Avocado Salsa

After Thanksgiving it felt great to have something light and refreshing. You would think this is a guacamole, but I am a guacamole purist, so since this is not strictly a guacamole, I liken it more to an avocado salsa. I also prefer chunky over smooth - this is not a dip or a sauce - guacamole and salsa are fresh and full of colour - let their ingredients be seen and the textures mingle. If I wanted a sauce, I would call this a sauce. I can't stand seeing people (and companies) mangle great ingredients.

The flavours are all very strong on their own, but they marry so well together that no one flavour dominates. You can serve this with tortilla's, but the picture here shows me eating it on a shredded wheat cracker. It's uses are limitless - a condiment for fish tacos would be my first dish to use this with.

No oil - all that creamy sheen is from the avocado and lime juice

I make this every time I have the ingredients on hand.


Avocado Salsa

Avocado		3, cubed
Tomato		5 med, chopped
Red Onion		1/2 head, minced
Garlic		2 tbsp, minced
Lime Zest		1 stalk, finely sliced
Lime Juice		5 whole peppers
Thai Chili		1/4 cup
Cilantro		1/2 cup
Black Pepper		2 tbsp (ground)
Sea Salt		4 tbsp (1/6 pkg)

Preparation:

1. In a jar, add avocado cubes, diced tomato, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, chili paste, black pepper, sea salt.
2. Cap the jar and shake vigorously.
3. Let the jar stand while you prepare the cilantro. Once it has dried and been chopped, add it to the jar. It will seem as though it will not fit, but once it is coated with the salsa it will mix well. Adding it to an unmixed jar will hinder this process.
4. Shake to coat all leaves. Open and stir up from the bottom if it needs some help to get going.
5. Serve immediately, but the longer it steeps, the more flavour develops. Can be stored in the fridge for a little over a week (lime and salt are great preservatives).

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is usually at Roose's home, my mother's sister, and all of my mother's siblings, her cousin, and my nani attend. But this year my cousin Stephanie has moved and not been in her new house for more thank a week, and to get the first visit out of the way, we'll be having Thanksgiving there on Sunday. On top of that, mom wanted us to come by on Saturday, since Cheryl will not be able to make Sunday dinner. This will be a more intimate, immediate family, now that En and I are out west and Cher officially has Mark in her life.

As if that wouldn't turkey us out enough, Monday En and I will be hosting his immediate family for 'take-out fake-out Chinese' dinner. Menu selection did not fall to me, obviously. I will insist we eat in the dining room. We need some tradition and civility for this holiday meal.

There have been the odd years where Thanksgiving has been held at my parent's home. Some years it would be just the four of us, some it would be the entire clan. This is the first year it's us with significant others, but the food remains the same. Here is the yummy menu I typically expect from mom, with the exception of one year, where we each had a Cornish hen stuffed with apricots and walnuts. Yum.

MOM'S THANKSGIVING MENU

Aparatif

Cognac

...and something Gin for me!

H'ors Douvres

Orange Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Mini Meat Tarts

Main

White Wine Whole Turkey

Gravy

Scalloped or Mashed Potatoes

Rice

Dessert

 Baked Something (Always Changes)

Fruit

If I had one word to describe Thanksgiving in the Persaud/Thakurdin/Sukhdeo/Brazinski family, it would be convivial. Not as much liquor as you would think. More food than you could shake a stick at. An odd and discombobulated menu that stems from our multiculturalism. While some would be confused, it works for us. Here is an almost unfailing sample menu.

THAKURDIN THANKSGIVING MENU

Aparatif

Grey Goose Vodka

Johnny Black

Virgin Punch

H'ors Douvres

Baigani, Palourie & Aluball with Tamarind Sour

Cream Cheese Crab Salsa Dip with Tortillas

Salted Plantain Chips (thick-long cut)

Main

 Lasagna (beef)

Turkey

Gravy

Roast Ham

Curry Chicken or Goat

Rice

Roti

Garden Salad

Dessert

Chocolate Cake

Almond Cake

Psuedo Cheesecake

Pone

Custard

Fruit

This is how things went down this year.

The Spread (clockwise from bottom): corn on cob, macaroni casarole, mash potatoes, green beans, sweet potato, sausage, bok choi and centre is turkey

Fresh Strawberries

Pineapple Upside Down Individual Cakes
with Vanilla Ice Cream

On Saturday night I wanted to visit mom and dad, so mom had a dinner for us wish Cher, since she wouldn't be able to join to greater family dinner. Right off the bat there was h'ors d;ouvres; mutton rolls, samosas, hummus and pita, onion dip and triscuts. For dinner, there was turkey, gravy, mash potato, sweet potato, bok choi, sausages, macaroni casserole, and broccoli salad. For dessert, she served individual pineapple upside down cakes with vanilla ice cream. It was wonderful as always spending time at mom's. I was so tired I had to take a nap after dinner. Okay, I admit, there was some itis going on as well, but for the most part, sleeping three hours a night for a couple nights will do that to you. To see Alexis so comfortable with everyone just warms my heart so much. It always feels like home.

The yummy salads I missed :(

Dinner - The table extends beyond that top right plate

Dessert: check out that cheesecake!

Sunday Dinner at Steph's new house was wonderful and I didn't over eat like I did the night before. There was turkey, gravy, mash potatoes, pasta salad and mango salad, rice, dhal pourri, chicken curry, mutton curry, phalourri, potato ball with mango sour, spring rolls and lumpia, veggies and dip, crab dip. For dessert, there was pumpkin pie, cheesecake, some cookie dough cake, pone, custard, and a few other things I'm sure. I didn't eat much  (I missed to mango salad!) because Alexis was upset with her food. I had to cut up and mash her green beans and sweet potato there, so it was way too chunky. It took four of us to feed her! That's okay; I didn't want to overdo it anyways. It was simply nice to see my family and chat with them all, but also was wonderful seeing my cousin's new home. Food was simply a bonus. Aunt Mala made the Cheesecake. which was the only dessert I indulged in. And damn, she said she twice baked it, and damn, was it ever good.

Chowing Down

Beautiful Table Set by Kayla

Monday Lunch was here at our house. The Teopiz family got together here sans Jeverlynn, since she was horribly sick. We really missed her. The menu for the Teopiz clan is never really home made.  They ordered from China China Palace to augment the few things we made. I made a ton of lumpia, cut up some guava and longuns, and ma brought a fruit tray, lumpia, steamed rice, fried plantain and a big black forest cake. The meal was Shrimp in Lobster Sauce, Ma Po Tofu, Seafood Cantonese Chow Mien, Beef in Black Bean Sauce, Pad Thai, Fried Calamari and Fried Chicken Wings.  I set the dining room table, and for the first time in what must be years, his family sat in a home at a table, together, and ate a holiday meal. I was so happy. It felt right. After dinner and coffee, the guys retired to the basement and we stayed in the kitchen to feed Alexis.

Red Thai Curry Beef

Quick shot of my bowl

It was another rainy day and I wanted to make something hearty. I didn't want anything tomato based. I wanted something saucy. And I didn't really know what I was going to make until I took the meat out of the fridge. And even then, I had an idea of what I was going to make, but not exactly how I was going to make it.

This is not exactly a textbook Thai Red Curry, but it borrows the flavours that make this dish work. I made some substitutions based on what I had on hand (read: what I could use in a pinch instead of searching while my daughter grows increasingly impatient) and the results turned out so yummy with a great texture, that honestly, there isn't a thing I would change.

Shot of the pot right before we dished in.

Red Thai Beef Curry

Stewing Beef		1 lb
Onions		5 med, chopped
Garlic		1/2 head, minced
Ginger		2 tbsp, minced
Lemongrass		1 stalk, finely sliced
Thai Chillis		5 whole peppers
Non-Fat Sour Cream		1/4 cup
Non-Fat Yoghurt		1/2 cup
Crab Paste		2 tbsp (ground)
Tamarind Paste		4 tbsp (1/6 pkg)
Tomato Paste		2 tbsp
Fish Sauce		1/4 cup
Khaffir Lime Leaves		5 leaves
Curry Powder		2 tbsp
Coriander		1 tsp (ground)
Black Pepper		1 tbsp (optional)
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Wash beef and cut into 1" cubes
2. Pour canola oil into pot on med-high heat
3. Saute onions and garlic until translucent
4. Add ginger and lemongrass and saute until barely beginning to brown
5. Add tomato paste, crab paste, curry powder and coriander
6. Cook out all moisture until the paste begins to fry
7. Add beef and stir to coat and then leave to brown
8. Juices will release. It will seem like a lot of liquid, but rest assured, it will all evaporate. It will take a long time and require occasional stirring, but do not skip this step and do not continue before the meat itself begins to fry after all the liquid has disappeared. Doing so will result in a bland, one note dish. This is the step that separates the 'holy-crap-this-is-amazing' from 'it's-nice'.
9. When the meat has caramelized, add lime leafs, chillies and enough just-boiled water to cover and stir.
10. In a separate bowl, add tamarind paste and pour enough boiling water over to cover. Use a fork to quickly and vigorously mash the paste until all the pulp has been removed from the seeds and the skins. If you use 'sweet-tamarind', you will get a crappy taste. What you're looking for here is the intense sour of tamarind paste. Do not substitute this. Once you've mashed the paste, your water will become a pulp. Strain this through a fine meshed sieve directly into the pot.
11. Add fish sauce to the pot.
12. Stir and let boil for ten minutes.
13. Add yogurt and sour cream and stir to completely incorporate. The yogurt may appear a little grainy - that's okay. It will completely dissolve by the time the dish has finished cooking.
14. Reduce heat to low and cover for fifteen minutes. Turn off heat and remain covered until ready to serve over steamed rice.

Caramelized Onion Tart with Lemon Zest and Thyme

I had my aunt Vijai, uncle Chico and cousin Randy over as they were eager to visit with Alexis. I always enjoy their visits, but this was even more special because it was all about my little angel. Mom cooked up a storm and wouldn't hear another word about it from me, but I wanted to contribute something, so I made an onion tart. I've done this before but more in a bite size portion, not in an 8" dish, but I did it and it turned out wonderfully. At dinner I had to preface that it was not a sweet tart, but Randy still expected it to taste like desert! It's an appetizer tart, it just didn't get to the table before the food, lol. I still love you Randy.

I forgot to take a picture before everyone had a slice, but this pic shows a great cross section!

Caramelized Onion Tart
_________________________________

Pastry:
Flour		2 cups
Butter (I use margarine)		10 tbsp
Ice Water		1/4 cup
Rosemary		1 tsp (coarsely ground)
Sea Salt		1 1/2 tsp (ground)
Black Pepper		1 tsp (ground)
Filling:
Onions (large)		10
Margarine		1/4 cup
Lemon Zest		from one lemon
Thyme		3 tbsp, dried
Sea Salt		1 tsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp
Sour Cream		1/4 cup

Oven and Pans:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In an 8" pie dish, place a circle of parchment paper with the edges extended beyond the dish. This will allow for easy removal once the tart has cooled.

Preparation - Pastry Dough:

1. In a working bowl of a food processor, add flour, salt, pepper and rosemary.
2. Process to combine all dry ingredients.
3. Remove margarine from freezer and cut cubes into the flour mixture.
4. Process until mixture becomes course (think sandy). Shouldn't take more than a few pulses.
5. Add a few tablespoons of the ice water. It will be difficult to process after this and you don't want to overwork the dough, so try to judge how much you need to barely bring the dough together. You likely will not use all the water.
6. Empty dough and wrap into a ball with clingfilm. I empty the dough right onto the cling film and ball up from there, for minimal handling.

Preparation - Filling:

1. Slice onions lengthwise in quarter inch thickness.
2. In a pan, melt margarine on medium heat.
3. Add onions, stir often being sure to not let the onions brown.
4. Once they become translucent, reduce heat to medium low and stir only to avoid frying.
5. Cook down until onions have wilted dramatically and colour has darkened to half the desired shade.
6. Add black pepper, lemon zest, thyme and salt. Salt earlier would have brought out the moisture of the onion, and that would have increased the time required to begin caramelization.
7.  Continue cooking and stirring until onions have turned a golden brown and have developed the required sweetness.
8. Cool. The filling can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to make the pie. Just bring all ingredients to room temperature prior to baking.

Preparation - Tart:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Use as little bench flour as possible and place dough on the board, pressing down the ball until it is a somewhat flattened circle. I leave the cling wrap on top of the pastry. This makes it easy to press without my hands touching the pastry and easy to roll without the pastry sticking to the rolling pin.
3. Roll out the pastry to approximately a 9" diameter and at least 1/4" thickness.
4. Lift the pastry and centre over parchment lined pie dish and roll into place.
5. Press into corners, pinch the edges, and use a fork to pierce the dough for venting (to prevent any air pockets and deformation).
6. Blind bake the tart shell for 20 minutes.
7. Remove tart shell and spread a thin layer of sour cream.
8. Drop onion mixture and use a fork to drag the strands to cover the tart bottom without disrupting the sour cream layer.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust and onion peaks start to brown.

Taking Brunch in the Solarium on Good Friday

We were chatting, it was a warm morning and it just felt relaxing to brunch in the solarium for the first time since moving into the house.

Tuna Wraps

It's one of those rainy mornings where the cold is bone chilling. You want something comfortable to eat. Usually I'd go to fries and hot dogs, soup and sandwich, grilled cheese, toast and tea... but I digress. Yesterday morning was as I described above and I just woke up feeling that tuna salad was what we needed.

I have a simple basic recipe that really works. Again, the key is the accompaniments to the tuna - you can have it creamy and tasty, yet you can do it so that it's not a whole heap of fat or calories.

People knock the low fat or no fat options at the grocery store, but you shouldn't rely on fat for flavour. That's what freshly ground spices and herbs are for. I use low-fat mayo and non-fat sour cream for texture, and for seasoning, use a fresh garlic clove, freshly ground black pepper, and green onions. For lunch sandwiches, I prefer tuna salad cold, but for these breakfast wraps, we added a slice of 'non-fat Kraft sliced cheese' and toasted it in the oven. Out of everything on the list of ingredients, this is the one that everyone seems to hate, yet it flies off the shelf. Someone's buying all this cheese besides me! Chef's hate it because it's processed garbage, and generally it's seen as the simulated oil based non-dairy product. But the Nutrition Data website tells the truth about it - it's actually a decent product that just has a bad reputation. And honestly, nothing gets all melty-gooey like sliced cheese. That's what makes it 'comfort' - it takes you back to your childhood. Just great yummy, unpretentious food. If it makes my family (any myself) happy, that's all that matters.

Tuna Wraps
_________________________________

Tuna Filling:
Canned/Vacupacked Tuna, drained		4 cans
Low-Fat Mayonnaise		1/2 cup
Non-Fat Sour Cream		2 tbsp, heaped
Celery		1 stalk, finely chopped
Green Onion		3 stalks
Garlic		1 clove, finely minced
Worcestershire		1 tbsp
Tabasco		1/2 tsp
Celery Seed		1/2 tsp (ground)
Sea Salt		1 tsp (ground)
Black Pepper		1 tsp (ground)
Lemon Juice		1 tbsp (optional)
Wraps:
Small Whole Wheat Wraps		8
Sliced Cheese		8

Preparation:

1. In a medium bowl, add strained tuna, celery, green onion and garlic and mix well.
2. Stir in sour cream until fully incorporated.
3. Add mayonnaise and make a divot to pool the seasoning before mixing into the tuna.
4. Add ground celery seed, ground black pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt and mix into the mayonnaise.
5. Stir entire mixture together until fully incorporated.
6. Set oven to 350F (I use a toaster oven).
7. I place two dollops in the centre of a wrap and spread out to fill the middle third.
8. Place cheese slice atop the tuna filling.
9.  Fold in sides of the wrap and hold fast with a toothpick. Lift the wrap a little to ensure the toothpick pierces through the bottom - it holds better this way.
10. Bake for 10 minutes. each person is served two wraps. This preparation serves four people.

Riccota and Spinach Stuffed Cannelloni

These days I tailor my dinners around what's on sale at the grocery store. Don't get me wrong my Sunshine, but taking care of you (Alexis) and trying to come up with a meal, the mortgage strapping our budget, and me on maternity leave, being cost effective as well as saving on time and labour makes meal preparation a living hell. So I saw a few things on sale and decided I would try this cannelloni. You're right; it's not a quick dish you whip up, but if you do things in steps, you can bring it all together before you're ready to cook.

Alexis, you are a handful, and I can't plan anything that takes longer than fifteen minutes before I have to tend to you in some way. So in choosing what I make this family for dinner, I need to be aware of your needs. Cleaning chicken? Not really a great option unless I'm using legs or breasts - less cleaning. So with this cannelloni, no meat preparation and all done in steps.

Ricotta Spinach Filling

Stuffed and Arranged in Trays

What was on sale? Spinach. Ricotta was still pricey, but you don't need a lot. And I had most of the other ingredients at home. Your spices and herbs make all the difference as well. How did I manage in steps? I prepared the filling the day before. Brought all the pantry ingredients to the kitchen ready for a mad dash to complete as much as I could. I use 'oven ready' pasta which makes all the difference when you're not able to give them your full attention and risk their splitting as you fill them, and just soaking them in a large bowl of cold water is a great prep before baking. I prepped the baking dish. I used a pastry piping bag to fill the cannelloni. I used a canned (gasp) sauce instead of homemade. Come on, when you have a baby to take care of, shortcuts are acceptable. You're not wonder woman, so don't try to bite off more than you can chew. Mom taught me that. Then again, she can whip up a delicious feast in a few hours and make it look like child's play. If she's willing to use shortcuts, who am I to argue?

2 Cans of Sauce

1 Can of Sauce

The most time intensive preparation is stuffing the cannelloni, and as long as you have enough sauce to cover, the rest is super easy. I thought I could get away with one can, but as you can see, it would have been a disaster. The pasta would have dried to a gummy crisp.

Baked - You could see the sour cream holds where the sauce cracks and allows it to become thick and sweet.

I have to admit, when Kayla saw what we were having for dinner she was super excited. I haven't seen her that excited in quite a while. Everyone went back for seconds. Between the three of us, we finished the first tray. I guess this recipe is a keeper.

You just have to trust me when I say this plate contains three cannelloni.

Ricotta Spinach Filling:
1 Tub Riccotta
4 pkgs Frozen Spinach
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Black Pepper (freshly ground)
1 tsp Sea Salt (freshly ground)

Cannelloni:
2 pkgs Cannelloni
2 cans Tomato Sauce
1 cup Sour Cream
5 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Oregano
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper (freshly ground)
4 tbsp Olive Oil


Directions (Ricotta Spinach Filling):
Thaw spinach and strain all water.
In a bowl, mix spinach, nutmeg, black pepper and sea salt.
Add ricotta and grated Parmesan and mix well.
Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the whole egg.
Beat the egg and then incorporate into the mixture.
Refrigerate until required (I did the mixture two days in advance).
When ready to stuff pasta, spoon mixture into a pastry bag with no nozzle attached.

Directions (Cannelloni):
Preheat oven to 350`F.
Fill a big bowl with cold water and soak the cannelloni noodles.
Grease two trays with olive oil.
Spoon enough tomato sauce to coat the trays.
Using the pastry bag, pipe gently into one end of a horizontal cannelloni, making sure your palm covers the other opening. Do not press bag into pasta - this will break the cannelloni.
Place the pasta into the tray.
Repeat this until all cannelloni have been stuffed and they are close (but not touching) in the tray.
Mix sour cream and minced garlic.
Coat the top and sides of all pasta with the sour cream mixture.
Sprinkle trays with salt, pepper and oregano.
Top all pasta with tomato sauce. I add about a half cup of water to each tray to make sure the sauce will get into each little nook to ensures a moist and saucy pasta.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
Turn off the oven and leave it without opening the door until ready to serve.