cover and let it stand for about 5 minutes until all the water is absorbed and couscous is tender.
After cooking 30 minutes, remove the lid from the stew and let it simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes to let it thicken up a bit. Remove the cinnamon stick and the cardamom and cloves if you can. If not, it's ok but try not to eat a whole clove.
Portion some couscous onto a bowl or plate.
Then ladle some stew over top.
This was a lovely, spicy winter dish, full of flavour. Very quick and easy for a weeknight dinner.
