TODAY Food Club Launch

Yesterday I was honored to help launch the TODAY Food Club.  If you're still unfamiliar with it, it's an online community where people can share recipes and connect with on-air talent, chefs and Today Show staff.  It includes monthly challenges, weekly tips and meal-plan ideas (lord knows I need that), and the chance to win prizes and be featured on air!  Instead of just an online place to find recipes, it will be a place to have a conversation and receive feedback.  Food is my favorite thing to talk about (duh), so I couldn't be more excited about this!

Yesterday, I made the infamous Spaghetti Pie (which was Today.com's number one recipe for 2015), and Today Food Stylist, the lovely Alli Simpson, made her family's Ultimate Banana Bread (truly the best I've ever had).  It was a treat to be there for such a special event.  Go join the club, share your recipes, get your friends to vote for you, and maybe I'll see you on the Today Show someday soon :)

Alli and I (top) and some of the fabulous Today Food team (below)...

All photos by Samantha Okazaki

Taco Pie with Winter Squash

After making this insanely delicious Spaghetti Pie the other day (as seen on my Instagram page), I started imagining what other dinners I could make in a pie pan, and because it was Tuesday my mind instantly went to tacos!  Taco Pie!  But not just any taco pie, no, no... this particular dish is only disguising as comfort food (which is what it tasted like, oh man).  This hearty but healthy casserole has lean meat, the protein and fiber from beans and the nutrients from a whole lot of squash you won't even know you're eating.  By the way do beans have fiber?  I don't know, it just sounded right to say.

At the last minute I decided to add a frozen package of cooked squash into the meat (the pureed kind).  It melted beautifully, and balanced out the spice of the meat in a sweet and subtle way.  My kids loved it (well, two of them did, not the middle one who would live off of Skittles if she could), and had NO idea I had tricked them into eating something healthy.  And by the way, I ate two slices topped with avocado.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  

Taco Pie with Winter Squash

(Serves 8)

Printable Recipe

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 lb. ground turkey

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1/2 cup water

1 12 oz. pkg cooked squash, thawed

1 8oz. bottle taco sauce

3 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans (you probably won't use it all)

2-3 cups Mexican blend grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and saut� for a few minutes, until onions begin to soften.  Add ground turkey and saut� until no longer pink.  Add taco seasoning and water and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Add thawed squash, and stir to make sure everything is well incorporated.  Remove from heat.  Spray a 10-inch cake or pie pan with cooking spray.  Add a small amount of the taco sauce and spread with a spatula.  Place a tortilla in the pan, and then spread a layer of refried beans on top with a spatula.  Top with a third of the meat, then a third of the cheese and finally a third of the taco sauce.  Place another tortilla down, and repeat with the beans, meat, cheese and sauce.  Place your last tortilla down, top with beans, the rest of the meat, the rest of the sauce and ending with the rest of your cheese.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.    

The squash disappears!

Thanksgiving Feels

I'm feeling ALL THE THANKSGIVING FEELS. 
I'm thankful that my mom, sister, and I made it through a full year without my dad. That first year was hard. It's still hard. He is missed so, so, so much. But I find my grief has become less of the daily gut wrenching variety, and I'm grateful for that. 

I'm thankful for my family, and so, so sad and hurt for my family. My aunt, my mom's sister, is fighting stage 4 cancer right now. Sometimes life feels so unfair. 

I'm thankful for my friends. The older I get, the harder it is to keep in touch with people. Even people who are just down the street. Time just flies so quickly that before you even blink, weeks have gone by without catching up. But then, with this handful of people I hold dear to me, when we do catch up, it's like no time passed at all. It's cheesy, but they truly fill my cup.

Of course, I'm grateful for my husband and my cat, for unlimited binge watching tv possibilities, delicious food, and the nice, warm house we get to come home to everyday. 

I have a family and friends and a warm house. I have suffered heartbreaking losses and people I love are fighting huge battles...and beyond me and my small world, we see mass shootings in the news everyday now, I'm terrified for the next Presidential election and the wars being waged in this country on women's health, gender and marriage equality, the insane amount of injustice people face because they weren't born into privilege... and beyond that, I can't even begin to list the atrocities in other parts of the world. SO WHY THE FUCK ARE PEOPLE WORKED UP ABOUT RED COFFEE CUPS.  

We're all fighting battles... fight the ones that matter, and be thankful for a warm cup of coffee. And if matters to you that much... order the fucking Christmas blend already.

On that note, here are some appetizer, salad, and dessert recipes for your Thanksgiving table!

Papa's Marinated Green Olives

Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Truffles

Pear & Bleu Crostini with Salted Maple Caramel

Sweet Potato, Pear, and Wild Rice Salad

Date & Chorizo Kale Salad

Mini Cranberry Tarts

Pumpkin Cream Pie

Slice & Bake Spice Cookies with Citrus Glaze

"Brookies"

This cookie is bananas.  Half chocolate chip, half brownie cookie.  Now that I know how easy it is to make two different doughs and roll them together into one perfect cookie, I think the possibilities are endless, don't you?  WHAT UP, CHRISTMAS COOKIES?!  I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOO.  Sorry I don't know what that was.  I used this recipe but I cut the chocolate chip cookie dough in half.  I've written the word "cookie" way too many times in this post.  Cookie.  

Cooking with Tajines at D.A.Niels!

On Saturday, I presented the following dishes for a cooking demonstration using tajines at D.A. Niels.  I'll be there again on December 5th to give another tajine cooking demonstration.  

The photo with the eggs was at the beginning of cooking.  Cooking eggs in the tajine whole results in a creamy egg.  Quite remarkable!  One person tried the beef tajine recipe using my Ras el Hanout with Moose meat!  He loved the result.  My spice blends of Ras el Hanout, Turkish Baharat and Tea Masala, are all available at D.A. Niels.  

Come and see me at the Downtown Hydro Market on Thursday, November 12th, for more cooking ideas and products!

 

Moroccan Beef Stew (can use lamb)

2 lb beef roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbs ras el hanout
1-2 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs butter
good pinch saffron
2 large tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 - 1 cup prunes
2-3 tbs honey
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup red wine
salt, to taste

Slowly saut� onions on medium-low heat with olive oil until they begin to caramelize. Stir in Ras el Hanout spice blend. Turn up heat to medium-high and add butter and saffron. Brown meat well on all sides and add tomatoes and other vegetables. Add broth, prunes and honey. Add red wine and salt and let simmer for 1-2 hours, depending on using the tajine and toughness of the meat. Meat should melt in your mouth when done.

Serve with flat breads, rice, couscous or bulgur.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Squash Tajine

1 small butternut, hubbard or winter squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/4 cup chopped dates
1 medium onion, chopped
1 head garlic (loose cloves)
2 tbs olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 tbs turmeric
1 heaping tablespoon Ras El Hanout *
Splash of Rosewater**
1/2 chopped pickled lemon (just the peel)***
Pinch of salt
Optional: eggplant, zucchini

Place all ingredients together in a casserole dish (traditional cooking vessel is a tajine). Cover and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes. If cooking on the stovetop, cook covered at medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. Serve with rice or couscous or bulgur.

Enjoy!

Upcoming Workshops: Cooking with Winter Greens & Root Vegetables

Burnaby Food First is pleased to offer another two FREE workshops!



Cooking with Winter Greens

Wednesday, November 25

6:30 pm - 8:15 pm

Pioneer Community Resource Centre (4535 Kingsway / Burnaby - map)



Join Maya Thau-Eleff to learn how to make delicious, healthy, and quick weeknight meals from seasonal greens! This is a hands-on workshop, so bring your aprons.



Registration is required. Space is limited! To register, please contact Meghan at (604) 209-2404 or by email.



Cooking with Root Vegetables



Thursday, November 26

6:30 pm - 8:15 pm

Brentwood Community Resource Centre (2055 Rosser Avenue / Burnaby - map)



Join Meghan Cooke for this workshop and learn how to turn root vegetables into healthy meals and snacks! This is a hands-on workshop, so bring your aprons.



**REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS WORKSHOP**, please contact Meghan at
(604) 209-2404 or by email to be added to the waitlist.

----

Enjoy Burnaby Food First workshops? Want to get involved as a
volunteer?

Check out all the great ways you can get involved. All are welcome, and we'd love to have you on
board! For more information, send us an email.

Slice and Bake Spice Cookies with Citrus Glaze and Sea Salt

IT�S COOKIE SEASON YOU GUYS!!!

So many cookies, so few months until I need to squeeze into a maid of honor dress for my sister�s wedding. Why is this time of year just sooo unavoidably cozy and carby and sugary? 
We were still having crisp but sort of warmish weather right up until daylight savings, and it�s like when the clocks changed, Seattle got all cold and chilly. And dark at 5PM. And also, how on earth is it November!? Ugh, it�s so insane how fast time flies. But anyway, the point is, it�s stormy and gloomy outside, and warm and cinnamon-cookie scented inside.    
I almost didn't share these cookies here... they're not over the top special or crazy or "the next big thing," they're just a really solidly awesome buttery spice cookie with the perfect chewy-crispy texture. My secret? Chocolate chip cookie dough! Even without the chocolate, ccc dough has the best texture and buttery brown sugar flavor. Last winter when I was making chocolate chip cookie variations like my life depended on it, I started rolling the dough into logs and freezing it. The dough works really well as a slice and bake, and the cookies are perfectly shaped. Oh, and the fresh citrus-cinnamon glaze dries into the prettiest smooth shell coating. So simple and so good! 

Spice Cookies with Citrus Glaze and Sea Salt
Makes about 36 cookies

These slice and bake cookies work best when the dough is frozen, so plan to make the dough a day in advance. 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar (or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, if you have it) 
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (store-bought or make your own) 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons fresh citrus juice (I used grapefruit and clementine)
Pinch of cinnamon
Flaked sea salt

In stand mixer or with hand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar (and turbinado, if you using), and brown sugar until fluffy and smooth, beating for about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, vanilla, and fresh ginger, scraping bowl to combine. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (not the extra cinnamon though). 

With mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat until combined. Separate dough into two balls. 

Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap, and sprinkle half the cinnamon on it. Roll one dough ball gently in cinnamon until the outside is coated, then roll into a log (about 1.5 inch diameter), and wrap with plastic wrap. Repeat with 2nd dough ball. Place both logs in a freezer bag, or additional plastic wrap, and freeze until frozen through. 

To bake:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Pull out one log, and slice in 1/2 inch thick slices (should be about 18 per log). Arrange spaced evenly on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and bake for about 12 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

To glaze:
Whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, and citrus juice (start with 3 T of the juice, and add more if needed). The glaze should be thin and runny, but not watery. Once cookies are completed cool, dip the top of each one in the glaze. When the glaze is set but not totally hardened and dried, and a few flakes of salt to the top of each one. Let glaze dry completely, then eat!