Tagine. Huh?

You may or may not have heard the word "Tagine" before. Until recently I had only ever seen it linked to pictures of what looked like ordinary stews, and heard it murmured a few times in the presence of something exotic looking with at least 5 different spices, at least one unusual ingredient, and a stone/earthenware dish that looks like this:

I did a little research after I saw a recipe for a Chicken Tagine in a recently acquired cookbook (Laura Calder, French Taste). In a nutshell, a Tagine really is just an ordinary stew originating in North Africa, named after the heavy clay pot it is served and cooked in. The top is cone/dome shaped to encourage all the condensation to return to the base of the dish (can you say moist meat?).  You certainly don't need the fancy dish to make the recipe taste authentic - a regular pot will do.
There are a few spices involved, but nothing you can't find in your usual grocery store. In the recipe I'm going to give you, they do call for preserved lemons (EASY to make, but take a couple weeks to preserve), which you could probably find with some searching.

I didn't actually cook this time - I was trying to fit too many things into one evening so Dave made it. I have to say he did a great job, but also tell you (without offending him!) that it is a super easy recipe so there's no need to be scared by how exotic it sounds. It was also DELICIOUS - I was very surprised. I don't usually pick a recipe unless I think it's going to be good, but sometimes it really comes out better than what I imagine. I may be choosing a recipe for the minorities - I know Olives are a touchy subject, but I love them and they really make this dish great.

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Serves 4

4 chicken legs, split at the joint and skinned (or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in large cubes)

salt and pepper

2 onions, grated or sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

Skins of 2 preserved lemons, chopped (remember to rinse the lemons first, or you will die of salt!)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 pinches saffron (it's not a big deal if you don't have any)

Pinch turmeric (I used curry powder)

1 cup green olives, with or without pits

A generous handful or two of chopped cilantro

Put everything except the olives and cilantro in a pot, add a couple glasses of water, cover, and summer until the chicken is done, about 40 minutes. Remove the lid if there is too much liquid so some can evaporate (The dish should be quite liquid, but it's not as thick as a stew). At the end of cooking, add the olives and cilantro. Serve over couscous or quinoa.

Eat it Up - the Secret Garden Tea Co.

The Secret Garden Tea Co. is located in Kerrisdale in Vancouver. I discovered it one evening when I was babysitting for my cousin, and she had the most amazing Creamy Earl Grey tea in her cupboard. The only other thing the label said was "Secret Garden Tea Co". It was the most elegant thing, A white bag full of loose leaf tea with a simple, soft green circle on the front with those words inside. I was instantly transfixed. When I got home I did a search for this Tea shop and discovered that not only do they have large selection of unique and fantastic teas, they also do High Tea. And breakfast. And catering. And demi-high tea. And lunch. 

When I say High Tea, I'm not talking about cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and egg salad. I'm talking fancy. It's everything you would want in a tea party while you're wearing your best dress, and maybe some lacy gloves and fabulous hat. The High Tea menu changes every month, with only the favorites sticking around long-term. You need a reservation for High Tea, but everything else you can walk in. Though I would suggest avoiding the High Tea hours, 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm. I've been turned away before! (Luckily there's a cute pub a couple doors down that is also delicious).

I told myself I wouldn't be long-winded with this post, because I think the pictures will speak for themselves. My last comment is this, Don't be afraid of the prices! I promise, it's well worth it if you want a genuine High Tea experience! Without further ado, please go here, and Eat it Up.

Dave is boring and always gets Irish Breakfast Tea, I got Blue Angel (Rose, Hibiscus, Caramel, and Apple)

The one with the green and purple was an apple cake, the green was apple flavoured icing, and the purple thing was a real slice of Granny Smith apple, folded into a heart!

Cranberry Scones and Devonshire Cream

It's hard to take your time

BBQ Pulled Chicken croissant with basil

This is my new favourite: Lemon Rosemary biscuit with Ratatouille, Black Olive Tapenade, and Goat Cheese filling

Is there anything better?

A pizza revolution!

Sausage, Spinach, Basil, and Gruyere Cheese

I am a regular subscriber to Martha Stewart Living magazine, and sometimes I am just blown away by all the new ideas they come up with. I mean other than your ingredients, who knew that pizza could actually STILL be improved upon? (In the March issue)

Before I continue my ravings, I should tell you what kind of pizza person I am (what? there are many different styles of pizza!). I like a crispy-bottomed crust, but I don't want to eat a cracker. I want my crust just thick enough to provide a bit of chew. I like classic, fairly minimalist toppings like actual tomatoes as the sauce, basil, sausage, peppers, and only enough cheese to hold the toppings together. I don't know what kind of pizza you like, but if you're adventurous - and I know you are - you should probably give this a try!

I won't tell you what kinds of toppings to use or how much - by now you should know what you like on your pizza!

1) Oven on to 500'F. In a well-oiled cast iron skillet, press your pizza dough (store bought or your favorite recipe) into the skillet, coming up ever so slightly on the sides. Spread with sauce. I crushed whole canned tomatoes and mixed them with fresh garlic and a tablespoon of tomato paste. If you do it that way, spread all the watery/juicy bits right to the very edge of the crust. It adds flavor to the spots that may not get toppings.

2) On the stovetop, cook the crust on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the bottom starts to get golden. Then pop it in the oven for another 3 minutes.

3) Take it out and top it with whatever you like - cheese and all. Then put it back in the oven for exactly 8 minutes. I did mine this way and it came out perfectly cooked and delicious.

Please be careful! The whole cast iron skillet is going to be extremely hot, and so will your pizza! It's probably a good idea to let the pizza rest on the cutting board for a couple minutes, to soak in the juices and cool down a teense.

Cooking on the stovetop

Topped, before popping in the oven

Fresh Basil scattered on top after cooking - mmmmmmmm!!

Eat it Up - Herbies Drive-In

 With my limited budget I hope to visit enough interesting restaurants, cafes, diners, and drive-ins that I can make Eat it Up a fairly regular addition to my blog. Eating good food is fun, but so is talking about it!

First up is a drive-in very close to my heart. I have only eaten here 3 or 4 times, but this place still has strong emotions and memories attached to it. Up until a few years, my family took an annual summer camping trip to Salmon Arm. It had been a tradition since before I was a baby - my Dad's family started going when he was a teenager. Part of their trip often included a stop at Herbies Drive-in, in Cache Creek. Home of the Legendary Monster Burger, and the beckoning "HUNGRY?" sign.

When my siblings and I found out about this place, we of course begged to go, and from that first meal there we fell in love with the history and the food. Unfortunately we started our tradition only a few years before we stopped going on the camping trip. It's my goal to go there as many summers as possible anyway, and introduce the tradition to my kids one day.

Old-school diner style on the inside.

Oh Poutine.

My favorite thing to get is the Poutine, and my husband loves their soft-serve cones. Fun Fact: Most soft serve is made with milk but Herbies makes theirs with cream, making it the most delicious thing you've ever had. You can also get it dipped in Chocolate or Strawberry sauce. Yum! A trip wouldn't be complete, of course, without the Monster Burger. Two big fat patties on a soft bun served with the classic burger toppings. What more could you want in a drive-in? Go here, and eat it up.

The MONSTERBURGER

Chocolate dipped, creamy soft serve

Because you have to do a Valentine's post

I was feeling a little bit left out this morning as I was catching up on my favorite blogs - almost everyone had some kind of Valentine's post. I've never been a big Valentine's celebrator (something about all the pink, and the fact that there's no real occasion... you should love people everyday), so I hadn't exactly planned ahead on this one. Luckily, my Facebook page is filled with photos of food, so its always easy to pull something together!

I made these cupcakes last year, for a my Grandpa's birthday, which happens to fall close to Valentine's Day. I'm also not big on cupcakes either, so this is a pretty rare post!

Nevertheless, they looked gorgeous, and they were rather delicious. The batter was just a regular white cupcake recipe with smashed up frozen raspberries added. The icing was also simple, a standard icing sugar frosting - but for the liquid I used the juice of the raspberries! That added color and flavor. The chocolate hearts on top are the real reason for this post, though. They look so amazing, and they really are easy! Observe:

Melt Chocolate (use your discretion as to how much you need.... no one ever complained about leftover chocolate!) in the microwave, going about 15 seconds at a time and stirring. Stop when there are just a few chunks of chocolate left, and stir until it's all melted. You CAN actually burn chocolate in the microwave.
Fill a piping bag or a plastic bag with the chocolate. (Snip off a very small tip if using a plastic bag)
On a baking sheet lined with wax paper pipe a heart shape (the chocolate may come out very fast) and fill in the center with random swirls and lines. Make sure most of them connect to the outline of the heart.
Repeat.
Pop the tray in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The hearts will come off very easily, and you can stand them up or lay them on your cupcakes!

Brining a Turkey - do not be afraid!

Brining your poultry (and sometimes your pork) may seem like an old-fashioned, unnecessary waste of time, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to dry, flavorless Thanksgiving dinners! When it comes to cooking, a lot of the old "tricks" your grandparents used are still very true and useful. There is truly nothing difficult about brining your bird - it only requires you to be thinking ahead (though if you have frozen birds, I hope you're doing that anyway! A Thanksgiving size turkey usually takes almost 4 days to thaw in the fridge!).

All you need is kosher salt, sugar, and water!

If you're new to roasting chickens and turkeys, or even if you've done it a few times but don't quite consider yourself to have mastered it yet, try this brine recipe! I promise you'll notice a difference! ALL the meat will be so tender and juicy, and so well seasoned! Unfortunately I cannot yet describe the science behind it, but trust me - it works, and it's delicious! I'd like to share my favorite brine and Thanksgiving Turkey recipe with you, and I encourage you to try it soon! Nothing makes my husband happier than a Turkey dinner well after Christmas is over!

For a 14 lb Turkey:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve 1 cup of Kosher salt (or 1/2 cup Table), and 1/2 cup of sugar in 1 gallon of lukewarm water.2. Put your Turkey in a small garbage bag  (or in double-bagged roasting bags) and rest it in a large bowl or pot. Slowly pour the brine all over the Turkey and try to get it as submerged as possible.
3. Let it sit in the fridge for 6-12 hours (preferably overnight).

4. If possible, take your Turkey out of the fridge 2 hours before roasting to let it come to room temperature. When you take it out of the fridge, rinse it very well in cold water. This is very important!

I should probably mention that no matter how well you follow these directions, if you overcook your Turkey it will still be dry and, well, overcooked. If you're unsure, check the temperature frequently near the end of the estimated roasting time. It should be between 160-170 degrees. Any higher than that and the white meat will get dry.

People were getting antsy to eat this thing, so I apologize for the terrible quality of the picture, but look how crisp and golden!

Homemade Cheese!

I was recently given the chance to dabble in a little cheese-making. For Christmas I was given a beautiful homemade cheese press by my soon-to-be brother-in-law. He and his bride-to-be (my husbands sister) have one of those cow-share dealios, where they have access to raw milk (or "body lotion" as it is marketed as) every week. Part of the gift was 1 week of their milk supply and the use of their cheese-making equipment and book. I made a Raw Milk Tomme... just a basic hard cheese in salt-brine rind. 

Heating the milk

I write this post certainly not to provide you with detailed instructions, and I won't tell you to get a share in a cow (unless you really want to, it's expensive!), but to encourage you to give it a try sometime! There are plenty of recipes available that use the whole milk you can find in grocery stores, and I recently discovered an Organic Market near my house that sells Goat Milk! So the stuff is out there, and while some recipes may take a lot of time and attention (this one was almost a good week of doing a small step everyday, plus it's now aging for 5 months!) they aren't difficult, and it will be really cool to say to your friends "Try this cheese that I made and aged myself!"

Enjoy the pictures :)

Curds have formed!

Draining the whey off of the curds

Pressing all the moisture out of the cheese in a makeshift mold

After pressing, pre-aging!